Canadian Friends of Jerusalem College of Technology (CFJCT) announced today that former US governor and Israel advocate Nikki Haley will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary degree at CFJCT’s 50th-anniversary gala dinner on October 23 in Toronto.
Haley, who was formerly South Carolina’s first female governor, has spoken at pro-Israel events in the past and has garnered a reputation for her staunch support of US-Israel ties.
Jerusalem College of Technology is a leader in tech-based higher education among the Jewish religious community. Nearly half of JCT's 4,700 students are ultra-Orthodox, while the remainder of the students are from diverse, underprivileged segments of Israeli society – such as Ethiopian-Israelis, national religious and international students.
JCT’s new Tal Campus for Women
The event is headlined by the JCT’s new Tal Campus for Women – a $100 million project that amplifies JCT’s decades-long role in bolstering the Israeli capital’s economic and cultural footprint, as well as providing increased opportunities for religious women to pursue higher education and attain quality employment in high-tech industries.
“We are privileged and humbled to host Ambassador Haley, one of Israel’s greatest friends in the international arena, at a time when JCT is simultaneously on the cusp of igniting a socioeconomic revolution in the Israeli capital,” said Simmy Zieleniec, CEO of CFJCT.
Construction of the Tal Campus began in May 2022, though the Tal Campus already accommodates over 2,100 women studying at JCT. Slated for completion in 2025, the new women’s campus will be the permanent home of academic excellence for up to 3,000 female students in nursing, computer science, industrial engineering, accounting, and management.
The event will also announce a new nursing program for Haredi women, a new pharmaceutical track, and the College’s new business administration program for women, which will be offered in English.
The new initiatives aim to bring the opportunity of gainful employment to Haredi women – a cohort that has lacked for opportunities in the past and is often mired in a cycle of poverty – making an inspirational woman like Nikky Haley a natural choice to lead the event.
“Just as Ambassador Haley goes against the grain by standing up for the truth and defending Israel amid a deluge of international criticism, JCT defies the odds by generating progress for underserved populations in Jerusalem and across Israel,” Zieleniec declared.