Shalem College

Shalem College will be Israel's first US-style liberal arts college and will educate students to become future Israeli leaders. The college is expected to open in autumn 2012 with the first intake of students to commence studies in 2013. It will begin with 50 to 100 students and ultimately plans to enroll 1000 undergraduates and up to 200 graduate students. Undergraduates will study 4-year course rather than the usual three. The centre wants to raise $70 million to fund its establishment. The college will be entirely privately funded, receiving no money from the state.

Rationale

Because existing Israeli universities are perceived by Shalem as "less successful in inspiring today’s young people with a sense of mission and broad vision", the college is "designed to produce innovative civic leaders and strategic thinkers who will ascend to positions of real influence in all sectors of Israeli life." Shalem literature about the planned college states: "In today’s increasingly post-national world, Israel faces an internal threat stemming from the growing loss of conviction on the part of its young people regarding the justness of its founding and the legitimacy of its continued existence as a Jewish state".

It cites "the specter of a nuclear Iran and an increasing campaign of international delegitimization" as threats to Israel but believes an even greater internal challenge is the "growing number of Israeli and Jewish youth [who] do not believe in the justness or feasibility of a Jewish and democratic state". Shalem states that this phenomenon is resulting in a 'brain-drain', "growing avoidance of army service, and a widespread disdain for government and the political system at large." The college's raison d'etre is explained as a counterbalance to this:

If this trend continues, Israel may well lose the fight—not to its enemies, but on account of negligence and sheer indifference. To ensure its survival and success, Israel needs not only a skilled military, a strong economic base, and highly trained technocrats. It also needs a cadre of visionaries."

Syllabus

The academic content will "rigorously combine the wealth of Jewish and Zionist tradition with classical Western thought through the ages" and a major part of the curriculum "reflects the needs of contemporary Israel". Teaching staff will represent "the entire political spectrum of Zionism."

Lecturers

The lecturers listed as the college's founders are all reportedly sharp critics of 'leftist' intellectual approaches. One academic involved, Professor Yoav Gelber, told Haaretz the humanties in the Israel academy are "in crisis" partly because "[t]hey teach all the post-modern silliness." President-designate of the college Martin Kramer said the college will not become "yet another home for scholars who have made their reputations by negating the Zionist and Israeli narrative". He has stated that the centre will recruit faculty members "whose values commit them to the Jewish people and to the State of Israel - the vessel for Jewish survival. Yet this will not be a school for the indoctrination of Zionism."

Martin Kramer has also said that establishing the college had been an aspiration "since the center's inception", and stressed its importance by adding: "In a way, the Shalem Center was the interim framework established until a kind of critical mass and reputation were achieved that would allow this step [founding the college]."

Admissions

As well as academic ability, the admission will be based on "exceptional intellectual and extracurricular interests and talents, rich backgrounds in volunteer activities, and demonstrated leadership and dedication in frameworks such as the Israel Defense Forces and national service." To recruit students for its inaugural year Shalem will meet with "dozens of individuals who are influential in affecting decisions by top students regarding their choice of college or university, including heads of pre-army preparatory institutes, high school principals, officers in the elite army units that attract the most gifted and motivated young people, and others."