Overview and Objectives

Chair: Rabbi Prof. Naftali Rothenberg
Director: Dafna Schreiber

In establishing The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, its founders were giving expression to the solidarity they felt with the Jewish People and its future and, indeed, VLJI focuses a good portion if its activities on reinforcing our connection to our Jewish heritage. To this end, we concentrate research and activities in the sphere of the culture and identity of the Jewish people, both in Israel and in the Diaspora.

Aims

To contribute to expanding and enhancing the understanding of all forms of Jewish culture and identity in the contemporary world
To identify and strengthen the common denominator between the various groups in Israel and in the Jewish people based upon the sources of Jewish culture
To take action to develop and enhance the Jewish-democratic perspective within the various groups and to facilitate the dialog between groups

Participants in the activities of the Jewish Culture and Identity umbrella include scholars, educators, writers, rabbis and activists from a variety of walks of life, whose differing perspectives enrich the dialog: men and women, secular, traditional, religious and ultra-orthodox.

The topics examined by the Jewish Culture and Identity umbrella during its decade of activity have become a source of inspiration for the thousands of people working in the fields of Jewish thought and Jewish identity in Israel. Our programs have played a role in the most complex and sensitive issues affecting Israeli society today, and within a short time have made their influence felt on the cultural and educational processes that affect society. Our strength is founded on spiritual, intellectual and moral fortitude which grows out of the concept of community; a community of hundreds of people spanning the entire range of ideological and cultural ideas from all corners of Jewish creativity, working together out of the conviction that there are shared Jewish and human components in our lives.

Jewish Culture and Identity programs are noted for their innovative and creative inter-disciplinary research, for academic studies in the service of society, for advocacy and publication of books, pamphlets and position papers – fruits of the intensive work of research and discussion groups and conferences.

Activities are concentrated in three main areas:

Public Activities
Conferences, symposia and lecture series open to the public, sometimes taking place at the VLJI and simultaneously in other places in Israel so as to maximize the effects of the public debate. The overall aim is to facilitate the access of the broader public to Jewish cultural sources and to lay the foundation for basic concepts in ethical issues on the public agenda.

Discussion and Research Groups
Each of these groups focuses on one particular topic using research and theoretical tools to study it. The issues covered include: religion, society and the state; solidarity, communities and education; Jewish identity today; How can Jewish culture be reinforced and how can Jewish culture be made more accessible to all groups within the Jewish people? Can the varying kinds of political ethos as expressed by disparate groups be reconciled? How do the issues of religion and state affect group interactions and group identities? What are the ingredients most likely to promote Jewish solidarity? How can we create a common Jewish cultural agenda?

Projects
New Horizons for Religious Educators
An academic enrichment program which exposes principals and senior educators from orthodox religious-Zionist secondary schools (yeshivot and ulpanot) to higher education and Western thought.

The three central themes under the umbrella of Jewish Culture and Identity are: