Oxford University to award two Israeli students the Rhodes Scholarship
This will be the fourth year that the university will offer Israeli students two opportunities to become a Rhodes Scholar * six Israelis have received the award
By ZACHARY KEYSEROxford, All Souls College(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)Oxford University will be awarding the Rhodes Scholarship to two outstanding Israeli students this year, according to a university statement.One of the oldest and most well known educational awards in the world, the Rhodes Scholarship funds two to three years of advanced study at the prestigious English university, including full tuition, a living stipend, housing and airfare, among other things.The potential scholars must possess a 3.7 GPA, be between 19 and 27 years old, and have lived as a resident in Israel for five of the last 10 years.This will be the fourth year that the university will offer Israeli students the opportunity to become Rhodes Scholars; six Israelis have so far received the award.Notable previous Rhodes Scholars include former US president Bill Clinton; astronomer Edwin Hubble, whom the Hubble Space Telescope is named for; Nobel Prize winner Howard Florey; three Australian prime ministers, and American television host Rachel Maddow.Previous Israeli winners include University of Haifa graduate Lian Najami, who went on to intern for the US Senate and is working towards a dual degree at Oxford in public policy and comparative social policy, and Nadav Lidor, who earned his CS undergraduate degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Stanford, and then his MA in public policy at Oxford while working to advance AI within British government offices. Dr. Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg, former deputy governor of the Bank of Israel received the scholarship around 30 years ago.“Choosing these students is about choosing the next world leaders, so they must express an interest in public service and demonstrate a desire to contribute,” according to National Secretary for Israel of the Rhodes Trust Doron Weber, who notes that the main criteria for selection includes not only academic excellence but also leadership ability.
