Winter 2007/08

TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW
Winter
2007/08
cover story
As the State of Israel
celebrates 60 years,
TAU Review reports
on some of the pioneering work
of TAU scientists
researching the land of Israel –
the little slip of real estate
that links Africa to Asia,
that 120 million years ago
lay under the sea,
that fostered monotheism,
and that today still
lacks recognized borders
This land
By Gil Zohar
Land of Israel studies can
be summed up in one snappy phrase:
Natural history meets Jewish history.
From studying live fallow
deer – mentioned in the Book of
Deuteronomy, to weighing in on
problems of water supply and borders,
hundreds of TAU scientists and
scholars are contributing to a
vast and fascinating body of
knowledge that includes zoology,
botany, anthropology,
archeology, religious studies,
geology, geography and Zionist
history, among numerous other
fields.
“TAU pursues the most diverse
and comprehensive research into
ancient and contemporary Israel –
the land itself – than any other institution
in the world,” says Prof. Hagit
Messer-Yaron, TAU Vice President
for Research and Development.
The following is a sampling of five
areas that represent the wide scope of
research being pursued at TAU.
Plant fossil
from Lower
Cretaceous
sandstone,
southern
Israel