The Boston-based Frieze Family Foundation has committed $5 million to the University of Haifa to establish a “Center for Shared Society” — a space at the university dedicated to strengthening bonds between Jewish and Arab Israelis, eJewishPhilanthropy has learned. 

The center will be focused on “learning, research and advocacy, and engagement initiatives that bring Jewish and Arab residents together,” according to the university. 

The Frieze family, which has regularly donated to education, regional development and coexistence initiatives in Israel over the years, has donated to several nonprofits focused on Israel since the Oct. 7 terror attacks, including the Middle East Peace Dialogue Network, Impact Israel and American Friends of Leket Israel. 

“Longtime champions of Israeli education, regional development and shared society, the Friezes’ gift will establish a dedicated center focused on learning, research and advocacy, and engagement initiatives that bring Jewish and Arab residents together,” the university said. 

The $5 million commitment will be the leading donation in the university’s “Home Again” initiative — a two-year $60 million fundraising campaign launched by the University of Haifa earlier this week. The campaign aims to restore Israel’s north in the wake of the damage to the area’s infrastructure and the collective trauma from more than a year of over a year of rocket fire from Hezbollah and recent long-range missile strikes from Iran in the city and across the country, Gideon Herscher, vice president for transformational philanthropy and global resource development at the school, told eJP. 

“The Iran war, for certain communities across the north, created a relapse sensation as it relates to uncertainty and fear. We’re here now to combat that and reinforce that they’re not alone, and the university is going to play a role in making sure that the return home is safe,” Herscher told eJP. 

The campaign has three main focus areas: emotional and physical rehabilitation, restoring economic stability and regional capacity as well as investing in communities’ futures — which the Center for Shared Society falls under. According to Herscher, these focuses were selected based on research conducted by the university’s faculty. 

“What was already a crucial mission of recovery after Oct. 7 has become an existential imperative following the devastation of recent weeks. We are not just restoring what was lost, we are building the foundation for Israel’s long-term future — something stronger, more resilient, and more just,” University of Haifa’s president, Gur Alroey, said in a statement.