The Tikvah Israel Fellows at Ein Prat
June 20 – July 26, 2011
More information about the Tikvah Israel Fellows at Ein Prat is available on our
website: https://www.tikvahisraelfellows.org/.
Announcing a New Summer Program
The purpose and meaning of the State of Israel lie at the center of one of the world’s most
passionate debates. For five weeks in the summer of 2011, a select group of undergraduates,
post-graduates and graduate students from the U.S., Canada and the UK will gather in Israel
for intensive study of this topic. Drawing on the canonical texts of Judaism and the great
works of Western civilization, the Fellows will explore the origins of Zionism, the challenges
facing the Jewish State, and a range of visions for Israel's future.
The Tikvah Israel Fellows will take place at the Israeli Academy for Leadership, located outside
Jerusalem, near Ein Prat. The program will be led by Dr. Micah Goodman, one of Israel’s
most celebrated thinkers. Fellows will live and study with their Israeli peers, travel throughout
Israel, and meet renowned political leaders, academics, writers and activists.
Air travel and all programmatic costs will be covered, and each Fellow will receive a $2,000
stipend. Applications from Jews and non-Jews are equally welcome. All food will be kosher
and all programming will be Shabbat-compatible. The program is a joint initiative of the
Tikvah Fund (http://tikvahfund.org/ )and the Israeli Academy for Leadership
(http://www.einprat.org/en_index.html ).
Curriculum of The Tikvah Israel Fellows at Ein Prat
Liberal and progressive, yet proudly traditional and conservative, Israel is both a world leader
in technological innovation and a land of eternally sacred places. Site of timeless ideals and
untimely dilemmas, Israel is either fiercely loved or resented.
Through discussion, lectures and paired study (“havruta”), Tikvah Israel Fellows will delve into
these critical topics:

National Security and the Middle East: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the Israeli
Defense Forces; jihad; the regional balance of powers; Iranian aspirations and
capabilities; the delegitimization of Israel; Israel’s war on terror.
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
Economy and Society: Economic inequality; the role of government; Arab and
Jewish inequalities; the Ultra-Orthodox community; the educational system.

Israel, Judaism and Jewry: Varieties of Jewish expression; the relationship between
religion and the state; the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora.

Visions and Prospects: Diverse visions for Israel’s future, and for Fellows’
engagement with it and the Jewish people.
Fellows will draw upon these foundational texts, among others:

Zionist Founding Fathers and Ideas: Works by Leon Pinsker, Abraham I. Kook,
Ahad Ha’am, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and David Ben-Gurion.

Jewish Classics: Relevant books from the Bible, passages from the Talmud, and
selections from other classical Jewish texts.

Western Classics: Plato’s Crito; Aristotle’s Politics; Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws;
and works by modern thinkers such as Yehezkel Kaufman.
Evening programming will include lectures, movies and excursions to Jerusalem. The program
will include three multi-day field trips to different parts of Israel.
Faculty and Speakers
Tikvah Israel Fellows will meet and learn from leading Israeli intellectuals, academics, and
public figures. Confirmed faculty include:
Ran Baratz. Academic Director of the Tikvah Israel Fellows, Ran Baratz teaches philosophy,
history and Zionist thought in numerous Israeli institutions including in The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem’s distinguished Cornerstones program and at the Israeli Academy for
Leadership.
Micah Goodman. The author of an Israeli bestseller on Maimonides’s Guide for the Perplexed,
Micah Goodman is a leading voice in Israel and North America on Zionism, Judaism, the
Bible and a wide variety of issues facing Israel and contemporary world Jewry. Dr. Goodman
directs the Israeli Academy for Leadership
Daniel Gordis. Daniel Gordis is Senior Vice President of the Shalem Center, where he is also
a senior fellow. The author of numerous books on Jewish thought and currents in Israel, Dr.
Gordis was the founding dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of
Judaism, the first rabbinical college on the West Coast of the United States.
Melila Hellner-Eshed. Melila Hellner-Eshed teaches Jewish mysticism at The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, the Conservative Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem, and Hebrew
Union College. She is a central figure in the Israeli renaissance of Jewish textual study.
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Moshe Halbertal. Moshe Halbertal is a professor in Jewish Thought at The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem and the Gruss Professor at the New York University School of Law.
Professor Halbertal has served as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and the
University of Pennsylvania Law School, and as a fellow in Harvard University’s Society of
Fellows.
David Hartman. Rabbi David Hartman is a leading contemporary Jewish philosopher and
internationally renowned author. Founder of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem,
Rabbi Hartman is the recipient of the Avi Chai Prize, the Guardian of Jerusalem Prize, and
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Samuel Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education, as well as
honorary doctorates from American University in Washington, Yale University, Hebrew Union
College, and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Avraham Infeld. The founder and director of a succession of innovative educational
institutions, Avraham Infeld has served as: President of the Chais Family Foundation,
President of Hillel International (and now President Emeritus), Chairman of the Board of
Melitz Centers for Jewish Zionist Education, board member of Ulpan Akiva, board member of
NAMAG Israel, board member of Kolot and board member of The Jewish Explorium.
Daniel Polisar. Daniel Polisar is a founder of the Shalem Center. Since 2002, he has served as
president. Previously, he was founder and director of Peace Watch, a non-partisan Israeli
organization that monitored Israeli and Palestinian compliance with the Oslo Accords. Polisar
has a doctorate in government from Harvard University, where he was the recipient of Truman
and Fulbright scholarships, and of a Mellon Fellowship.
Gerald Steinberg. Professor Gerald Steinberg is the founder of Bar Ilan University’s
Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation and teaches in the Department of Political
Studies. He is also the Executive Director of NGO Monitor.
Gil Troy. Gil Troy is a professor of history at McGill University, a fellow at the Shalom
Hartman Institute and a visiting scholar affiliated with the Bipartisan Policy Center in
Washington.
Moshe Yaalon. Minister Moshe Yaalon is the Vice Premier, Minister of Strategic Affairs and
a Likud Knesset Member. Lt. Gen. (ret.) Yaalon served as the 17th IDF Chief of Staff, from
2002 to 2005. He has served as the head of the military intelligence, OC central command. He
pursued advanced studies at the command and staff college in Camberly, England and holds a
bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Haifa.
How To Apply
Applicants must complete the Tikvah Israel Fellows’ online registration form, and
submit required supplementary materials, including an academic letter of
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recommendation. Details and instructions will be found on the registration form,
available on our website, https://www.tikvahisraelfellows.org/.
Applications will be considered as soon as they are received. Finalists will be interviewed in
person or by video Skype. Admissions decisions will be made and announced on a rolling
basis. The program will continue to accept applications until the class is filled.
For more information, please write to Rachel Wildavsky at rwildavsky@tikvahfund.org.
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