First Arab Christian woman to lead Israel’s University of Haifa

Haifa, Israel, May 4, 2024 / 07:00 am

For the first time, an Arab Christian woman has been elected as the rector of an Israeli university — the University of Haifa. The announcement of Professor Mouna Maroun’s appointment was made on April 11 amid tensions with Iran and while anti-Israel protests were mounting at universities around the world.

Maroun belongs to the Arab minority in Israel, the Christian minority among Arabs, and the Maronite minority among Christians. No other Arab, Christian, or woman has held the position of rector before at the University of Haifa. (In the Israeli system, the rector is the head of the university.)

For this reason, Maroun said in an interview with CNA, “my election is an important message that everything is possible in the Israeli academia. It is a message for the Christian minority that we are rooted here, that we can succeed here; and it is also a message for the young Arab generations: If you have a dream you can really realize it within the Israel society and especially in universities.”

The University of Haifa is located on Mount Carmel, about six miles from the small village of Isfiya, where Maroun was born. Her grandparents arrived here from Lebanon in the early 20th century. Her parents are semi-literate because there were no schools for them at that time, but, she recounted, “they believed that only through higher education could their four daughters [succeed] to be integrated in Israeli society. That’s why they encouraged us to continue our studies.”

Maroun has embraced that belief as well. “My childhood was around being very active in the church and studying, knowing that only through studying I could have succeeded in Israel.” 

Regarding this prestigious position in academia, she said: “I have always believed that the emancipation of the Arab minority in Israel is through higher education. I don’t believe in politics; I do believe in higher education.”

When Maroun arrived at the university, she didn’t know a word of Hebrew — Arabs and Jews have a separate education system — and she barely spoke English. At 54 years old, she is now a renowned neuroscientist and expert in post-traumatic stress disorder. She has been a faculty member of the university for more than 20 years and has served as chairwoman of the Department of Neurobiology and as a member of the academic senate, among other positions. She will officially assume her four-year role as rector beginning this October.

When asked about the key to her success, Maroun said: “I think the lack of expectations from me to succeed was the secret of my success.” 

“No one expected me to succeed — being an Arab in Israel, a Christian, and on top of all of this, being a woman,” she added. “I could do what I believed in, I had a dream and I followed this dream without pressure — only my family encouraged me to continue in this pathway.”

Excellence will be a theme of her tenure as rector, Maroun said. 

One of the first challenges she will face is integrating the faculties of medicine and engineering into the university — historically mainly composed of arts and humanities. The second aim is to rank as one of the top research universities, both in Israel and also internationally.

The University of Haifa is one of the most diverse and inclusive universities in Israel: 45% of the 17,000 students come from the Arab society and 50% of all the students are first-generation students receiving a higher education. 

The student body is composed of Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians (totaling 15-20 different religious denominations). Maroun herself is proud of her religious affiliation and wears a golden crucifix around her neck.

“We have what is called a natural laboratory, having all the religions coexisting and living without tensions,” she said. 

Additionally, the Laboratory for Religious Studies is part of the University of Haifa, with a focus on interfaith dialogue.

Becoming the Arab rector of an Israeli university after Oct. 7, 2023, is a challenging task, she said.

“I work on post-traumatic stress disorder,” she explained. “I usually ask my audience if they remember where they were on 9/11, but unfortunately I’m [now] going to ask where they were on Oct. 7. It was a trauma for everyone, and everyone will remember where she or he [was] at that moment. We are terrified as Israelis, as human beings, regarding what happened on Oct. 7 and at the same time we are also terrified about what’s going on in Gaza, where thousands of innocent children have been killed.”

Maroun shared her opinion of the anti-Israel protests currently happening at some American universities.

“The administration of the universities in the States should have a moral and ethical statement saying that they cannot deny what happened on Oct. 7 as well as what’s going on in Gaza, and they should take actions in order to promote [the] peace process without having a side, because academia cannot take a side in this conflict,” she said. “Academia worldwide should be a bridge for peace, for negotiation, and for interaction and not to be biased because this is very different from what science is.”

She went on to say that “academia means the freedom of speech, the freedom of action, the freedom of collaboration, the freedom to grow and to research, and the freedom of knowledge. I think you cannot really put ‘academia’ and ‘boycotting’ in the same sentence.”

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Maroun explained that her expertise in trauma and the brain as well as her Christian background have led her to develop a particular sensitivity toward others and to seek paths of dialogue and reconciliation. This will be especially important in the days and months to come in Israel, she said.

“In order to overcome this trauma we need time, we need rehabilitation, and we need reconciliation between the two sides,” she said. “I do believe that with time, we can reconcile and start to establish bridges of empathy, of understanding, and of containing the emotions of each other. After all we are neighbors, we are living side by side, and I believe and I pray that it’s about time that kids from both sides will grow up to have dreams and maybe fulfill these dreams through higher education.”