Over more than three millennia, the Jewish people achieved extraordinary longevity and success on the strength of ideas. From the time of the Bible, the Jews advanced concepts that transformed the world, including the dignity of man, the unity of God, the sanctity of law, and the desirability of a political order based on sovereign national states living together in peace. These ideas have united Jews around a common set of beliefs, given them courage to hold fast to their convictions in the face of opposition and persecution, and enabled them to influence decisively the philosophy and history of much of humankind.

During the past century, the power of ideas has again galvanized the Jewish people for a task as magnificent as anything previously achieved: The creation of a thriving Jewish democracy in the heart of the Middle East. Zionism combined the rekindled spirit of nationhood with a fierce longing for freedom and the creation of a political community dedicated to justice.

But the challenges facing Israel and the Jewish people did not end with the establishment of a sovereign state. Indeed, while Jews today face unparalleled opportunities for a cultural renaissance that could also benefit not only the West but world civilization more generally, they also face enormous dangers from assimilation and disunity from within, and resurgent anti-Semitism and strategic threats to Israel from without.

The response must come, first of all, in the realm of ideas. It is crucial to develop an understanding of Jewish thought and tradition that can serve as the basis for unity in Israel and throughout the Jewish world; create an understanding of Jewish and Zionist history that instills pride and solidarity while maintaining fidelity to the highest standards of scholarship; harness the Jewish and Western political traditions to provide a firm basis for steering Israel as a democracy and a Jewish national state; craft a diplomatic and military strategy that will ensure Israel's survival in an increasingly hostile world; and develop economic and social policies that will enable Israel to be a prosperous and just society.

The Shalem Center was established in Jerusalem in 1994 with the goal of developing the ideas needed to guide and sustain the Jewish people in the decades to come. Founded by scholars and public figures from Israel and the Diaspora, the Center has worked to advance original research, publication, and undergraduate and graduate education in the areas most crucial to the public life of the Jewish people and humanity as a whole, including philosophy, political theory, Jewish and Zionist history, Bible and Talmud, Middle East Studies, archaeology, economics, and strategic studies.

In March 2009, the Shalem Center submitted an application for accreditation to Israel’s Council on Higher Education, marking the public launch of Shalem’s most ambitious project to date—the establishment of the first liberal arts college in Israel. This exceptional college will offer the most gifted and motivated students from Israel and abroad a dramatically different kind of education, assuring that Israel and the Jewish people have the leaders possessing the passion, knowledge, and skills needed to guide our nation into the future. We plan to welcome our first class of students to Shalem College in the Fall of 2012.

Through this website, you will read about the programs through which the Shalem Center, and soon Shalem College, works to fulfill its mission of developing the ideas that are essential for the public life of the Jewish people. I look forward to your feedback, and hope you will join us in this unique and important effort.

Daniel Polisar
President

Click here for further presidential announcements.