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THE TIKVAH SCHOLARS PROGRAM

June 24-July 8, 2018 | Yale University | Tikvah Institute for High School Students
Applications for this program are closed.

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Theodore Herzl: Founder of Modern Zionism

Daniel Polisar | July 1 - 5

Political ideas—no matter how great—require determination, vision, and the will of great leaders if they are to influence and order the lives of men. The founding fathers of the State of Israel held the big ideas of Jewish history together with the prudential judgment, executive energy, diplomatic savvy, and military strategy they needed to resurrect the Third Jewish Commonwealth in the land of Israel. From Ze’ev Jabotinsky to David Ben Gurion and Menachem Begin to modern Israeli leaders like Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the lives and strategic insights of great Jewish political leaders have much to teach us.
This course’s focus will be on the life and career of Theodor Herzl. With little institutional support, with virtually no resources or political leverage, the sheer force of Herzl’s writing and will carried him to sit across the negotiating table from kings and emperors, arguing for the free sovereignty of the Jewish people.
How did Herzl deal with the challenges that confronted him from within and from without the Jewish world?
What strategies did he pursue, what calculations did he make?
How did he learn from his failures and how did he think about parlaying successes?
What enduring lessons can we learn from Herzl’s campaign to lay the groundwork for the Jewish State?

Meet the Instructor

Dr. Daniel Polisar

Shalem College

Daniel Polisar is co-founder and executive vice president of Shalem College. He previously served as president of the Shalem Center from 2002-2013 and also served as its Director of Research, Academic Director, and Editor-In-Chief of the center’s journal Azure. Before joining Shalem, he was founder and director of Peace Watch, a non-partisan organization monitoring Israeli and Palestinian compliance with the Oslo Accords, and head of the Peace Watch observer team during the January 1996 Palestinian elections. Dr. Polisar received his B.A. in politics from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in government from Harvard University, where he was the recipient of Truman and Fulbright scholarships, as well as of a Mellon Fellowship. His research interests include the history and philosophy of higher education, education in Israel, and Israeli constitutional development.