On July 28, 2020, 100 doctoral and postdoctoral students from India landed in Israel on a special Israir flight initiated by Bar-Ilan University and its International School in cooperation with the airline.
At a recent meeting of vice presidents from Israel’s universities, participants discussed the difficulty they had encountered in bringing these international students to Israel due to a shortage of flights as a result of COVID-19.
Bar-Ilan University’s International School Director, Ofer Dahan, a former Jewish Agency official who organized numerous special flights to Israel, stepped in to help. Dahan contacted Israeli air carrier Israir and asked if they would operate a flight from Mumbai to Israel to allow the students to reach the laboratories that await them. Israir agreed and the students arrived last week.
The new arrivals include doctoral and postdoctoral students and researchers who will be integrated into the various research laboratories of various universities, some of whom will assist in the study of COVID-19.
Although these students waited patiently for four months to find a flight to Israel, their journey is not over yet as they will only start their studies after the required 14 days in isolation.
Bar-Ilan University’s International School is happy to welcome these students to Israel, some of whom are returning researchers, and we wish them every success in their studies.
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