Israel

For our most committed students—alumni of the Tikvah Scholars Program and the Solomon Fellowship—we are launching an advanced, month-long seminar in the heart of Jerusalem. Housed at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and led by Tikvah’s President and CEO Eric Cohen, this program represents a peak of Tikvah’s educational vision for our most engaged high school students: a sustained, rigorous engagement with the political teaching of the Hebrew Bible.

What is the Jewish understanding of law and justice? How does the covenant shape Jewish political life? What does the Hebrew Bible teach about family and nation, war and peace, leadership and responsibility? Over four weeks of intensive study, participants will read deeply in the Hebrew Bible and consider how ancient wisdom speaks to contemporary political challenges facing Israel and the Jewish people.

This is a program designed for young scholars and future leaders who have already demonstrated exceptional commitment to Jewish learning and who are prepared to dedicate a full month to the most important questions of Jewish political thought. Participants will emerge with a sophisticated understanding of how Judaism conceives of power, sovereignty, and the responsibilities of Jewish statehood, ready to lead the Jewish people as they begin their journey into adulthood.

Eric Cohen is the President and CEO of Tikvah, where he has served in a leadership role since 2007. He is one of the founders and chairman of the board of Emet Classical Academy, and he has been involved in founding many publications, including the New Atlantis (where he continues to serve as editor-at-large), the Jewish Review of Books, and Mosaic magazine (where he serves as publisher). He was also instrumental in building Tikvah’s operations in Israel, and he serves on the board of directors of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Hertog Foundation. Mr. Cohen writes regularly in numerous academic and popular journals, magazines, and newspapers, and is the author of In the Shadow of Progress: Being Human in the Age of Technology (2008) and co-editor of The Future Is Now: America Confronts the New Genetics (2002). He was previously managing editor of the Public Interest and served as a senior advisor to the President’s Council on Bioethics.

Advanced Residential Institute: The Jerusalem Seminar on Jewish Political Thought

Housed at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center

June 28 – July 26, 2026Jerusalem, Israel

Application deadline: February 2, 2026

Dean of Faculty

Eric Cohen

Key Information

Eligibility

Location & Dates

Cost

Tentative Daily Schedule