Shalem Center
Encyclopedia
The Shalem Center is a Jerusalem research institute
that supports academic work in the fields of philosophy, political theory, Jewish and Zionist history, Bible and Talmud, Middle East Studies, archaeology, economics, and strategic studies. The Center has submitted an application with the Israel Council for Higher Education to open Israel's first liberal arts college.
, Ofir Haivry, Daniel Polisar and Joshua Weinstein.
The Center's current leadership includes Daniel Polisar, President; Yoram Hazony, Provost; Daniel Gordis
, Senior Vice President; Erica Frederick, Senior Vice President for Development; and David Arnovitz, Senior Vice President for Administration. The Chairman of the Shalem Board of Trustees is Yair Shamir, who is also Chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries.
The Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies was an academic and research institute founded at the Shalem Center by its chairman, Natan Sharansky
, in 2007. Its mission statement read that it "develops, articulates and builds support for the strategic principles needed to address the challenges currently facing Israel and the West". The Institute was shuttered in 2009, with the departure of Sharansky to head the Jewish Agency.
In March 2009, the Shalem Center filed an application with the Council for Higher Education in Israel
for the opening of an institution of higher learning that would be authorized to grant B.A. degrees in liberal arts
. Shalem Senior Fellow Martin Kramer
has been chosen to serve as the first President of Shalem College, currently slated to open in Fall 2012.
, Yossi Klein Halevi
, Yoram Hazony
, Meirav Jones, Menachem Kellner
, Martin Kramer
, Amichai Magen, Ze'ev Maghen, Michael Oren
, Natan Sharansky
, former Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon
, and Ehud Ya'ari.
and abroad.
The Center has applied to the Israel Council for Higher Education to open Israel's first liberal arts college.Shalem College
will offer the first Israeli B.A. modeled on the American liberal arts degree. Top Israeli and overseas applicants will pursue a unique core curriculum combining the study of Western thought with courses in Jewish sources. Students will choose a major at the end of their first year. Shalem College will be the first Israeli college to require a senior thesis for graduating with a bachelors degree. innovative programs in its core curriculum along with options for majors in philosophy and Middle East studies. Shalem plans to accept a select group of candidates every year, who would be selected on the basis of exams, intellectual capabilities and desire to serve Israel, the Jewish people, and the world beyond. The four-year program will initially offer majors in Middle East studies, and philosophy, political theory, and religion.
and Hebraic Political Studies
, the latter a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. Azure (published in Hebrew as Techelet) is the largest-circulation general interest journal in Israel.
The Center's publishing house, Shalem Press, publishes classic Western democratic thought in Hebrew translation, as well as Jewish thought in English, which include new editions of classic works, as well as the works of theologian Eliezer Berkovits
. Best-known for books like Michael Oren's Power, Faith and Fantasy and Six Days of War and Yoram Hazony's The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul, and publishing Natan Sharansky's A Case for Democracy in Hebrew.
Family Foundation announced a $4.5 million grant to enable creation of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at Shalem, to be headed by Natan Sharansky. In 2010, the Center announced a $5 million gift from the Chicago-based Conduit Foundation, headed by long-time Shalem trustee David Messer, to seed the establishment of Shalem College. Other significant supporters of Shalem College include the Klarman Family Foundation of Boston, George and Pamela Rohr of New York, and Harvey and Jayne Beker of New York.
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
that supports academic work in the fields of philosophy, political theory, Jewish and Zionist history, Bible and Talmud, Middle East Studies, archaeology, economics, and strategic studies. The Center has submitted an application with the Israel Council for Higher Education to open Israel's first liberal arts college.
History
The Shalem Center was established in 1994, and is located in the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem. The center was founded by Yoram HazonyYoram Hazony
Yoram Hazony is an Israeli philosopher and political theorist. He was born in Rehovot, Israel in 1964.Hazony received his B.A. from Princeton University in East Asian Studies in 1986, and his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Political Philosophy in 1993...
, Ofir Haivry, Daniel Polisar and Joshua Weinstein.
The Center's current leadership includes Daniel Polisar, President; Yoram Hazony, Provost; Daniel Gordis
Daniel Gordis
Daniel Gordis is President of the Shalem Foundation and Senior Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center in Israel. Gordis was the founding dean of the Ziegler Rabbinical School, the first rabbinical college on the West Coast of the United States.-Biography:Daniel Gordis was born on...
, Senior Vice President; Erica Frederick, Senior Vice President for Development; and David Arnovitz, Senior Vice President for Administration. The Chairman of the Shalem Board of Trustees is Yair Shamir, who is also Chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries.
The Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies was an academic and research institute founded at the Shalem Center by its chairman, Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
, in 2007. Its mission statement read that it "develops, articulates and builds support for the strategic principles needed to address the challenges currently facing Israel and the West". The Institute was shuttered in 2009, with the departure of Sharansky to head the Jewish Agency.
In March 2009, the Shalem Center filed an application with the Council for Higher Education in Israel
Council for Higher Education in Israel
The Council for Higher Education in Israel is a supervisory body for universities and colleges in Israel. It is the only organization with the authority to give educational accreditation...
for the opening of an institution of higher learning that would be authorized to grant B.A. degrees in liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
. Shalem Senior Fellow Martin Kramer
Martin Kramer
Martin Seth Kramer is an American scholar of the Middle East at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Shalem Center. His focus is on Islam and Arab politics.-Education:...
has been chosen to serve as the first President of Shalem College, currently slated to open in Fall 2012.
