Category: International

The 35th International Nahum Goldmann Fellowship convened 36 dynamic Jewish leaders from 16 countries, representing multiple communities from across the Jewish world to explore: Truth & Responsibility: Perspectives for the Jewish tomorrow.

For one week in Stellenbosch, South Africa, 30 dedicated Fellows from around the Jewish world gathered to learn, reflect, and explore their Jewish identity and leadership in relation to the core values of the program: Authenticity, Courage, and Belonging: New Paradigms for the Jewish Communal Future.

32 Fellows from 15 countries gathered alongside the banks of the Kinneret in Israel to dig deeper into the values of Peoplehood, Responsibility & Hope – Exploring Global Jewish Purpose in the 21st Century.

32 young Jewish leaders from 18 communities across the Jewish world gathered in Klingenthal, France to explore Continuity, Community & Conscience: Framing the Global Jewish Future. Fellows and Faculty addressed the inherent tensions that often exist between Jewish continuity, the communal mechanics we use to achieve this goal, and contemporary values and mores.

15 Jewish leaders, scholars and activists, from 10 different countries, participated in the first ever online NGF.

During the course of the week, participants confronted and debated some of the challenges and opportunities that the pandemic has brought, dealing with the theme “Re-imagining the Jewish Communal Future in a Post-COVID World.

33 young Jewish leaders from 18 Jewish communities around the world gathered alongside the shores of the Kinneret to delve into issues of Contemporary Jewish Identity, including the place of Israel in their individual Jewish identity, developing an understanding of secular Jewish identity, as well as considering Jewish legal perspectives on entry into Judaism and the Jewish people. 

The 30th International NGF had a very particular and powerful ethos and trajectory. The chosen location of Germany formed an integral part of the educational arc of the Fellowship. The faculty was selected very carefully, with world-renowned scholars engaging with the very complex issues of memory, identity and history. The Fellowship also included a visit to Bergen-Belsen and an evening hosted by the Hanover Jewish Community.

The relationship of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is perhaps one of the most powerful, and challenging concepts within the contemporary global Jewish discourse. Recognizing the often unhealthy and divisive way in which these issues are explored, this Fellowship sought to delve deeper into the history, present and future connection between individual Jews and the land of Israel, as well as between the different communities and Israel. The Fellowship sought to locate all debate and discussion under the Talmudic concept of Machloket L’Shem Shamayim and enabled a very diverse group of Fellows to engage meaningfully with the topics and with each other.

Recognizing the rapidly shifting global landscape, this Fellowship sought to explore the nature of changes and challenges facing different Jewish communities around the world. Lectures on topics such as Trauma and Transcendence, Contemporary Jewish Identity in Transformation, and Israeli Communities in Transformation, provided rich material for the Fellows to consider a range of questions about their own Jewish identities and future scenarios for their home communities.

The 27th NGF was held under the theme: Imperatives for Global Leadership. The diverse faculty, with representation from the United States, South America and Israel, was tasked with looking at global Jewish leadership from their respective geographic realities. The theme required of Fellows to tease out the possible tensions between secularism and Judaism, as well as exploring the meaning of the concept of Klal Yisrael.