Back home with renewed hope
Dear Friends,
I have just returned to Israel after a week of travel to Vancouver, Los Angeles, and New York. Meeting with so many of you, seeing firsthand your support and your hopes for the future of Ben-Gurion University, truly recharged my batteries. Again and again, one word surfaced in conversations, speeches, and informal discussions alike: hope.
In last week’s letter, I reflected on the possibility of direct peace negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, which have indeed started. Interestingly, one of the main participants on the Israeli delegation to these negotiations is a graduate of our Department of Politics and Government, and worked in BGU's Europe and Africa Centers! These talks introduce something that has felt scarce in recent months, something very simple and very profound for our students: the return of the word hope. And that, ultimately, is what we owe the next generation. Not the normalization of war, but the expectation of peace.
That theme of cautious optimism accompanied me throughout the week.
In Vancouver, I participated in a gala attended by more than 300 people, including many who were not Jewish but who expressed genuine curiosity and support for Israel and for BGU. I shared the stage with Saul Singer, co-author of Start-Up Nation, and Nuseir Yassin, founder of Nas Daily and a recent recipient of an honorary doctorate from BGU. Although our backgrounds are very different, a common thread ran through our remarks: a belief that Israel’s future, even if clouded at present, remains filled with possibility.
What feels distant today often becomes reality faster than we imagine. A year or two from now, the Middle East may look very different from how it appears today. Israel’s proven technological strength, combined with a resilient economy and the creativity that has long defined our start-up culture, provides a foundation for renewed diplomatic and economic engagement. Both Saul and Nuseir expressed confidence that new regional relationships, once thought unlikely, will continue to emerge. These relationships are not built only on treaties, but on shared interests, innovation, and collaboration.
There was also widespread recognition that Israel itself is approaching an important moment domestically. The elections expected at the end of this year carry with them the promise of political recalibration towards the center, renewed internal stability, and a re-engagement with partners abroad. While elections are never simple, they are a reminder that democratic societies possess a built-in capacity for renewal. That capacity, combined with Israel’s strong economy and technological leadership, creates a foundation for cautious but genuine optimism.
Nuseir’s perspective was especially meaningful in this context. His message was simple yet powerful: peace will not come only from political agreements, but from people working together to build something new. From Jews and Arabs launching companies together. From Arab citizens of Israel becoming full participants in the innovation ecosystem that defines the Start-Up Nation. From young people who refuse to accept old limitations and instead create new realities.
For BGU, this vision resonates deeply. Encouraging original thinking, nurturing entrepreneurship, and building bridges across communities are not abstract ideals for us. They are embedded in our daily work. As I have written before, this spirit of innovation is precisely what makes Israel attractive to partners such as the UAE, India, and Singapore. Countries that look toward the future recognize in Israel not only technological strength, but intellectual openness and creative resilience.
None of this is a rosy vision that ignores the complexity of our region or the evolving nature of Israel’s relationships with the West. The Middle East remains a complicated and often unpredictable environment. Support for Israel in the west is at an all-time low. Yet there is also a palpable sense, both here and abroad, that people want to return to life. That societies exhausted by conflict are searching for stability, growth, and opportunity.
If that desire is channeled wisely, the coming decade could be one of extraordinary growth and openness for Israel.
And in that future, Ben-Gurion University will play a central role.
Universities are, by their very nature, institutions of optimism. We invest in students whose futures we cannot yet see. We pursue research whose applications may not be realized for years. We build campuses and communities with the assumption that tomorrow will be worth preparing for. In times of uncertainty, that quiet optimism becomes not just an academic value, but a societal responsibility.
Returning home after this week of meetings, I carry with me not only gratitude for your partnership, but renewed confidence that even in uncertain times, hope remains a powerful force. And that together, through education, research, and collaboration, we can help turn optimism into reality.
Shabbat Shalom,
Danny
