Well, after many emails and endless phone calls and the crunching of many, many pixels, 60Bloggers.com is up. What’s that site all about? Well, May 8th is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel. You’ll notice lots of events happening in Israel and in communities around the world meant to commemorate this historic occasion. 60Bloggers.com is meant to do the same, but on the blogosphere. Consequently, we’ve put together a nice broad group of bloggers, some well-established, some relatively new, representing (I hope) ideological, religious and geographic diversity. Over the course of the next 60 days each will write one blog post on 60Bloggers.com where they will ...

Most of our readers — and possibly you reading this — don’t have children, let alone grandchildren…and that means we have time, and obligation, to build the world we’d like them to live in. As such, PresenTense ran an amazing event last night in Jerusalem, focused on the future of education in the Jewish State. And you didn’t have to be in Jerusalem to participate (I’m in New York at the moment): all you had to have is a connection to the internet. Here’s one example of a remote-participant, Gabby Schoenfeld: (Gaby is an an informal Jewish educator who is trying to enable young Jews to have life-changing experiences through service and social justice programs ...

Herzl famously wrote, "If you will it, it is no fable." This quote, made into a cliche over the long century since it was uttered, succinctly expresses the fundamental credo of a pioneer:

pioneers will the future into reality.

The first course: Last night, the PresenTense organization sponsored an evening in Jerusalem with three special pioneers, visionaries, as they hosted a conversation around the future of Israeli Education. All three (Sarah Kass, Beverly Gribetz and David Moatty) have already led the way in willing dreams to become tangible facts on the ground. The visionaries have been asked:

• What is your vision; why is it transformative?
• Why this path rather than others?
• What will change if your vision becomes reality?
• What will it take ...
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  Tags: connect, creativezionism, educate, innovate, Jewish Incubators, web 2.0

Our community is thriving. And who you may ask is this community? from our 'about' section: To some, they represent the MTV generation; to others Millenials or Generation Y. To the UJC, they are simply NextGen. They number around 76 million Americans and will form the most technology savvy bulk of the adult population over the next twenty years. They have been inspired by the aspirations, hopes and financial freedom of their Baby Boomer parents; they are optimistic, idealistic and feel empowered. This funky young crowd, sporting their own definition of Judaism, is the harbinger of a new golden age of Jewish communal innovation. Some are visionaries, creating programs on a shoe-string, or armed with just an idea, giving birth to exciting, fresh ...

Imagine working passionately and tirelessly in the uphill trek towards fulfilling your life's mission, only to have someone say to you, "I am going to fast-forward your career 20 years." That is what Harold Grinspoon, known as one of the most innovative Jewish social entrepreneurs in America, said to 32-year-old Rabbi Ethan Tucker of New York City, as he granted him $100,000 per year for two years, with his inaugural Grinspoon Jewish Social Entrepreneur Fellowship. Rabbi Tucker, one of the co-founders and leaders of the national independent minyanim movement, is developing curricula for and expanding Mechon Hadar, which he co-founded in 2001. Based in New York City, Mechon Hadar is a unique, non-denominational institute whose mission is to revitalize communal life - ...

This post is part of a series on new innovation being created at the Jerusalem based incubator PICZ, The PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism. Introducing...

The Bible Raps Project: a new approach to Jewish education

"Therefore, write down this song and teach it to the children of Israel" (Deuteronomy 31:19) The Bible Raps Project is a new initiative aimed at exciting young Jewish students about Judaism, Jewish Heritage, and Jewish texts. Built around a series of raps that draw on texts from the Bible and Midrash, the Bible Raps Project will resonate with Jewish youth in a way that traditional media cannot by fusing rap music, this generation's most powerful mode of cultural communication, with Jewish discourse. It is ...

Do you have a project you've been dying to launch? Are you a socially-minded pioneer who wants to create value for the Jewish People and the world? Or are you a hacker who wants to spend a summer in Israel at an incubator and bring your project to market? If the answer is yes, consider the PresenTense Institute for pioneers -- a six-week, intensive inter-disciplinary launchpad for socially-minded entrepreneurs running this summer from June 23rd until August 3rd in Jerusalem, bringing together innovators from the fields of hi-tech, business, social action, education and the arts. Read more about the Institute below or here and Apply today. The PresenTense Institute for Creative ...

Make your project ideas real this summer in Jerualem

Are you an entrepreneur who cares deeply about the future of the Jewish People? A hacker, programmer, educator, social activist--a rapper, a painter or a biotech visionary who wants to make an impact on the world? Then come learn more about how you can launch your project or scale up your current venture in a special session of the PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism, a six-week intensive summer program in Jerusalem for socially-minded entrepreneurs. This past summer we hosted 18 young entrepreneurs in Jerusalem for six weeks from the fields of hi-tech, business, social action, education and the arts -- providing them time, support and training as they took their ideas ...

It's that time of the year again. Grad school applications, fellowship applications. All those endless forms we so love to fill out. Here are just three of the many that might have been off your radar scope. Bikkurim, whose mantra is "nurturing innovative Jewish projects from start-up through sustainability", is seeking NYC-based, Jewish, non-profit projects that are in the early stages of formation and organizational growth. Pre-applications are due by February 1, 2008. Bikkurim's track record of successful projects reads like a 'who's who' of 21st century young Jewish innovation. The Foundation for Jewish Camping along with the Brandeis Hornstein Program have announced the second Robert and Elisa Spungen Bildner Fellowship. Be sure to check out ...

Most people treat Jewish community work like a casual non-profit. But perhaps there’s a more effective, more business-like way to encourage innovation within a responsible, results-oriented framework? PresenTense Editor and Publisher Ariel Beery and his frequent business partner Aharon Horwitz think so, and tell you all about it in their new article in Ha’aretz, “Investing in Value." To save our community from the boom-and-bust dynamic, we need to prioritize value over image, and encourage young entrepreneurs to seek out value-enhancing opportunities that will allow them to generate returns on investment. To do so, the model of today’s Internet start-ups might be instructive: Start-ups now begin with a prototype and seek small seed investment. When a prototype is deemed to work, ...