On the evening of Thursday, October 8, 2026, the Azrieli Fellows Program welcomed its new cohort of International Postdoctoral Fellows at an orientation event held at the Council for a Beautiful Israel in Tel Aviv. This year’s cohort of 20 Fellows earned their doctorates in ten countries across three continents, in fields that rarely share a room. The Fellows gathered with the Program team to mark the start of the fellowship year.
Prof. Hermona Soreq, the Program’s Senior Academic Advisor, opened the evening by greeting the new Fellows. Dr. Aviad Stollman, Global Director of the Azrieli Fellows Program, welcomed the Fellows as the Program’s VIPs and described its guiding conviction that a society’s greatest resource is its people. He spoke about the informal, improvisational culture of Israeli academia, where the very old and the very new live side by side.
Rochelle Avitan, Program Director, offered a historical overview of the Program, tracing its development from David Azrieli’s founding vision, and then introduced the components of the fellowship, including the Fellows Forums. Dana Hikry, the Program’s Wellbeing Officer, presented the wellbeing support available to Fellows as they begin their life and work in Israel.
The evening concluded with dinner, joined by a dozen continuing Postdoctoral Fellows. The relaxed setting gave new and current Fellows a chance to exchange experiences and begin the connections at the heart of the Azrieli Fellows community.
The Azrieli Fellows Program extends its warmest welcome and best wishes to the 2026-27 cohort of International Postdoctoral Fellows.
