a partnership between The Jewish Education Project and The Shalom Hartman Institute of North America
About:
The Israel Education Fellowship is a 6-month cohort-based, hybrid learning experience, offering up to 20 educators* an opportunity to enhance their personal understanding of complex topics related to Israel and Jewish Peoplehood. Designed to align senior educators with clergy partners, the fellowship will provide scaffolding for strengthening and implementing a vision for Israel education throughout a congregation or religious school. The Fellowship targets Education Directors and Religious School Directors in congregations and independent kehillot where a senior clergy member has participated in Hartman’s Rabbinic Leadership InstituteInitiative (RLI)**.
* Educators from the UJA-Federation of NY Catchment area will be given priority.
**Applicants will be considered from organizations where the clergy has not participated in Hartman’s RLI program if Israel Education is a substantial part of the congregational/kehillah culture.
Fellows will explore:
Why Israel Matters (or should matter) in Jewish Education
- What role does Israel play in contemporary Jewish identity today?
- By extension, why should Israel matter in Jewish education?
- What are some outcomes that should result from high-quality Israel education?
Pluralism and Israel
- What is the role of the educator in facilitating conversations about Israel that include multiple perspectives, viewpoints, and narratives?
- What role do pluralism and diversity of viewpoints/narratives play in Israel education?
- What are the limits of acceptable viewpoints in Israel education?
- What does an educator need to know in order to educate about such diversity?
The conflict(s)
- How should educators facilitate conversations around divisions and conflicts in Israel and the region?
- With particular relationship to the Israel-Palestine conflict, what should educators know and what types of approaches should they be adopting when educating about this conflict?
Peoplehood, Israel and American Jews
- What does Jewish peoplehood mean in 2022 and why is it an important component of Jewish education today?
- How can Jewish peoplehood bridge a divide that is seemingly growing between Jews in Israel and Jews in the Diaspora?
The Fellowship includes:
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2 in person days of learning; Rabbinic colleague attends the second day of learning with fellow
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5 90 minute web-workshops
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Limited asynchronous learning
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Up to 10 hours of coaching for the educator and clergy (together) over a six month period following the cohort experience
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Ongoing networking opportunities among the fellows.
Details and Dates:
TBD (Cohort learning will take place between October 2023 - March 2024)
About our Partner:
The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. The Institute’s mission is to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century. This program will draw on content from Hartman’s iEngage Project, which is committed to addressing core questions pertaining to the necessity and significance of the Jewish national enterprise; how a Jewish state should exercise power; why a Jew who lives outside of Israel should care about Israel; and what the State of Israel can offer the world.
For More Information:
Applications accepted on a rolling basis; limited spots available.
Application will open once dates are confirmed.
