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Support for Israel

Yuri and Julia Milner are Israeli citizens and the Foundation that they established has funded several programs supporting science, medicine and technological innovation in Israel.

Terrorist Attack Response

In the wake of the brutal terrorist attack on Israeli civilians, the Foundation donated:

  • $5 million to The Jewish Agency for Israel to support both emergency aid and longer-term rehabilitation
  • $2.5 million to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center to provide trauma care for victims and their families, as well as additional ICUs, operating rooms and an underground emergency hospital
  • $2.5m to Magen David Adom, Israel’s medical emergency service, to help provide equipment for mobile ICUs, first responders and life-support ambulances

Friends of Israel MBA Fellowship

In September 2020, the Foundation announced the creation of the Friends of Israel MBA Fellowship at the Wharton School of Business, Yuri’s alma mater.

This $10m fund provides full tuition over the course of the two-year Wharton MBA program for over 60 students over the course of a decade.

The fellowship aims to enable exceptional Israeli students to experience one of the world’s most prestigious business courses, and for Israel to benefit from the entrepreneurial skills and networks they bring home.

COVID 19 Response

In the spring of 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation donated both funds and health supplies to Israel:

  • $3 million was committed to three Israeli institutions working to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Israel. The donation was split between:
    • Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical response organization, supporting its innovative telemedicine project to reduce the number of people coming to clinics
    • Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and George S. Wise Life Sciences, helping to fund research efforts aimed at developing treatments for the virus
    • Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Ichilov Hospital, an intensive care unit caring for COVID-19 patients
  • The Foundation also purchased 3 million surgical masks, transported them to Israel, and donated them to Magen David Adom, which distributed them to government offices and national institutions providing essential services to the public.

70@70 List

2018 was the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel. In recognition of the contribution to human knowledge made by the new nation since that time, the Foundation led a collaboration with Tel Aviv University, The Washington Post and the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz-The Marker to celebrate that achievement.

With these partners, the Foundation created the 70 at 70 list, which recognizes seventy Israeli scientists and scholars who have made major advances in their fields.

The list was published in The Washington Post and Ha’aretz on 10 July, 2018.

70@70 Fellowship

Following the publication, in November 2018 the Foundation went on to establish the 70 at 70 Fellowship, a $7 million program to support postgraduate students at three Israeli universities: Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University and the Technion.

The program will award 70 outstanding science PhD candidates, each of whom will receive $25,000 a year for 4 years.

Peres Center for Peace

The Foundation has donated to the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, founded by the late President of Israel, Shimon Peres.

The Mathematical Neuroscience Prize

Since 2013, the Foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner, together with the non-profit organization Israel Brain Technologies, has awarded biennially the Mathematical Neuroscience Prize. The Prize honors researchers who have significantly advanced our understanding of the neural mechanisms of perception, behavior and thought through the application of mathematical analysis and theoretical modeling.