Welcoming a Timely Beacon of Hope in Israel

An inspiring academic institute for the study of hope, dignity and wellbeing, a world first, has just launched at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reports Ynet News. This new center is run and chaired by professor Ben Corn, an oncologist and Hebrew University medical school member, and a passionate advocate of the power of hope in health care.

Welcoming a Timely Beacon of Hope in Israel | A new research center is placing hope, dignity, and wellbeing center stage.

In the long months following the events of October 7 2023, it has been challenging for many Israelis and supporters of the country to hold on to hope, but it is significant that it is in Israel that the first center of its kind in the world has been launched. Corn tells eJP why hope is a one of the qualities that makes humans shine: “Hope is one of the most fundamental virtues of humanity,” he explains. He believes that it is a feeling that all humans crave: “Hope is the ability to look at a situation and to say, ‘what can I do to make this situation better, and how can I get there?’”

The Story Behind the Institute for the Study of Hope, Dignity and Wellbeing
Today, Professor Corn heads this new institute that, while located in the university’s faculty of medicine, intends to serve as a hub for interdisciplinary research into the biology, psychology and sociology of hope. It also embraces practical fields including nursing and social work, and collaboration with multiple international learning centres.

Global interest in the concept of hope goes back decades, however, and has evolved into a science that has gained scientific validity, reports Ynet News.

In fact, this new institute builds on the work of Life’s Door, a nonprofit promoting “hope-based care models.” It has a tagline of “LEADING THE HOPEFULNESS REVOLUTION” and was founded by Professor Corn with his wife, therapist Dvora Corn, over 20 years ago, as All Israel News details. Life’s Door has been offering workshops for terminally ill people, doctors, caregivers, and foreign workers for ten years.

Professor Corn has created a scientific model for the enhancement of hope after almost 40 years of working with cancer patients and rooted in the work of pioneering research into hope by University of Kansas professor, Charles Richard Snyder.

The new center aims to develop scalable, evidence-based models that will use research findings to promote resilience, dignity and hope to people facing serious illness, crises, or the stress of being a carer.

The Healing Power of Hope for a Country in Crisis
The launch of this new center in Israel comes at a time when the country is reeling from months of war and internal conflict that has hacked away at the traditionally sunny disposition of locals, casting a cloud of despair over residents.

But Professor Corn believes that hope can be protected and cultivated in people facing illness, trauma, and loss after October 7; that a wider public in Israel can be guided to be more hopeful. “The beauty of it is that, while not everyone may intuitively know how to create hope, nearly everyone can learn to do so,” he tells Ynet News.

And spurring hope is not offering false hope, he maintains, but helping people hold onto hope or the positive things. In the case of a discouraging medical prognosis, this can be quality of life or time spent with loved ones.

This caring doctor and researcher speaks of three key steps to hope. First, a person needs to set goals that are meaningful and achievable. Then, they should chart a path for reaching that goal, with the understanding that they will encounter obstacles but ones that a hopeful person can work around. The third step is agency; the sheer will that they will have an impact.

Significantly, the institute’s first Annual Scholar, Dr. Adir Shaulov, will study whether hope is “contagious.” While still only a theoretical concept, Professor Corn has this to say about the idea: “In our opinion, the more hopeful someone is—the more people recognize it and want to be with that individual, just as we want to be in the company of people who are funny or who act generously,” he tells Ynet News.

EJP details that while Israelis can display pessimistic outlooks post-October 7 2023, research data has shown that participating in hope workshops empowers them with hope mapping, guided imagery and other tools to assist them in becoming more hopeful. Professor Corn calls this work “potentially sacred” as it will be reflected positively back into society.

Also on the cards for a broken-spirited nation, is a “Hope Index” from the institute, working with major Israeli pollster, Mina Tzemach. Resembling the World Happiness Index on which Israel ranks among the happiest nations, this will gauge the reactivation of hope despite the crises, helping traumatised citizens manifest hope.

Corn is convinced that with a little practice, “almost everyone can exercise their own ‘hope muscle.’ We Israelis are very hopeful. Hopefulness is in our DNA, and it’s important that we draw down on hope – especially in times of crisis.”