Message from Bezalel

Dear Friends,
As I write to update you, our friends around the world, the situation in Israel is unfolding and thousands of images of the inhumanities of the last days are coming to light.

We are at war, and the people of Israel are springing into action – many of us are going to the battlefield to fight, others are trying to help defend, tend to the wounded, organize, facilitate, find solutions, support, explain, encourage, console - we are a small country, almost everyone is affected, everyone connected. This is also the case within the wider Bezalel community, and we as an institution are striving to do our part, setting up both practical and emotional support and assistance systems for each and every student, faculty and staff member alike. 

In parallel, we also are trying to make sure that the delicate common environment of our educational institution, in which people from all segments of society in Israel, as you know, come together to create and express life, will be safeguarded. In the daily, hourly tide of unimaginable insanities, our strength is in our unity. 

We thank everyone for your messages of friendship and support. There is still much unclarity, and unfortunately it seems many more difficult days ahead, perhaps the worst in our history. As hatred and the human costs reverberate, you are  helping us remember we are not alone and that we, all together, share the universal values of human life.

It means a lot,
Prof. Adi Stern
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem