November 6, 2025: Ariel University hosted Australian actor and creator Nathaniel Buzolic aka “Nate Buzz” for a program of meetings and site visits across campus, highlighting the university’s clinical service to the region, its science and innovation, and its diverse student community. Known for roles in The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, and for truth-first communication that challenges misinformation and exposes double standards, Nate is deeply passionate about Judea and Samaria, its people, its heritage, and its future, which made a campus visit an opportunity to meet students and see the work up close.
On campus, Nate met students and clinicians at the Ariel University Rehabilitation Center, which delivers multidisciplinary care, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychological care, and speech therapy, to civilians and soldiers from the surrounding communities. He also toured the Wine Research Center, where faculty and graduate researchers lead internationally recognized projects in vineyard agrotechnology, grapevine genomics, and wine technology, including work to identify and revive indigenous Israeli grape varieties used in antiquity. Across the day he engaged with students from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze, and other backgrounds, both Arab and non-Arab—reflecting the university’s commitment to learning and creating together in the heart of Samaria.
“Nathaniel’s visit was about character and connection,” said Prof. Ehud Grossman, President of Ariel University. “His faith-rooted compassion, deep regard for Judea and Samaria, and insistence on telling challenging stories with dignity speak directly to our students’ highest ideals. At Ariel University, those values are lived every day.”
“Welcoming Nate to Ariel University matters because our students see a public figure modeling moral clarity with humility, rooted in faith, and genuinely curious about people,” said Gabi Harow, Vice President, Ariel University. “From the Rehabilitation Center to the Wine Research Center, he leaned in with humility and asked the right questions, the kind that turn a visit into a relationship and inspiration into action.”
As part of the visit, Buzolic sat for a TV interview recorded on campus with Israel National News (Arutz Sheva). In that conversation he reaffirmed his bond with AU: “I’m putting everyone on notice right now that my allegiance is to Ariel University moving forward. This is my team. This is my university.”
Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2020–2025, recently completed her term), joined Nate for a recorded podcast at the School of Communications on voice, leadership, and public courage.