2026-04-05 11:43:AM <br/> Tags: #organization #AmericanJewry #Lobby #KeyOrganizations #Media #ThinkTank #Neoconservatism ![[image-264.png|723|708x215]] # Tikvah Fund - Tikvah Fund is an American pro-Israel advocacy and educational organization with the stated goal of "shaping the rising generation of Jewish, Zionist, and American leaders" through "media ventures, academic press, and wide array of conferences and events."[^4] - Tikvah aims to counter the "[challenges](https://tikvah.org/about/strategic-overview/#:~:text=challenges%20facing%20modern%20Jewry) facing modern Jewry—including the erosion of Jewish identity in America, the resurgence of anti-Semitism around the world, and the zealous enemies of Israel." - Tikvah calls itself "a leading Jewish think tank and educational institution committed to supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish State." #### Activities and Programs - [[Yoram Hazony]] teaches a course called "The Meaning of Jewish Nationalism" at Tikvah Online University's Department of Zionism and Modern Israel.[^4] - Tikvah is described as the "primary financial backing" for Hazony's Jerusalem think tank the [[Shalem Center]]. [^24] - For the "most committed" alumni of Tikvah's Scholars Program and the Solomon Fellowship, Tikvah offers an advanced month-long political crucible called the "Advanced Residential Institute: The Jerusalem Seminar on Jewish Political Thought."[^12] - The program is hosted at the [[Menachem Begin]] Heritage Center in Jerusalem. - The program physically "young scholars and future leaders who have already demonstrated exceptional commitment to Jewish learning" to Israel for "over four weeks of intensive study." - Tikvah intends for Jewish participants to "emerge with a sophisticated understanding of how Judaism conceives of power, sovereignty, and the responsibilities of Jewish statehood." #RedPill *Tikvah and its students are nominally American. Despite being born American, they travel to Israel to undergo intensive training on how to uphold the "responsibilities of Jewish statehood." For this reason it is entirely valid to consider these Jews, despite their American status, agents of a foreign state. When such people and groups rise through our national institutions, American sovereignty is degraded.* - Tikvah's [[Charles Krauthammer|Krauthammer]] Fellowship program cultivates young Jewish journalists and aspiring media figures intested in "Jewish ideas, modern Israel, and American democratic and civic life."[^11] - The program is run in partnership with [[Paul Singer]]'s [[Paul E. Singer Foundation]]. - Tikvah's Israel Fellowship program facilitates a year of education in Israel for Jewish students taking a gap-year from their studies at Jewish religious schools.[^17] - The program is intended to immerse American Jews in "the roots of Israeli society and Israeli politics." - The program's faculty includes:[^18] - Raphael BenLevi - "served for seven years as an officer in the [[Aman|IDF Intelligence Branch]]." - Daniel Polisar - "Co-founder and executive vice president of Shalem College in Jerusalem." *Shalem College was founded out of [[Yoram Hazony]]'s [[Shalem Center]].* - Polisar also served in the office of the Israeli Prime Minister from 2006-2009. *[[Ehud Olmert]] was PM at the time.* - Asael Abelman - "Teaches Jewish history and Western literature at Shalem College in Jerusalem." *Shalem College mentioned above.* - Tikvah guides Jews into future positions of influence through the Tikvah Legal Fellowship, which is available to Jewish law school students.[^19] - Tikvah acknowledges that "Law school is a crucial gateway to effective advocacy of many of the causes Tikvah is concerned with," including "a strong alliance between the United States and Israel." *Jews understand how power is wielded in the United States. Jews tell you to become a plumber while they push law school and statecraft on their children.