Research fellows
Past and present Senior Fellows include Daniel GordisDaniel Gordis
Daniel Gordis is President of the Shalem Foundation and Senior Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center in Israel. Gordis was the founding dean of the Ziegler Rabbinical School, the first rabbinical college on the West Coast of the United States.-Biography:Daniel Gordis was born on...
, Yossi Klein Halevi
Yossi Klein Halevi
Yossi Klein Halevi is an Israeli author and journalist.-Biography:Halevi was born and raised in New York in a Jewish family. He completed a BA in Jewish Studies in Brooklyn College in 1978, and completed his MA in Journalism at Northwestern University...
, Yoram Hazony
Yoram Hazony
Yoram Hazony is an Israeli philosopher and political theorist. He was born in Rehovot, Israel in 1964.Hazony received his B.A. from Princeton University in East Asian Studies in 1986, and his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Political Philosophy in 1993...
, Meirav Jones, Menachem Kellner
Menachem Kellner
Menachem Kellner is a contemporary Jewish scholar of medieval Jewish philosophy with a particular focus on the philosophy of Maimonides. He is Professor of Jewish Thought at the University of Haifa and has taught courses in philosophy, religious studies and medieval and modern Jewish philosophy at...
, Martin Kramer
Martin Kramer
Martin Seth Kramer is an American scholar of the Middle East at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Shalem Center. His focus is on Islam and Arab politics.-Education:...
, Amichai Magen, Ze'ev Maghen, Michael Oren
Michael Oren
Michael B. Oren is an American-born Israeli historian and author and the Israeli ambassador to the United States...
, Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
, former Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud, as well as the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs.-Early life:...
, and Ehud Ya'ari.
Academic programs
Shalem's research programs support scholarship in the areas of philosophy, political theory, Jewish and Zionist history, Bible and Talmud, Middle East Studies, archaeology, economics, and strategic studies. Shalem is home to Shalem Press, one of Israel's leading academic publishing houses, specializing in the translation of works of Western philosophy into Hebrew. The Center also conducts educational programs at the post-doctoral, undergraduate, and high school levels for students from IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and abroad.
The Center has applied to the Israel Council for Higher Education to open Israel's first liberal arts college.Shalem College
Shalem College
Shalem College is a liberal arts college in Jerusalem, Israel.Shalem College is a new college planned to be Israel’s first liberal arts college. It will feature options for majors in philosophy and Middle East studies...
will offer the first Israeli B.A. modeled on the American liberal arts degree. Top Israeli and overseas applicants will pursue a unique core curriculum combining the study of Western thought with courses in Jewish sources. Students will choose a major at the end of their first year. Shalem College will be the first Israeli college to require a senior thesis for graduating with a bachelors degree. innovative programs in its core curriculum along with options for majors in philosophy and Middle East studies. Shalem plans to accept a select group of candidates every year, who would be selected on the basis of exams, intellectual capabilities and desire to serve Israel, the Jewish people, and the world beyond. The four-year program will initially offer majors in Middle East studies, and philosophy, political theory, and religion.
Publications
The Center publishes AzureAzure (journal)
Azure: Ideas for the Jewish Nation is a quarterly journal published by the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, Israel. Azure publishes new writing on issues relating to Jewish thought and identity, Zionism, and the State of Israel. It is published in both Hebrew and English, allowing for the exchange of...
and Hebraic Political Studies
Hebraic Political Studies
Hebraic Political Studies is an international, peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Shalem Press and devoted to recovering the Hebraic political tradition and evaluating its place in the history of political thought.- History :...
, the latter a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. Azure (published in Hebrew as Techelet) is the largest-circulation general interest journal in Israel.
The Center's publishing house, Shalem Press, publishes classic Western democratic thought in Hebrew translation, as well as Jewish thought in English, which include new editions of classic works, as well as the works of theologian Eliezer Berkovits
Eliezer Berkovits
Eliezer Berkovits , was a rabbi, theologian, and educator in the tradition of Orthodox Judaism.- Life:...
. Best-known for books like Michael Oren's Power, Faith and Fantasy and Six Days of War and Yoram Hazony's The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul, and publishing Natan Sharansky's A Case for Democracy in Hebrew.
Funding
Initial funding to establish the Shalem Center was provided in 1994 by New York philanthropist Ronald Lauder, who subsequently became Chairman of the Center's board of trustees. The Center began receiving significant support from Sanford (Zalman) Bernstein and the Tivkvah Fund in 1996. In 2007, the Las Vegas-based AdelsonSheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson is an American casino magnate. Adelson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center...
Family Foundation announced a $4.5 million grant to enable creation of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at Shalem, to be headed by Natan Sharansky. In 2010, the Center announced a $5 million gift from the Chicago-based Conduit Foundation, headed by long-time Shalem trustee David Messer, to seed the establishment of Shalem College. Other significant supporters of Shalem College include the Klarman Family Foundation of Boston, George and Pamela Rohr of New York, and Harvey and Jayne Beker of New York.