Israel is part of the ongoing Jewish story, but efforts to talk about Israel often get mired in the politics of current events and news cycles. What if you could engage in discussions about Israel that push past the political rhetoric and get to the big ideas underlying Zionism, the Jewish people, and democracy?

The Edward Fein Winter Student Seminar is the premier program for students to engage with the challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Jewish people through the lens of Jewish texts, values, and ideas. Our ideologically, religiously, and politically pluralistic community of Jewish students from college and university campuses across North America address these important questions with depth, nuance, and humanity.

During this week-long, academic intensive at the Shalom Hartman Institute campus in Jerusalem, students can expect to study together with peers, confront Israel’s dynamic challenges firsthand through tiyulim (field trips), and interact with thought-leaders and community organizers working in politics, education, the environment, and more.