Tel-Hai University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee

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Tel-Hai University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee

תל־חי אוניברסיטת קריית שמונה בגליל
Roadsign before a building within the Tel-Hai Western Campus
Former name	Tel-Hai Academic College
Type	Public
Established	1957
Chairman	Ze'ev Peldman
President	Eliezer Shalev
Provost	Eli Kohen
Faculty	1,715
Students	6,000
Undergraduates	3,009
Postgraduates	536
Location	Tel Hai , HaTzafon , Israel
Campus	Tel-Hai Western Campus, Tel-Hai Eastern Campus, Ohalo Campus, MIGAL Research Institute, Tel-Hai Kiryat Shmona Campus
Language	Hebrew
Colors	Green and White
Mascot	The Roaring Lion
Website	http://english.telhai.ac.il/

Tel-Hai University is a university and college located in Tel Hai in northern Israel, with campuses near Kibbutz Kfar Giladi and north of Kiryat Shmona, as well as in Katzrin and within Kiryat Shmona itself. Tel-Hai University (formerly Tel-Hai Regional College) is a university located in the Galilee Panhandle, north of Kiryat Shmona, at the site where the early settlement of Tel-Hai once stood (now part of Kibbutz Kfar Giladi) and the site of a historic battle in 1920. In 2021, it merged with the Ohalo College of Education (located on the Katzrin campus). In May 2024, the Council for Higher Education in Israel approved the college's transition to university status. On January 19, 2026, the Council officially accredited it as a university, completing the process. It is the first university in the Upper Galilee and the third in the Galilee region of northern Israel, following the Technion (1924) and the University of Haifa (1963).

History

In 1957, the Upper Galilee Regional Council established an adult education school and an arts center at Tel Hai. In 1963, vocational education was added. By the mid-1960s, the center served approximately 400-500 members of nearby kibbutzim, randing from high school students to retirees. By the 1970s, the school was renamed the Tel-Hai Regional College and conducted academic programs under the auspices of the University of Haifa.

On 22 May 2024, amidst the aggression of Hezbollah against northern municipalities during the Gaza war, the Israeli Minister of Education Yoav Kisch announced that Tel-Hai Academic College would thereafter become the University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee. The prospects of this coming to fruition are in question, given the College had been evacuated in connection with Israel's war against Hezbollah and Hamas. The University's Knowledge Center has also conducted a study indicating that upwards of 40 percent of evacuated inhabitants may not return to the north (where the University is located) even if the State of Israel wins the war.

See also

• List of universities and colleges in Israel

References

External links

• The Tel-Hai College Website (English Version) Archived 21 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• United Jewish Communities' January 2004 OEP Project of the Month

33°14′8.32″N 35°34′43.89″E / 33.2356444°N 35.5788583°E / 33.2356444; 35.5788583