PRESENTENSE INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE ZIONISM

seeding initiatives to change the way the jewish people live, think and work

Summer Institute for Creative Zionism: Deploying an International

Network of Creative Zionist Leaders

Introduction
The PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism is community center and
incubator for social entrepreneurs dedicated to developing projects that will
enhance the State of Israel and strengthen the ties between the geographically
dispersed Jewish People. The pilot phase of PICZ will take place this summer
between June 18th and July 31 in Jerusalem, Israel. It is primarily focused on
developing networks and projects that will run in parallel between the two
largest communities of the day, Israel and America.
Dedicated to transforming the way the Jewish People think, program and
work, PICZ has been inspired by the vision of Zionist thinkers across the
ideological spectrum such as Ahad Ha’am, AD Gordon and Ze’ev Jabotinsky,
who foresaw Israel as the laboratory for the renewal of the Jewish People and a
source for the reinvigoration of Hebrew culture. This pilot summer seeks to
develop the framework needed by the Information Age’s young Jewish leaders so
that they may rededicate and reinvigorate theirs and their peers' connection to
the Jewish People.
To do so, PICZ has two levels of affiliation: Fellows and Members. Fellows
—a group of 12 young innovators with proven track records—undergo personal
training and development sessions throughout the six weeks of the summer, and
will be deployed in natural-work teams to develop projects that will address
issues of concern to the Jewish People. Members—a larger group spanning the
generations—are free to come and go throughout the summer, to work in the
community center throughout the day, and to come to sessions with innovators
from across the spectrum and thereby learn about—and potentially get involved
in—issues facing the Jewish People.
PICZ’s dual-track model of community center and incubator enables
maximum return on investment: those project seeds that will be developed
during the course of the fellowship will be planted into a larger community of
innovative members from around the world—all of which are united around the
general vision of Creative Zionism.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: PILOT SUMMER INSTITUTE

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info@creativezionism.com ∙ www.creativezionism.com
PRESENTENSE INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE ZIONISM
seeding initiatives to change the way the jewish people live, think and work

Mission: To seed ground-breaking initiatives that change the way the Jewish
People live, think and work.

Goals:
• To model, in Jerusalem, Israel, a cooperative creative Jewish community
for the Age of Information
• To explore contemporary ways of affiliation and Jewish citizenship
• To develop a pluralistic model for community seeding that overcomes
denominational and ideological boundaries while strengthening
interdependence and commitment to the whole
• To develop young leadership and create a vision for continued dedication
to Zionism, Israel, and Jewish Community
Methodology:
The summer institute's methodology is inspired by the hi-tech incubator
model harnessed by Israelis in the '90s, which brought together various brilliant
minds of different specialties in a supportive and inspiring environment. This
model--utilized by the leading cutting edge companies around the world--posits
that human capital is the most important factor in the information age economy,
and that by drawing people together from a diverse array of disciplines and
backgrounds, creative new solutions to human problems will flourish.
To this end, we are bringing together 12 young activists to be fellows from
Israel and the Diaspora with a portfolio of innovation--proven social
entrepreneurs of different skill sets who have devoted their lives to addressing
issues affecting the Jewish People.
These social entrepreneurs will be integrated into a network-building
process over the course of six weeks that will seek to develop the network as a
whole, and inspire sub-groups within the network interested in addressing more
narrowly focused deliverables. The program is aimed at developing team-
focused leadership skills as well as teams through a process of experiential
learning mixed with expert sessions. Via a creative environment in the city that
represents the Jewish People's beating heart, these fellows will work to enhance
Jewish creativity in the Age of Information. The six week curriculum featured
online includes the following:

1. Daily breakfasts in the institute's common space.

2. Unstructured "creative time" between the hours of 9-5pm, parallel to
Google’s latest Human Resources models, to allow Israeli fellows to

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PRESENTENSE INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE ZIONISM
seeding initiatives to change the way the jewish people live, think and work

continue their day-jobs and Diaspora fellows to focus on personal projects

run out of the institute.
3. Three evenings a week (on average) of programming, aimed at skill
development, including sessions framed around: Leadership, Creativity,
Culture, Business and Innovation. These sessions provide a backbone for
the Institute, and are buttressed by sub-group time in which teams will
work on different projects.
4. In addition, as mentioned above, PICZ is going to incubate a number of
nonprofit initiatives that the Fellows will collaborate upon throughout the
summer with the aim of having concrete projects ready to roll by the end
of the session.
5. Friday Master Innovator sessions -- four in number, bringing together
fellows and members with leaders in the political, social, business and hi-
tech spheres.

