Letter from the Head of the Program
Amirim Interdisciplinary Honors Program in the Humanities is unique in Israel and the world. The program was established in 1989 by Prof. Ruth Katz, and from then until today, thanks to generations of students,
heads of the program over the years and dedicated staff, it is one of the flagship programs of the Hebrew University.
Amirim is unique not only because of the excellence of those admitted to it, but also because of its curriculum, which is largely based on courses constructed specially for the program by experts in their field and taught by them. These courses open a door to worlds of content that present the wonders and riches of the Humanities and of critical humanistic thinking. One of the highlights of this three-year journey is a concluding seminar with a tour abroad, funded by the program (forthcoming:, Sicily 2026, USA 2027, Germany/Austria 2028).
The study format, which aims to build a learning community offering a space for ideas, debates and support, also singles out the Amirim program. Alongside the courses, students initiate and participate in extra-curricular activities such as monthly lectures and workshops, cultural outings in Jerusalem and the end of the year event. These also contribute to consolidate the learning community
Amirim in Hebrew are the highest branches of the tree. The connotation to excellence and achievements is clear. But it's worth dwelling on what is beneath the higher branches: the lower branches, the tree trunk and the roots that embody elaborate worlds of knowledge, of deep understanding and of values, all of which allow those branches to soar, where only the sky is the limit.
Some see an affinity between the roots of the Hebrew words high branch (amirאמיר ) and saying or statement (amira אמירה). The medieval grammarian Rabbi David Ben Yosef Kimhi (Radak) thought so, and this affinity also guided those who named the program’s journal Amirot. This journal is home to vibrant and diverse papers by Amirim students, and constitutes an important opportunity to voice a statement. The socially oriented essay contest taking place several times a year, is also such an opportunity. Prizes awarded to the best essays are donated to a social organization, chosen by the winner.
For me, in addition to meeting the formal and informal requirements of the program, it is our duty – students as well as professors – to ponder on what this elusive concept of excellence is, and articulate to ourselves, but also publicly, how excellence and the intellectual statement (אמירה) it entails exist in a world in which cannons roar.
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With the new year just around the corner, I am thrilled to wish each and every one of you – and us all – a mind- and heart-broadening academic year.
To the students, I hope you will learn to sharpen your statement (אמירה) and to come to know excellence from vantage points you did not consider before.
To the professors, TAs, and dear staff – Orlit, Hagar and Shoham, I wish you a fruitful and harmonious year.
I would like to say goodbye to Racheli Nathan, the Budget and Staff Coordinator, who is retiring after 40 years of work at the Hebrew University, and to Amit Kestenbaum, the Program Advisor in the past 5 years, and to express my deepest gratitude for you hard and excellent work for the program and its students. Your presence will be sorely missed!
Let me conclude with a wish and a prayer for the imminent return of the hostages and an end to bloodshed.
Prof. Nora Boneh
Head of the Amirim Honors Program in the Humanities
