The Technion’s Model of Coexistence

When I read that Hackney Council had voted to begin ending its twinning arrangement with Haifa, I couldn’t help wondering: why Haifa? Whatever your views on the wider Middle East conflict, Haifa has always felt different. It is probably Israel’s most multicultural city – a place where Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Baha’is live alongside one another. It’s a city where Hebrew and Arabic are heard every day, and where people from different communities don’t just coexist; they work, study and build lives together. It isn’t perfect, no city is. But if we’re looking for examples of what coexistence can look like, Haifa has to be near the top of the list.

At the heart of the city is the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel’s leading university of science and technology. For more than a century, it has educated the engineers, scientists, doctors and entrepreneurs who have helped shape modern Israel. Around 70 per cent of Israel’s engineers are Technion graduates, and the university’s discoveries have improved lives around the world. But the Technion is much more than a world-class university – it is also a living example of coexistence.

This op-ed was written by Alan Aziz, chief executive officer of the Technion UK.