JNS
“I can tell you that that’s the most of any university in the world,” Mark Ruben, executive director of Israel Bonds, told JNS.
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton has purchased $5 million in Israel Bonds, bringing its total investment up to $8.2 million and making it the largest university investor in the United States, according to university president Adam Hasner.
The announcement was made at an Israel Bonds Unity for Israel event on Nov. 20.
Hasner, who is Jewish and affixed a mezuzah to his office doorpost, said the move is both a fiscal decision and a clear message of the values guiding the school. In a phone call the day after the announcement, he told JNS that the investment has “the full support of our trustees” because it was “a sound financial decision.”
He emphasized that in addition to revenue from these bonds supporting the university’s strategic goal, the investment “furthers our commitment to being a campus that makes sure that the Jewish community knows this is a safe and welcoming campus for them, and for all students.”
As for the purchase itself, “I can tell you that that’s the most of any university in the world,” Mark Ruben, executive director of Israel Bonds, told JNS.
Since taking office in March, Hasner, who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2010, has deepened ties with Israel beyond financial investments.
FAU recently hosted the Jerusalem Ballet, is revitalizing the Florida Israel Institute and planning a Parkinson’s research event in January in partnership with Tel Aviv University.
Hasner told JNS that on campus, Jewish and pro-Israel students maintain a visible daily presence along the Breezeway, a centrally located outdoor space where student groups set up tables. “My vision was to make this the safest, most welcoming campus for Jewish life in the country,” he said.
Calling the number “record-setting,” Hasner told JNS that the university received 57,000 applications for the 2025 freshman class of 4,300 spots, with a 40% year-over-year increase in out-of-state applications—“our most academically competitive class in the university’s history.”
FAU’s growth is also reshaping campus life. The school has more than 5,000 residence hall beds with another 670-bed hall opening in 2026.
“Students have shared with me how thankful they are that they feel safe and that they can wear a Star of David or a kippah,” he told JNS. “That they can just be Jewish on campus.”
Describing the local weather as typically 75 degrees and sunny, Hasner said “it really gives a whole new meaning to being Jewish in paradise.”
