Prof. Asher Cohen, the immediate past president of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, reflects on the major challenges faced by Israeli academia during his tenure, including the pandemic, judicial controversies, and the devastating October 7 attack. He warns that the growing academic boycott and loss of international collaborations pose a severe threat to Israel's higher education and research sectors. Despite these challenges, Cohen is leading a new national initiative to build advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure, recently approved by the government with significant funding. The conversation explores both the current crises and the future of Israeli academia.