The Academy is comprised of unpaid members and paid staff. The handpicked members of the Academy – scholars of Hebrew language and of Hebrew literature, writers, poets, and translators – participate in committees, serve in editorial and advisory roles, and more. Together the members constitute the assembly, which possesses final decision-making authority on both linguistic and administrative matters and elects from among its ranks the Academy’s leaders – president, vice president, and executive board. The assembly convenes at least four times a year.
Academy members receive a lifetime appointment; after age 74 they are no longer obligated to attend assembly meetings, but many members continue to do so and to serve actively in a variety of positions. At any given time there are generally 15–23 full members (and several associate members) under the age of 75, as well as numerous older members. The Academy also has honorary members, most of whom live abroad. New members are chosen by full members.
The Academy maintains several standing committees, including the Grammar Committee, which considers issues of grammar, orthography, and transliteration; the Publication Committee, which evaluates works submitted to the Academy for publication; and the Central Terminology Committee, which reviews new lists of professional terms. Each list of terms is produced by a committee consisting of professionals in the relevant field, generally from outside the Academy, and one or more Academy representatives.
Linguistic decisions require the approval of the assembly to become official. Proposals are presented to the assembly for review, discussion, and approval only after having been prepared and approved in committee. The Academy’s linguistic decisions, once approved by the assembly, are published in the official gazette of the State of Israel.
The Academy employs paid staff in a variety of departments and positions. On the Historical Dictionary Project, experts in Hebrew and cognate languages digitize and analyze Hebrew compositions, adding markup and morphological tagging. The Academic Secretariat coordinates most of the Academy’s committees, documents and disseminates the Academy’s decisions, responds to linguistic inquiries from the public, advises media outlets and public bodies on linguistic matters, and writes linguistic posts for the Academy’s website. The Cultural and Educational Center develops educational content and hosts groups for guided visits. The professional-development unit offers courses, lectures, and custom programs. The unit for Israeli Sign Language works to document, preserve, and develop ISL. The Academy’s publishing department prepares books, periodicals, and other texts for publication. The information-technology department maintains and safeguards the Academy’s vast trove of data and develops custom tools and applications tailored to the Academy’s needs.
Who’s who: