Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture

The Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture aims to contribute to the vitality and diversity of Jewish culture in Israel by investing in leaders in education, culture, and community.

For information about the Mandel Program for Cultural Leadership in the United States, click here >>

The program targets experienced leaders who seek to improve their professional capabilities; leaders committed to enriching Jewish culture in Israel who want to learn alongside people with worldviews and professional backgrounds that differ from their own.

The program, which began in 2017–2018, includes fellows from a broad range of communities, worldviews, and professional backgrounds – directors of educational programs, heads of communities, cultural innovators, and more. The one-year program consists of one day of group study a week at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem, where fellows explore topics in education and leadership and matters of Jewish and Israeli culture. In addition, there are a number of field trips and seminars over the course of the academic year. Fellows receive a stipend and are mentored by expert advisors.

Program Structure

The program includes studies at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem on subjects related to education, leadership, Judaism and Israel studies. The group works to create a shared professional language that will enable them to examine the challenges facing Judaism in Israel today, and the opportunities for it to flourish in the future.

The program curriculum comprises three main components:

1. Core Studies

Vision: Clarifying personal and collective visions; studying past and present visions in Jewish and general thought
Judaism and Israel Studies: Explorations from theoretical and practical perspectives
Education and Culture: Educational and cultural theory and practice; topics in learning, identity, community, and belonging
Leadership: Strategy and planning, resource development, working with systems, evaluation and quality control, and organizational sustainability

2. Tutoring