* - The fellowship includes the Tikvah Legal Fellowship Retreat, which is a "five-day, in-person conference with the Blackstone Legal Fellowship." *This is not Blackstone the Jewish investment management company.* - Tikvah Legal Fellows are "matched with legal organizations that are actively working to preserve civil liberty for Jews." - The dean of the Tikvah Legal Fellowship is Chief Judge Matthew Solomson, a federal judge appointed by [[Donald Trump]] in 2020.[^20] - Prior to his appointment, Solomson practiced law with Arnold & Porter LLP, a longtime registered foreign agent for the state of Israel.[^21] - In the late 1970s, Arnold and Porter began legally representing [[Zalman Shapiro]] pro-bono while he was under federal investigation for [[Israel and the Nuclear Bomb|covertly diverting]] nuclear material to Israel from his [[NUMEC|nuclear plant in Pennsylvania]].[^22] - Jacob Reses, the Jewish chief of staff for Vice President [[JD Vance]] is a former Tikvah legal fellow.[^25] - Tikvah has an educational program which highlights "Jewish Greatness: Heroes and Leaders."[^23] - Figures covered in the series include: [[David Ben-Gurion]], [[Menachem Begin]], [[Theodor Herzl]], [[Louis Brandeis]], and [[Abba Eban]]. - On September 15, 2025, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a U.S. federal agency, awarded Tikvah Fund $10.4 million, the largest grant in the agency's history.[^31] - The [stated](https://www.neh.gov/news/neh-announces-Tikvah-grant#:~:text=multi%2Dformat%20project-,to%20combat,-the%20recrudescence%20and) purpose of the grant is to "combat the recrudescence and normalization of anti-Semitism in American society through an extensive series of educational, scholarship, and public programs." - The grant directs Tikvah to use the "Hebrew Bible and Talmud," to implement "curriculum for middle and high school students... an expanded fellowship program for high school students providing intensive seminars on Jewish civilization... and a fellowship program for early-career journalists who seek to write about anti-Semitism and advance knowledge of Jewish history and culture." #### Jewish Leadership Conference ![[image-265.png|973x547]] *L-R; [[Dan Senor]], [[Bari Weiss]], [[Ben Shapiro]], and Jonathan Silver share the stage at Tikvah's 2025 Jewish Leadership Conference during a pivotal moment in American organized Jewry.* - Tikvah's flagship event is its annual Tikvah Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). - In his opening speech for the 2021 JLC, Tikvah chief executive Eric Cohen asserted "My focus has been on one mission; educating the rising generation of Jews, both in America and Israel for the challenges ahead... against the tide of teaching young American Jews to be nice, we reminded them that Jewish sovereignty was won on the battlefield."[^29] *Those who deny the centrality of Jewishness to the dynamics between Israel, the US, and the world, should be totally dumbfounded when Jews openly state reality like this.* - The 2025 Tikvah Jewish Leadership Conference was sponsored by a number of Jewish foundations and donors including:[^14] - [[Paul Singer]]s [[Paul E. Singer Foundation]] - The Robert M. Beren Family Foundation - Beren is the father of [[Julie Platt]] and Adam Beren. Adam Beren is the founder of the [[Combat Antisemitism Movement]].[^13] - [[Roger Hertog]] - [[Jewish Future Promise]] - [[Marc Rowan]]'s Rowan Family Foundation - [[Merryl Tisch]] and [[James Tisch]] - [[Daniel Loeb]] - [[Manhattan Institute]] - Tikvah's 2025 [[Theodor Herzl|Herzl]] prize laureates were [[Ben Shapiro]], [[Bari Weiss]], and [[Dan Senor]] for being "champions of truth, moral courage, and Jewish resilience during this confused civilizational moment." - Tikvah Jewish Leadership Conference speakers have included:[^4][^14][^15][^16][^27][^28] | Year | Speaker | Info | | --------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 2024-2025 | [[Elliott Abrams]] | | | 2024 | [[Dan Senor]] | | | 2024 | [[Michael Oren]] | | | 2024 | [[Nikki Haley]] | | | 2025 | [[Mike