The Latest From The Foundation

Wexner Israel Fellows from the current class at the Harvard Kennedy School (Class 25) spent 2 days in New York City over President’s weekend as part of a series of intensive learning about the North American Jewish Community (NAJC). The workshop included conversations on identity, peoplehood, and service with Heritage alumni from the metro area. Pictured here are some of the participants engaged in conversation at the Museum of Jewish

Rockets were falling in Israel. Missiles were landing in Gaza.  It was the fall of 2012, and I was Skyping with my Israeli friend Rivki. “Was the country rallying behind Netanyahu or frustrated by his actions?” I asked. Rivki answered, “Yes, everyone is behind him, total support.  The left is furious because he attacked Gaza and the right is irate that he isn’t sending in troops.” I was not privy

As always, the recent Wexner Alumni Network Gathering — in San Francisco on December 8, “Unleashing Creativity, Fostering Motivation” — was spectacular. And, in between thought-provoking presentations in the morning and the afternoon, we had the opportunity to split up into small groups to discuss our particular Jewish interests and issues. Since completing a recent stint as synagogue president, I have been looking for my next Jewish gig – and

I recently fielded an inquiry from a reporter at a Jewish newspaper asking if I knew how many Israel Studies centers and programs there are in the entire United States. While there is no official catalogue, the answer by my count is seventeen, which is in some ways impressive and in others disappointing. When I was an undergraduate at Brandeis a decade and a half ago, this university known for

Pictured: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on election night, monitoring the close results in his situation room. It was a very intense transition from the Harvard Kennedy School’s intellectual haven as a Wexner Israel Fellow, to the hot and complicated politics of Jerusalem. During my Wexner Fellowship last year, trying to figure out how I would leverage my new learning and pay it forward through my next job, I met with

Can there be anything new about the Zionist dream? This question has troubled me for the 46 years that I have been living in Israel. As a student and lecturer of Modern Jewish History and an active participant in Israeli life, one is sometimes overcome by the conviction that dreaming just has no place in our contemporary world. The Middle East is in turmoil, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict only becomes more

This post is adapted from an article published by the Jewish Journal in Ethical Imperatives: A Blog by Rabbis and Scholars of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.  As pervasive as is the influence of Wexner alumni in North American Jewish life, one finds volatility, frustration, and/or avoidance in talking about Israel. So many of us are losing by this fact, whether we serve as rabbis, lay leaders, or professionals,

We are all flying back from Israel with heads swimming and more thoughts than we can possibly sort out in a 594-word blog, but here are some of mine: Zionism is arguably as (if not more) relevant today than it was in 1905.  The new Zionists are largely young Israeli 20-somethings with vision to change educational and social systems, protect our lands, change the way we use energy, technology, agriculture

Israel’s 1.6 million Arab citizens represent an under-tapped engine for the country’s economic growth I’ve learned a few things during my decade at the helm of The Abraham Fund, an Israeli/international nonprofit dedicated to advancing a shared society of coexistence and equality among Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens. One of them is to anticipate the most common objections posed to me by people who oppose our work; or, to be

Last week, The Wexner Foundation held a day of activities at the Knesset to welcome the seven new Wexner Israel Fellows who will begin their studies this fall in Cambridge, MA at Harvard’s Kennedy School (HKS).  Prior to the public ceremony, Deborah Housen-Couriel, Director of the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program (WIFP), held a leadership learning session. The fellows reflected on their definitions of leadership and shared their hopes and aspirations