Washington DC - Mideast

What are the strategic forces shaping the Middle East? How should America and Israel navigate a region defined by shifting alliances, rising threats, and historic opportunities? What does the future hold for the Israel’s most consequential alliance?

Hosted in cooperation with the Hudson Institute—one of America’s premier national security think tanks—this program brings students into direct contact with the debates that shape U.S. foreign policy and Israeli strategy. Under the leadership of Michael Doran, a former senior White House official and one of the most incisive analysts of Middle Eastern politics, students will examine the Abraham Accords, the Iranian threat, the transformation of Saudi Arabia, the role of Turkey and Egypt, and the technological and military innovations that will define the region’s future. Through seminars and briefing visits with key decision-makers, students will develop the analytical framework necessary to understand the forces that will shape the 21st-century Middle East.

This institute is essential preparation for students pursuing careers in diplomacy, national security, intelligence, journalism, or policy analysis—and for any young Jew who seeks to defend Israel with an awareness of the strategic context of the U.S.-Israel relationship

What is the purpose of political life? How should free societies organize themselves? What is the relationship between economic liberty and human flourishing?

Led by James Otteson—an award-winning scholar whose work bridges philosophy, politics, and economics—this institute introduces students to the foundational questions of civic life. Over four intensive days in the nation’s capital, participants will examine competing visions of justice, explore the moral arguments that underpin different economic systems, and analyze the institutions that sustain or undermine free societies. From Adam Smith to the American Founders, from contemporary debates about markets and governments to timeless questions about power and law, students will develop the intellectual tools to think clearly about the political and economic challenges facing America and the free world.

This institute is designed for future statesmen, policy analysts, entrepreneurs, and engaged citizens—students who understand that ideas shape history and that the defense of liberty requires serious knowledge of its roots.

Michael Doran is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at Hudson Institute. He specializes in Middle East security issues and co-hosts the Counterbalance podcast. In the administration of President George W. Bush, he served in the White House as a senior director in the National Security Council as well as a senior advisor in the State Department and a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Pentagon. He was previously a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and held teaching positions at New York University, Princeton University, and the University of Central Florida. He is the author of several books—most recently, Ike’s Gamble— and has published extensively in Foreign Affairs, The American Interest, Commentary, Mosaic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

James R. Otteson received his BA from the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame and his PhD in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He specializes in business ethics, political economy, the history of economic thought, and eighteenth-century moral philosophy. He has taught previously at Wake Forest University, New York University, Yeshiva University, Georgetown University, and the University of Alabama. His books include Adam Smith’s Marketplace of Life (Cambridge, 2002), Actual Ethics (Cambridge, 2006), Adam Smith (Bloomsbury, 2013), The End of Socialism (Cambridge, 2014), The Essential Adam Smith (Fraser Institute, 2018), and Honorable Business: A Framework for Business in a Just and Humane Society (Oxford, 2019). His most recent books are The Essential David Hume (Fraser, 2021), Seven Deadly Economic Sins (Cambridge, 2021), and Should Wealth Be Redistributed? A Debate (with Steven McMullen; Routledge, 2023).

Neil Rogachevsky is Assistant Professor of Humanities in the Hamilton School. He previously taught at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. His research concerns Israeli political thought and history, comparative constitutionalism, and Jewish history. With Dov Zigler, he is the co-author of Israel’s Declaration of Independence: The History and Political Theory of the Nation’s Founding Moment (Cambridge University Press, 2023), which won the Concordia University-Azrieli prize for Best Book in Israel Studies for 2023. His academic writing has also appeared in Israel Studies, The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, French History, and edited volumes on Michel Houellebecq’s political thought from Brill and diaspora politics in the United States from NYU Press. He has also written for The Wall Street Journal, Mosaic, Jewish Review of Books, Haaretz, American Affairs and other publications.

Washington, DC Institutes

Hosted in Partnership With the Hudson Institute

August 15 – 19, 2027Washington, DC

The US, Israel, and the Future of the Middle East

Politics, Philosophy, and Economics

“Genuinely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a group that became so close so quickly, and it was amazing being surrounded by people who were just as excited to learn, discuss, and challenge each other.”

“If you are looking to expand your knowledge, worldviews, and have an amazing summer, Tikvah DC is for you!”

“This was my first ever Tikvah program and I was incredibly impressed. I met like-minded people, was inspired by the professors, and truly feel that I’ve entered a very special community.”

Faculty

Michael Doran

Dr. James Otteson

Neil Rogachevsky

Key Information

Eligibility

Location & Dates

Cost

Tentative Daily Schedule