Waltz]] | | | 2018 | [[Natan Sharansky]] | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner | | 2019 | [[Norman Podhoretz]] | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner | | 2019 | [[John Podhoretz]] | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner | | 2022 | [[Roger Hertog]] | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner | | 2023 | Leon Kass | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner, Dean at Shalem College-an outgrowth of [[Yoram Hazony]]'s [[Shalem Center]] in Jerusalem | | 2025 | [[Bari Weiss]] | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner | | 2025 | [[Ben Shapiro]] | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner | | 2025 | [[Dan Senor]] | Tikvah Herzl Prize winner | | 2023 | William Barr | Jewish Attorney General under [[George H.W Bush]] from 1991-1993 and under [[Donald Trump]] from 2019-2020 | | 2024 | [[Shabbos Kestenbaum]] | | | 2021 | [[Yoram Hazony]] | | | 2021 | [[David Friedman]] | | | 2022 | Mike Pompeo | Secretary of State and CIA director during [[Donald Trump]]'s first term | | 2022 | Ron Desantis | | | 2024 | [[Nikki Haley]] | | | 2024 | [[Michael Oren]] | Israeli ambassador to the United States from 2009-2013 | #### Funding and Donors - Tikvah Fund has consistent revenue of ~$10-20 million annually.[^2] - In 2024, Tikvah Fund reported $18.8 million in revenue. - Every year since 2019, Tikvah Fund reported annual deficits of millions of dollars. - Tikvah donors from 2019-2024 include:[^5][^4][^6][^7][^8][^9][^10][^30] | Years | Donor | Total $ | | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | 2024 | [[Miriam Adelson]] via the Adelson Family Foundation | $3,000,000 | | 2024 | [[Joe Lonsdale]] | $25,000+ | | 2020-2024 | [[Merryl Tisch\|Merryl]] and [[James Tisch]] | $50,000+ | | 2019-2024 | [[Paul Singer]] | $1,135,000 | | 2017-2024 | [[Jewish Communal Fund]] | $5,717,476 | | 2020 | [[Bernard Marcus]]'s [[Marcus Foundation]] | $385,000 | | 2020 | Adam Beren of the [[Combat Antisemitism Movement]] | $300,000 | | 2019-2020 | Leo Lauder (brother of [[Ronald Lauder]]) | $15,000 | | 2020 | [[Dan Senor]] | $5,000 | | 2019 | [[Len Blavatnik]]'s foundation | $5,000 | | 2019-2022 | [[Daniel Loeb]] | $15,000 | | 2019 | [[Ira Rennert]] | $5,000 | | 2019 | [[Michael Steinhardt]] | $5,000 | | 2019 | [[Jonathon Jacobson]]'s One8 Foundation | $5,000 | | 2021-2023 | [[Roger Hertog]] and his foundation | $1,100,000 | | 2021-2023 | [[UJA-Federation of New York]] | $122,000 | | 2021 | [[Harold Grinspoon]] | $25,100 | | 2021-2024 | [[Lewis Libby]] | $25,000 | | 2022-2024 | [[Elliott Abrams]] | $30,444 | | 2022-2024 | [[Goldman Sachs]] Philanthropy Fund | $237,500 | | 2022 | [[Nina Rosenwald]]'s Abstraction Fund | $10,000 | | 2023-2024 | [[Shari Redstone]] and her family foundation | $234,649 | | 2023-2024 | [[Heritage Foundation]] | $17,500 | | 2024 | [[Jewish Future Promise]] | $5,000 | | 2024 | [[Mark Wilf]]'s family foundation | $100,000 | #### Notable Figures - Zalman Chaim Bernstein - Founder - Eric Cohen - CEO and figurehead - [[Elliott Abrams]] - Chairman[^1] - [[Roger Hertog]] - Longtime chairman and current chairman emeritus[^1] - Malka Groden - Chief Development Officer[^26] - Groden formerly worked at the philanthropy roundtable at the [[Manhattan Institute]]. - Avi Snyder - Senior Director of Tikvah Ideas[^26] - Snyder is a graduate of [[Brandeis University]]. - Rabbi Hershel Lutch - Senior Vice President & Chief Financial and Administrative Officer[^26] - Lutch is on the executive committee of the [[Rabbinical Council of America (RCA)]]. - Lutch is the former COO of Aish HaTorah, an influential Jerusalem based Orthodox Jewish organization. - Raanan Agus - Board member[^1] - "Co-head and co-chief investment officer of Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) within [[Goldman Sachs]] Asset Management."