from Brandeis Now: Brandeis, plaintiffs settle Rose Art Museum lawsuit Brandeis University and four Rose Art Museum supporters who filed suit two years ago against the university over its handling of the museum during the financial crisis have settled the case and say they are now focused on the future of one of the region's greatest cultural treasures. As a result, the claims of plaintiffs Meryl Rose, Jonathan Lee, Lois Foster and Gerald Fineberg have been dismissed in Suffolk Probate and Family Court in Boston. On June 20, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General terminated its review of Brandeis. ... The settlement agreement, which brings to an end all claims concerning management of the Rose and the potential sale of artwork, states that the Rose is, and will remain a … Continue Reading
Study on Jewish Young Adults Finds Service Not Related to Jewish Identity
Jewish young adults overwhelmingly demonstrate an abiding commitment to volunteerism, with a particular interest in efforts to eradicate poverty and illiteracy and preserve the environment. At the same time, their service tends to be infrequent and motivated by a desire to make a difference in their local communities. And although their commitment to volunteerism increases with their degree of religious involvement, most do not connect their volunteering to their Jewish identity nor do they consider Israel to be a major focus of their service endeavors. These are the major findings of the first-ever comprehensive study of contemporary Jewish young adults and their attitudes and behaviors towards community service. The study - Volunteering + Values: A Repair the World Report on Jewish Young … Continue Reading
Limud by the Lake Revisited
In 2000, with funding from The AVI CHAI Foundation, the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies conducted a seminal study of Jewish overnight camps. Eight years later, the Foundation asked the Center to revisit the camps from the original study in order to document changes and uncover opportunities for future investment. Here's Prof. Amy L. Sales: In some regard, the camps were as we had left them, but in other respects they were stunningly changed institutions. We noted, for example, a new emphasis on fundraising, extensive upgrades to facilities, more elaborated staffing structures, and evidence of stronger Judaic programming. Efforts were underway to expand the reach of camp through millions of dollars in incentive grants as well as a national effort to incubate new camps. Limud by … Continue Reading
New Master’s Concentration in Israel Education Launched
In a new partnership, six American academic institutions are teaming up to offer their graduate students a Master’s Concentration Program in Israel education. Selected students will study a common curriculum, gather together for eight colloquium days, receive ongoing individual mentoring, and create their own learning experience in Israel. Students are also expected to be proficient in Hebrew by the end of the program. The program will be coordinated by The iCenter, a national nonprofit whose aim is to dramatically enhance pre-collegiate Israel education in North America. Set to launch this May, the program is recruiting for its inaugural cohort of 18 students from: Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University Davidson School of Jewish Education at the Jewish … Continue Reading
Brandeis, Middlebury Launch Joint Program in Israel
Brandeis University and Middlebury College announced this week that they are establishing a study abroad program in Israel that will be conducted exclusively in Hebrew. Located in the city of Beer Sheva, and affiliated with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the program will begin offering classes in the spring of 2012. The curriculum, drawn from Brandeis' Hebrew Language and Literature Program, is designed for high intermediate and advanced Hebrew language students, and all coursework will be conducted in Hebrew. Qualified students will also be able to enroll directly in courses at Ben-Gurion University alongside local students. Students will be housed with Israeli students in residence halls and will adhere to the Middlebury College Language Pledge - a promise to speak no language other than … Continue Reading
First Publication from the Jewish Futures Project
Last spring, with the support of the Robert K. and Myra H. Kraft Foundation, the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, formally launched their Jewish Futures Project. For at least the next four years, they will follow the lives of more than 3,000 young adult Jews who applied to Taglit-Birthright Israel in 2001-2005. The project will track their journey from college, to first jobs, to careers, marriage or lifelong partnership and the creation of their own families. The researchers want to understand how members of the Jewish millennial generation find meaning and connection through their Jewish identities, participation in the Jewish community, and involvement with Israel. Unlike most Jewish social science which looks at a person's past for clues to the future, their goal is … Continue Reading
Revisiting Jewish Moscow after 25 Years
by Jonathan D. Sarna I last visited Russia in 1986. I came then, along with the late Judaic studies scholar Benny Kraut, to meet with refuseniks, the courageous Jews who demanded the right to emigrate to Israel. Our activities were covert, and during the course of a single week Benny and I experienced the fear that constantly accompanied the Soviet Union’s Jews at that time. Our hotel room was bugged and, on one occasion, we were hidden in a closet while the KGB interrogated our hosts. This time, I came to Moscow with a group of students from Brandeis University’s Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. Moscow’s Genesis Philanthropy Group sponsored the trip, and our goal was to become acquainted with the post-Soviet Jewish community and its institutions. Everything about this … Continue Reading
An Academic Grounding in Tzedakah
Getting Schooled in Tzedakah At NYU, Penn and Brandeis, Philanthropy is a Hot Topic by Howard Shapiro For Andrea Engel, giving to charity and volunteering for charity work - two basic facets of tzedakah - came as second nature. As a high school student in Birmingham, Ala., she headed her B’nai B’rith Youth Organization fundraising effort. As a Northwestern University undergraduate in suburban Chicago, she served on the executive board for the university’s huge marathon fundraiser and raised money for the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. So it made perfect sense when she decided, as a law student at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, that she wanted some academic grounding in charity work. “All my experiences had been very ground based - I … Continue Reading
Is Your Donor Kosher?
by Jan Jaben-Eilon Weeks after the disclosure of controversial contributions by Hungarian-American mega-billionaire George Soros to the pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby J Street, the Jewish non-profit world is still mulling over the ramifications of the issue. Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s executive director, acknowledged on the J Street blog that he had been “less than clear” about the $750,000 the Soros family has contributed over the last three years, starting about six months after the advocacy group was launched. At the same time, however, Ben- Ami emphasizes, he was fully honest in his statements that Soros had not provided the initial funding for the establishment of the organization, early in 2008. Ben-Ami obviously had been more than “less than clear” about Soros’s … Continue Reading
JData: a Powerful New Tool for Educational Organizations
JData.com, a groundbreaking online database that promises to revolutionize data management and sharing for Jewish communities and their education organizations, today launches its 2010-2011 national outreach, calling on Jewish camps, schools, and early childhood centers to enter their organization's data into the site. Conceived and funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation and developed by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, JData.com is partnering nationwide with Jewish federations and local and national agencies to offer unprecedented high-quality, reliable and practical information to the world of Jewish education. JData's mission is to strengthen the Jewish education sector by making available high-quality data that support fact-based decision-making in four key … Continue Reading
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