A cooperation agreement was signed between the Hebrew University and the National Center for Scientific Research in France (CNRS) - the largest research institution in Europe

The president of the CNRS, Catherine Breschiniak: I believe in dialogue and explanations, not boycotts

A research cooperation agreement was signed between the Hebrew University and the National Center for Scientific Research in France (CNRS) - the largest research institution in Europe regarding the European Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience.

The signing ceremony was held in the presence of the President of the Hebrew University Prof. Menachem Magidor, Vice President for Research and Development at the Hebrew University Hillel Berkoviar, President of the CNRS Catherine Barshiniak and Vice President of the Victor Seglan University Prof. Alain Blancher.

According to the president of the CNRS, Kertin Barshiniak, "the visit is to strengthen the existing research collaboration. Israel has scientists at a very high level. The researchers in Israel have the desire to fight and achieve high results and succeed, and they, like the French researchers, are motivated by the same desire to succeed."

When asked her opinion about the academic boycott of Israeli researchers, Barshiniak said that "I am not a boycott. I believe in dialogue and explanations, not boycotts. In the field of science it is important to rise above all political differences of opinion, knowledge is universal and you need to know the place of the other."

The Vice President for Research and Development at the Hebrew University Prof. Hillel Berkoviar said today at the event that "The Hebrew University was the first institution in Israel to sign an academic collaboration with the CNRS in 2004, after which collaboration agreements were signed with a number of other universities in Israel."

According to him, "the importance of the agreement lies in the fact that thanks to the initial money given to promote research collaboration between the researchers of the Hebrew University and the French researchers, more projects, research ventures, scientific publications and joint seminars are born, and this is of great importance."

The first agreement between France and an Israeli university followed by the establishment of the French-Israeli laboratory for the study of systemic neurophysiology and neurophysics. Israeli researchers from the Hebrew University and French researchers from the CNRS who belong to the Descartes University in Paris and the Victor Saglan University in Bordeaux work together in this laboratory.