[^1] - Terry Kassel - Board member[^1] - Head of Strategic Human Resources at [[Paul Singer]]'s Elliott Investment Management. - Director of [[Paul Singer]]'s [[Paul E. Singer Foundation]]. - Shelly Kassen - Board member[^1] - Past President and Chairman Emeritus of the [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP)]]. - "Chair of her local [[AIPAC]] council." - Arthur Fried - Former board member[^1] - Fried retired as director and CFO of [[Lehman Brothers]] in 1981 to become the CEO of The Rothschild Foundation. - Steven Price - Board member[^1] - Member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)]] and the [[American Enterprise Institute (AEI)]]. #### References [^1]: Tikvah Fund, “Board of Trustees,” [https://tikvah.org/about/board/](https://tikvah.org/about/board/). [^2]: ProPublica, “The Tikvah Fund,” _Nonprofit Explorer_, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152). [^4]: Tikvah Fund, _Tikvah Impact Report 2025_ (New York: Tikvah Fund, 2025), [https://tikvah.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Tikvah-Impact-Report-2025.pdf](https://tikvah.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Tikvah-Impact-Report-2025.pdf). [^5]: The Tikvah Fund, “Form 990-PF, Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors),” _Nonprofit Explorer_, ProPublica, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202523139349100212/IRS990ScheduleB](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202523139349100212/IRS990ScheduleB). [^6]: The Tikvah Fund, “Form 990-PF, Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) (2020),” _Nonprofit Explorer_, ProPublica, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202210419349100406/IRS990ScheduleB](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202210419349100406/IRS990ScheduleB). [^7]: The Tikvah Fund, “Form 990-PF, Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) (2019),” _Nonprofit Explorer_, ProPublica, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202033219349104583/IRS990ScheduleB](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202033219349104583/IRS990ScheduleB). [^8]: The Tikvah Fund, “Form 990-PF, Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) (2021),” _Nonprofit Explorer_, ProPublica, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202213199349104386/IRS990ScheduleB](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202213199349104386/IRS990ScheduleB). [^9]: The Tikvah Fund, “Form 990-PF, Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) (2022),” _Nonprofit Explorer_, ProPublica, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202343189349106459/IRS990ScheduleB](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202343189349106459/IRS990ScheduleB). [^10]: The Tikvah Fund, “Form 990-PF, Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) (2023),” _Nonprofit Explorer_, ProPublica, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202423199349106477/IRS990ScheduleB](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133676152/202423199349106477/IRS990ScheduleB). [^11]: Tikvah Fund, “Krauthammer Fellowship,” [https://tikvah.org/krauthammer-fellowship/home/](https://tikvah.org/krauthammer-fellowship/home/). [^12]: Tikvah Fund, “Advanced Residential Institute: The Jerusalem Seminar on Jewish Political Thought,” [https://lp.tikvah.org/israelsummerprogram](https://lp.tikvah.org/israelsummerprogram). [^13]: Haley Cohen, “Robert Beren, Donor to Orthodox Causes and Head of Prominent Philanthropic Family, Dies at 97,” _eJewishPhilanthropy_, August 10, 2023, [https://ejewhttps://ejewishphilanthropy.com/robert-beren-donor-to-orthodox-causes-and-head-of-prominent-philanthropic-family-dies-at-97/ishphilanthropy.com/robert-beren-donor-to-orthodox-causes-and-head-of-prominent-philanthropic-family-dies-at-97/](https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/robert-beren-donor-to-orthodox-causes-and-head-of-prominent-philanthropic-family-dies-at-97/). [^14]: Jewish Leadership Conference, “2025 Conference,” [https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/2025-conference/](https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/2025-conference/). [^15]: