Let's face it: Israel has a reputation for a less than stellar performance with Hasbara. This is not new; in fact it has existed for a couple of decades regardless of which political party controls the Israeli government. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the college campuses of North America; Montreal, New York, Philly and San Fransisco, in particular, have a well-deserved reputation for being particularly un-hospitable to pro-Israeli messages. Now come a few new endeavors hoping to change perceptions. In New York, we have Fuel for Truth, an organization whose mission is to disseminate accurate information about Israel and the Middle East. According to an article in the current issue of New ...

Taking a completely different approach, and utilizing the world of music and Israeli artists to promote Israel, we have Oleh!Records. With initial funding from The Pratt Foundation, The Bronfman Family Foundation and the Orion Fund, young Jeremy Hulsh launched the label thirteen months ago. A recent Oleh, Jeremy was inspired by what he perceived as shortcomings in the Israeli music scene. "I noticed that the entire music industry in Israel is based on white hype, and that there needs to be a credible institution that nurtures indie and alternative music if this scene is going to be taken seriously." And so was born Oleh!, a nonprofit with the goal of creating sustainable careers for all their artists. Now, in year two, ...

The Jewish National Fund continues to be a trendsetter, breaking new ground in their approach to both raising money online and reaching out and attracting the younger generation. Now comes a profile in The NonProfit Times, Reversing the Donor Aging Process. "Ah, Spring Break. The sun, the beach, the "What happens in BLANK stays in BLANK" memories. Enter Alternative Spring Break (ASB), where the days of a wasted youth are no more, and where memories are lasting and, well, memorable. Where the purpose is to create a connection to the past and form a vision for the future. While Jewish charities often are viewed as for older donors. Linda Wenger at the Jewish National Fund (JNF) is changing that thinking. ...

Community organizing means developing leaders and bringing people together to form powerful organizations that allow people to act on their own behalf to make systemic changes in their lives. Community organizers are people who want to stir things up to motivate people to act for change, who embrace challenge, and who think strategically about power. The Boston based, Jewish Organizing Initiative (JOI) builds a vibrant, pluralistic community of Jewish young adults who learn grassroots community organizing, explore their Jewish identity together, and become leaders in the pursuit of social justice. The JOI year-long paid fellowship program is a source of Jewish community, intellectual stimulation, mentorship, and professional networking. Over the last decade, JOI has built a network of over 100 ...

Habitus, A Diaspora Journal, issue #3: part of a new breed of Jewish magazines being created by young Jews defining Judaism and their involvement on their own terms. With funding from the Dorot Foundation and focusing on Diaspora literature and culture, the editors tell us "Habitus is not simply a magazine about Jews--it is a Jewish magazine about the world. Habitus takes its shape from the elusive concept known as the Diaspora – that untidy mix of longing and belonging, past and place." With the first two issues focusing on European cities, Budapest and Sarajevo, and now the third on Buenos Aries, the magazine speaks to contemporary readers "who wrestle with what ...

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 - ...

Last month we wrote about Insight, a new fellowship program from the Schusterman Family Foundation. Jewlicious has just posted a great interview with Yoni Gordis who heads the Center For Leadership Initiatives. If you are interested in learning about this superb new endeavor, a must read is "The Insight Fellowships: An Innovative Young Jewish Leadership Initiative", on Jewlicious. Applications are due one week from today.

We feel very strongly about the New Generation of social entrepreneurs, their cutting edge projects, and the renaissance they are creating in our Jewish world. I guess we are not alone in our view of this generation. In Sunday's New York Times, Nicholas D. Kristof wrote from the World Economic Forum in Davos: "But growing numbers of young people are leaping into the fray and doing the job themselves. These are the social entrepreneurs, the 21st-century answer to the student protesters of the 1960s, and they are some of the most interesting people here at the World Economic Forum (not only because they’re half the age of everyone else). Today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs, those who ...

Attention Birthright Israel alumni: Do you wish your parents could experience Israel the way you did? Now is your chance. Enter the Taglit-Birthright Israel "Let My Parents Go" video contest, and your parents might win a free trip to Israel!

• The Contest is open to all North American alumni participants of Taglit-Birthright Israel programs.
• Entries will be accepted until March 14, 2008.
• Finalists will be selected by independent judges and will be posted for public, online voting on or around March 28, 2008.
• The winning parents will travel to Israel as a group in July 2008

For FAQs about the Video Contest along with the complete contest rules, click here what will they think of ...

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 ...