In the single largest grant in the National Endowment for the Humanities’ history, the Tikvah Fund has received a $10.4 million grant to support its “Jewish Civilization Project,” the NEH announced on Monday.

According to the National Endowment for the Humanities’ statement, the funding will support a three-year project aimed at combating “the recrudescence and normalization of antisemitism in American society.” 

“While it is essential to combat the rise of antisemitism in the political and legal arenas,” the NEH’s acting chairman, Michael McDonald, said in a statement. “The humanities also have a vital role to play in this fight.”

The project’s focuses include bolstering education on “Jewish civilization” for students from middle school through high school and developing university courses in Jewish humanities at partner schools and universities across the country. The grant will also support two fellowships — an expansion of Tikvah’s existing high school fellowship program, as well as a fellowship for early-career journalists focused on antisemitism and Jewish history. 

“It is an honor to partner with NEH on this ambitious educational project,” Tikvah CEO Eric Cohen said in a statement. “At this weighty moment in the history of the West, we believe that Jewish ideas are essential to strengthening the best of our shared American culture and answering the perverse ideology of antisemitism with the enduring majesty of Jewish civilization.” 

The conservative-leaning Tikvah Fund was launched in 1992 by businessman and philanthropist Zalman Bernstein. The group, which did not immediately comment on the NEH grant, runs a wide array of programs, mainly focused on education. This includes a nealy launched school in New York — Emet Classical Academy — as well as scholarships for middle and high school students, fellowships for college students and young adults and professional development programs.

“Over the past many years, Tikvah has grown exponentially. We have cultivated an ever-expanding community of dedicated donors, engaged parents, and wisdom-seeking students who believe in the transcendent importance of the Jewish people and who love America and Israel as two exceptional nations,” Cohen said. “Tikvah’s institutional expansion will continue, as we do our best to answer the rise of Jew-hatred with the full weight, majesty, and wonder of Jewish civilization.”
In addition to its announcement of the grant, NEH said that it had updated the terms of its allocations, placing “schools, colleges, and universities on notice that if they receive NEH financial assistance for humanities programs and activities, the agency will hold them accountable for tolerating discrimination or harassment against Jewish students in violation of civil rights law.”