Jewish Leadership Conference, “Herzl Prize Laureates,” [https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/herzl-prize-laureates/](https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/herzl-prize-laureates/). [^16]: Jewish Leadership Conference, “2019 Herzl Prize Ceremony,” [https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/session/2019-herzl-prize-ceremony/](https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/session/2019-herzl-prize-ceremony/). [^17]: Tikvah Fund, “Tikvah Israel Fellowship,” [https://tikvah.org/overseas/home/](https://tikvah.org/overseas/home/). [^18]: Tikvah Fund, “Faculty,” [https://tikvah.org/overseas/faculty/](https://tikvah.org/overseas/faculty/). [^19]: Tikvah Fund, “The Tikvah Legal Fellowship,” [https://tikvah.org/the-tikvah-legal-fellowship/home/](https://tikvah.org/the-tikvah-legal-fellowship/home/). [^20]: Tikvah Fund, “Staff,” [https://tikvah.org/the-tikvah-legal-fellowship/staff/](https://tikvah.org/the-tikvah-legal-fellowship/staff/). [^21]: _Supplemental Statement for FARA Registration No. 1750_, filed January 30, 2026, U.S. Department of Justice, Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit, [https://efile.fara.gov/docs/1750-Supplemental-Statement-20260130-45.pdf](https://efile.fara.gov/docs/1750-Supplemental-Statement-20260130-45.pdf). *This document shows Arnold and Porter's recent registration under FARA.* [^22]: Roger J. Mattson, _Stealing the Atom Bomb: How Denial and Deception Armed Israel_ (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016), 217. [^23]: Tikvah Fund, “Jewish Greatness: Heroes and Leaders,” [https://tikvah.org/wartime-series/jewish-greatness-heroes-and-leaders/](https://tikvah.org/wartime-series/jewish-greatness-heroes-and-leaders/). [^24]: Zachary Braiterman, “Conservative Money and Jewish Studies: Investigating the Tikvah Fund,” _ZEEK_, September 6, 2011, [https://zeek.forward.com/articles/117374/#:~:text=backing%20for%20the-,Shalem%20Center,-%2C%20a%20right%2Dwing](https://zeek.forward.com/articles/117374/#:~:text=backing%20for%20the-,Shalem%20Center,-%2C%20a%20right%2Dwing). [^25]: Asaf Elia-Shalev, “Meet JD Vance’s Jewish Chief of Staff, Jacob Reses,” _The Times of Israel_, August 1, 2024, [https://www.timesofisrael.com/meet-jd-vances-jewish-chief-of-staff-jacob-reses/](https://www.timesofisrael.com/meet-jd-vances-jewish-chief-of-staff-jacob-reses/). [^26]: Tikvah Fund, “Executive Leadership,” [https://tikvah.org/about/executive-leadership/](https://tikvah.org/about/executive-leadership/). [^27]: Jewish Leadership Conference, “2023 Conference Videos,” [https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/2023-conference-videos/](https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/2023-conference-videos/). [^28]: Tikvah Fund, “Sign Up Now! Watch Tikvah’s 2024 Jewish Leadership Conference,” [https://tikvah.org/ideas/jlc-2024/](https://tikvah.org/ideas/jlc-2024/). [^29]: Eric Cohen, “Introduction to JLC 2021: Our Mission and Our Moment,” Jewish Leadership Conference, 2021, [https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/session/introduction-to-jlc-2021-our-mission-and-our-moment/](https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/session/introduction-to-jlc-2021-our-mission-and-our-moment/). [^30]: C-SPAN, “Former Secretary of State Pompeo Speaks at Jewish Leadership Conference,” June 12, 2022, [https://www.c-span.org/program/campaign-2024/former-secretary-of-state-pompeo-speaks-at-jewish-leadership-conference/613584](https://www.c-span.org/program/campaign-2024/former-secretary-of-state-pompeo-speaks-at-jewish-leadership-conference/613584). [^31]: Suzanne Schneider, “The Meaning of Trump’s $10 Million Grant to a Jewish Nonprofit,” _Jewish Currents_, October 23, 2025, [https://jewishcurrents.org/the-meaning-of-trumps-10-million-grant-to-a-jewish-nonprofit](https://jewishcurrents.org/the-meaning-of-trumps-10-million-grant-to-a-jewish-nonprofit).