The Tikvah Institute on Zionist Thought and Statesmanship

The purpose and meaning of Zionism and the State of Israel lie at the center of one of the world’s most passionate debates. For one month in the summer of 2013, a select group of students and young professionals from around the world will explore together the Jewish roots of Zionist thought, the founding visions of Zionism, and the history of Israel’s leading statesmen and their decisions that shaped the Israeli State. By engaging in close readings of the canonical texts of Judaism, seminal writings of Zionist thinkers, and case studies of Israeli Statesmen and leaders, the students will delve into the origins of Zionism, competing visions of the Zionist Idea, and the existential challenges that have faced, and continue to face, the Jewish State.

The program will take place at the Ein Prat Academy of Leadership, located outside of Jerusalem, and will be led by Dr. Micah Goodman, one of Israel’s leading thinkers. North American students will live and study with their Israeli peers, travel to beautiful and important parts of the country, and meet with prominent academics and public figures.

The program runs from June 23 – July 21, 2013 and will be held entirely in English. All programmatic costs including tuition, housing and meals will be covered and all students will receive a $2500 fellowship which they may apply towards the costs of their airfare (where applicable) and other personal expenses. Applicants must be between the ages of 20 and 29. All food will be kosher and all programming will be Shabbat-compatible. The program is a joint initiative of the Tikvah Fund and the Ein Prat Academy for Leadership. Please contact tikvahzionism@tikvahfund.org for further information.

About the Ein Prat Academy

Each year, Ein Prat brings together hundreds of post-army Israelis to live and learn in a pluralistic and intensive intellectual framework for months at a time. Located 20 minutes outside of Jerusalem, Ein Prat’s campus is in a quiet, desert setting conducive to academic study, intellectual reflection and growth. Ein Prat aims to: deepen its students’ Jewish and Israeli identities; strengthen their knowledge, analytic skills and understanding of canonical Jewish, Zionist and Western texts; forge connections among people from across the religious and political spectrum; and foster skills of collaboration and leadership through a rigorous structure of community living.

Read about Ein Prat in Ha’Aretz:

     Guide for the perplexed ex-soldier

     Religious, secular students take Elul challenge to study Jewish texts together

About the Tikvah Fund

The Tikvah Fund is a non-profit organization based in New York. Its mission is to promote serious Jewish thought about the enduring questions of human life and the pressing challenges that confront the Jewish People. Tikvah supports many programs, projects, and individuals – including new university centers and courses, books, journals and websites, summer seminars and scholarships. Tikvah’s work is grounded in these fundamental convictions: first, that the great ideas, texts and traditions of Judaism are a special inheritance, with much to teach everyone in search of wisdom about the human condition; second, that the future of the Jewish people greatly depends on the education of intellectual, religious and political leaders, both in Israel and the Diaspora.  

Faculty

Past Faculty and Invited Speakers