(Israel State Archives)
Sir Herbert Samuel addresses Hebrew University opening

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

(Hillel Maier/TPS)

On April 1, 1925, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel’s highest-ranking university and among the world’s finest, officially opened.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was formally opened on Mount Scopus in a historic ceremony on April 1, 1925, in what is now the Rothberg Amphitheater. The event took place in the presence of Jewish community leaders as well as representatives from world Jewry and from universities around the world.

Among the speakers were Lord Arthur James Balfour former UK prime minister and foreign secretary; Sir Herbert Samuel, first High Commissioner of Palestine; Zionist leader Dr. Chaim Weizmann; Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, and Chaim Nahman Bialik, a pioneer of Modern Hebrew poetry.

Hebrew University, founded in 1913 and ranked internationally among the 100 leading universities, is Israel’s premier university as well as its leading research institution.

By United with Israel Staff
(With files from Virtual Jewish Library)