Timo Krisam
Minerva PhD Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Can you briefly describe what you are exactly doing with your Minerva Fellowship in Israel, how long have you been there and how long will your fellowship continue?
I am working in model theory, a subject in theoretical mathematics and mathematical logic.
Essentially we analyze sets of sentences in formal languages, classify them, and study their application to other areas of mathematics.
My Minerva Fellowship started in November 2021 and will end this October.
How did you experience October 7 last year and what happened in the weeks that followed?
I got very lucky as I was still in Germany because of a conference and none of my local friends were injured. On October 7, I was on my way to Berlin to catch a flight to Tel Aviv. The immediate time afterwards was pretty chaotic as even the near future was uncertain. Luckily friends, family, and the Minerva Stiftung were there for me and helped me settle into a relatively comfortable situation.
What impact did the events have on your academic work in the weeks immediately following the attack?
Due to the theoretical nature of my research, I was able to resume working after a relatively short time. However, my productivity did suffer quite a bit, both because I couldn’t be at the institute and for psychological reasons.
When did you return to Israel?
On March 19, 2024.
How was your return there? Have expectations and ideas (whether positive or negative) that you may have had beforehand been confirmed?
The return itself was not very noteworthy (aside from border control being unusually quick) and my first impression was that the country was mostly back to normal. Only in the days and weeks afterwards did I notice that the general mood (in Jerusalem) seemed to be much more serious and on edge compared to when I left. Also, while I did expect to see more guns after my return, the sheer number of armed people I encounter in my day-to-day life exceeds my expectations.
What is it like to pursue your own research in Israel on a day-to-day basis? What influence do the armed conflicts in the Gaza Strip have on everyday academic life in Israel and thus possibly also on your research?
The war does not have a direct impact on my work. However, it of course impacts my mental health and thus also my research.
Still, compared to the people who are directly impacted by the fighting, civilians on both sides being displaced and having lost people close to them, these issues are minor.
The growing worldwide criticism of Israel's actions in the Gaza conflict and the associated protest movements, combined with an increase in anti-Semitic tendencies, are also having an increasingly noticeable impact on Israeli science: Scientific collaborations with Israel are being terminated or avoided, international researchers are leaving the country. Do you also encounter such developments as a researcher who is currently in Israel and conducting research there?
I did not personally encounter any problems. Again, this might be due to my subject, as from my experience such boycotts are much more common in the humanities as compared to STEM.
On a personal level: How do you deal with the fact that it is currently uncertain how the crisis-ridden situation in Israel - both in terms of domestic and foreign policy - could change dramatically at any time and thus also upset your research plans?
I am ready to leave the country quickly at practically any time. While this might upset my plans, I think it is important to take a step back and look at the whole picture: Being able to live in another country to pursue research is an incredible privilege and losing it would not have too much of a negative impact on my life.
Regardless of the developments in Israel since last October, could you tell us a nice anecdote and a rather difficult anecdote about your Minerva Fellowship and your time in Israel in general?
Not long after meeting a person who is now one of my best friends, he invited me to his wedding. I arrived knowing practically nobody else and left feeling like a part of the family.
