Scholarships for the Israel-Palestine Symposium
Visit the Israel-Palestine Symposium Webpage
The Israel-Palestine Symposium has been the core of Partners for Progressive Israel’s programming since the organization’s origin in 1991. Until the COVID pandemic, the Israel-Palestine Symposium consisted of an annual trip to Israel that allowed participants to experience meeting key Israeli and Palestinian political figures and NGO leaders dedicated to peace and human rights. In 2020 the symposium was held virtually, via Zoom, over a series of Sundays. In 2021, we will again hold the symposium virtually.
While the symposium’s venue has changed, the goals have not. It continues to further Partners’ firm commitment to supporting human and civil rights both in Israel and Palestine and its dedication to ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories. Partners aims to raise consciousness among peoples in the United States and elsewhere regarding the many complexities and challenges facing Israel.
This year, we are offering five scholarships to attend this “virtual trip,” titled Challenging Narratives: Seeking Hope, which will take place over seven Sundays from July 11 through August 29. Recipients will be able to attend the entire live Symposium program at no cost (including the two Bonus sessions) and will receive links to the pre- and post-Symposium films.
Scholarship Guidelines
One scholarship will be funded by the HAROLD M. SHAPIRO MEMORIAL FUND honoring PPI’s founding chairman. This scholarship’s focus is to encourage, facilitate, and sponsor young Jewish clergy to participate in Partners’ annual Israel Symposium.
We are also offering four additional scholarships, where the only qualification is that applicants must be 35 years of age or younger.
We strongly encourage applications from various under-represented communities, including all branches of Judaism, Jews of Color, and LGBTQ Jews. Applicants from any religious tradition are also welcome.
Applicants who are not selected for a scholarship will have access, at no cost, to video and audio recordings of all symposium sessions.
We will select scholarship recipients on the basis of two written responses:
- What is your motivation for participating in the Symposium? Which day of panels is most relevant to your specific interests and concerns, and why?
- How will you increase awareness within and across your communities about the issues and challenges discussed in the symposium?
Applicants are required to submit responses to the following two questions in 300 words or less.
Recipients will be announced on July 3, 2021.
We ask that you propose how you will personally enhance and expand public conversation and understanding of the issues and challenges that are key to Partners’ mission, after the Symposium. We encourage thoughtful and creative plans for activism and advocacy. Responses can include one or more of the following examples:
- An 800- to 1000-word article about their symposium experience (for potential inclusion in Partners’ online magazine, Israel Horizons);
- Interviews with friends, family, and/or colleagues to see where their awareness of issues on the ground compares to what you have learned from people in Israel-Palestine;
- A letter-writing or social media campaign to influence legislators to support steps toward a two-state solution or to provide support to rebuild Gaza’s infrastructure;
- A video/film/art project that further explores topics addressed during the symposium;
- Scholarship recipients will be asked to promote what they have proposed via their respective social media platforms.
Visit the Israel-Palestine Symposium Webpage