The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was founded in 1925, during the early years of British Mandate period in Palestine, and an important symbol of Zionism, reflecting the Jewish People's aspiration for political independence. According to Zionist historiography, the idea of a university for the Jews originated in articles published between 1882 and 1884 by Zvi Herman Shapiro (1940-1898), who was a professor of mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Discussions, decisions, and fund-raising efforts continued for several decades, until the Hebrew University was officially opened. However, the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University, which was the first of five geography departments existing at universities Israel, did not open until 1949/50, an entire generation after the Hebrew University was founded. In honor of the 50-year jubilee of geography as an academic discipline in Israel, the current paper explores the development of the geography department in Jerusalem, and reveals its German antecedents. The paper presents a historical survey of the founding of the geography department, without discussing the development of Israeli geographic thought, which is a topic in itself (Bar-Gal, 1999). We will begin by providing background on the establishment of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which sheds light on the academic decisions taken from 1925 to 1950. In the initial years, the Hebrew University focused on research rather than on teaching. At that time, the president of the Hebrew University was Dr. Judah Magnes, who immigrated to Israel from the United States in 1923. The first research institutes included the Institute of Jewish Studies, the Institute of Chemistry, the Institute for the Study of the Nature in Palestine. Following political debates on the nature of the Hebrew University, i.e., whether the University should focus on research or teaching, the first faculties were established: The Faculty of Humanities (in 1928), and the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (1935). Both faculties engaged in teaching as well as in research (Hebrew University, 1948). From an ideological perspective, there was an intense conflict revolving around the mission of the university ("which should not be like other universities"). The founders of the Hebrew University wanted research and teaching to focus on the Hebrew aspect, as reflected in the University's name. Therefore, they concentrated on teaching Hebrew, and gave priority to Jewish studies, i.e., Bible and Hebrew literature, as well as to the country's natural resources. Of course, there was also the universal scientific aspect, i.e., chemistry, physics, and medicine. It should also be noted that during that period the academic and personal atmosphere at the Hebrew University was strongly influenced by German institutions, to the point that the University became, in effect, an overseas extension of German higher education. In various disciplines (e.g., history, natural sciences, and math), the scientific language and professional world view of the teachers and researchers during the 1920s and 1930s was oriented toward the German world (Katz & Heyd, 1997). Since the founders of the Hebrew University understood the importance of crystallizing a national identity, they were careful to develop fields that promoted Zionism and the Zionist enterprise besides focusing on basic research. Therefore, there were those who advocated a universal approach toward research, while others advocated local and particularistic research, which played an important role in strengthening national identity. Apparently, this ideological tension affected the nature of geographic research and influenced the department, besides the personal and organizational issues involved in the development of the discipline in Jerusalem.