Pinchas is an attorney with a PhD in Political Science, and the founder and director of Ashkelon Academic College. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Criminology, an M.A. in Political Science and Administration & Public Policy, and a PhD in the Higher Education Studies, from Bar-Ilan University, in addition to an LL.B. He served as director of Bar-Ilan’s extension program in Ashkelon when it faced closure and numbered only 50 students. Understanding its inherent potential, he launched varied curricula, including pre-academic preparatory programs and a project for engineering studies, with the assistance of Project Renewal. As a result, the number of students at the College climbed steeply, and the Ministry of Education decided to recognize the extension as a regional college. Since then, the college’s academic and pre-academic activities have expanded and it has become one of the largest colleges in the country. Dr. Haliwa has been active in the Oded movement of Moroccan Jewish students aimed at rectifying the social imbalance among Moroccan immigrants in Israel. As part of the effort to promote higher education in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Ashkelon, he has been involved in projects to build and renovate bomb shelters for use as after-hours classrooms for high school students.