On universities across North America, Jewish students and Jewish values are under assault. Yet amid this crisis, there is an opportunity: to attract Jewish students into a deeper engagement with Jewish life and deeper connection to Israel; to provide Jewish leadership in the moral defense of America and the West; and to build a deeper alliance with the loyal friends of Israel and the Jewish people. Now is a time to build: a moment for a new generation of Jewish leaders to emerge on campus and on the national stage.
The Redstone Leadership Forum is animated by four core principles:
- The Jewish people and Jewish civilization are a light unto the nations. Against nihilism, we stand for moral meaning. Against tyranny, we stand for freedom. Against movements that glorify death, we stand for the sanctity of life. The endurance of the Jewish people should be an inspiration to the world.
- Jews have a purpose in America: to strengthen our spirit of liberty and renew our civilizational self-confidence. The Liberty Bell is emblazoned with Hebrew words for a reason. We cannot simply keep quiet and keep to ourselves. Jews need to lead.
- Israel is a heroic nation, courageously taking a stand against the worst kind of barbarism. For true friends of democracy and human flourishing, the Jewish state should be celebrated as a freedom-loving people that stands up to terror and as a start-up nation that preserves its ancient heritage. The assault on Israel is really a deeper assault on Western civilization, on democratic self-governance, and on human rights and national sovereignty.
- Now is a Jewish time to build and a Jewish time to serve. We need to create new centers of Jewish life and learning, draw Jews into the community of Jewish belonging, and give back as Jews to our people in service. This begins on campus, and it extends to life after graduation.
In the spirit of these principles, the Redstone Forum will prepare campus leaders to defend Israel and the exceptional ideals at the heart of Jewish tradition. The Redstone Leadership Forum will include:
- Seminars focused on hinge moments in Jewish history and how great Jewish leaders responded with courage, moral clarity, and strategic purpose. History is the best antidote to hysteria.
- A series of speakers who exemplify leadership—as proud Jews—in various key sectors of American life—including business, politics, education, and religious life. We will include both prominent, well-established leaders in these fields and young leaders in their late 20s, who show our students what is possible in the next phase of their careers.
- A strategic assessment of the state of affairs on each campus: what is happening on the ground and how Jewish students should respond. We will feature student leaders that have shown special courage under fire and who can inspire through example.
- Planning sessions focused on what comes next: the strategy for drawing in fellow Jewish students and maintaining Tikvah oases of Jewish seriousness, Jewish courage, and Jewish community on each campus—all networked with each other into a national forum. We will explore sources examining Jewish resilience and the miracle of Israel to inspire us as we return to campus.
Student delegates to the Redstone Leadership Forum will develop tools and resources to strengthen Jewish life on their campuses. They will create campus chapters that advance Tikvah’s Jewish Courage and the Zionist Spirit initiative. They will be summoned to stand tall as voices of Jewish courage in the face of widespread hate and intolerance.
If you are interested in learning more about Tikvah’s programming for college students, we encourage you to visit our website: http://www.tikvahfund.org/college.
To learn more about Tikvah’s work in general, click here to view our annual report or visit our website here.