Expected Outcomes:
During the course of the summer, PICZ Fellows will be working on a
variety of projects focused on strengthening the Jewish community and
answering some of the challenges faced by the Jewish People. To ensure Fellows
are given a framework to focus their energy on a collaborative process, Fellows
will self-select into teams at the beginning of the summer and work with a
member of the steering committee as well as a Faculty mentor in the field in
which the project seeks to be developed (i.e. education, social welfare, Hasbarah,
environment, etc.). These projects will also benefit from the input and the
connections offered by Members, who will surround this core with a supportive
and encouraging level of energy and buzz.
In addition, the very existence of the Institute will help in developing
stronger ties between Israel and the Diaspora in that, for the most part, even the
most integrated summer programs for American Jews end up leaving American
Jews disconnected from their host society. By bringing together American Jews
and Israelis in one space, and providing them with a shared experience together
with top-level speakers focusing on a shared topic of concern, social networks
between are bound to develop.

Some of the People Involved:

Steering Committee (full bios online at www.creativezionism.com)

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PRESENTENSE INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE ZIONISM
seeding initiatives to change the way the jewish people live, think and work

• Ari Applbaum (ISR): Currently a senior account executive for Rudder Finn,
Israel
• Ariel Beery (USA): Editor of PresenTense Magazine, Institute co-founder.
• Mark Chess (ISR): Principal with The Infinity Private Equity Fund, involved in
numerous social-welfare nonprofits in Israel
• Rivka Friedman (USA): Dorot Fellow and communal activist
• Inbal Freund (ISR): KolDor conference co-chair, organizational psychologist and
consultant for a number of Jewish organization.
• Dyonna Ginsburg (ISR): Jewish Agency Education Department, former director
of Yavneh Olami and board member of B’Maagalei Tzedek
• Aharon Horwitz (ISR): CEO of MavenHaven, co-editor of BlogsofZion.org,
Institute co-founder
• Esther D. Kustanowitz (USA): Jewish Journalist, new media consultant

Fellows:
• Adam Soclof (USA): Founder of Hypersemitic, a collaborative multimedia
endeavor which enhances the connection of young Jews to the Jewish collective
• Avi Bass (USA): Campus Israel activist, founder of ImpactAliya
• Beth Shapiro (ISR): Founder of Tafkid, an Israel-based organization dedicated to
building Jewish unity, and consultant for Jewish nonprofits
• Eli Winkelman (USA): Founder of Challah For Hunger, and Save Darfur activist
• Eliezer Israel (ISR): Executive director of Bat Ayin Yeshiva
• Jason Lustig (USA): Co-founder of Chalav U’Dvash, Brandeis’s journal of Zionist
though, and programmer of various Web 2.0 sites
• Matt Bar (USA): Rapper, developing musical curriculum to teach biblical stories
• Moises Bassan (PANAMA): Programmer and Web Designer
• Ori Salzberg (ISR): Musician and producer, founder of Doogree Records
• Rosella de Jong (HOLLAND): Founder of English-language Jewish Youth
Magazine for the European Market

Members: We have over 40 members and growing. Here are just a few of our
outstanding members:
• Justin Abbot (USA): Programmer, Blogads.com and a number of Jewish sites
• Ronnie Haffner (ISR): Programmer, founder, safa-ivrit.org
• Melissa Frank (USA): Taglit-birthright alumni coordinator for DC area
• Nir Kouris (ISR): Programmer, founder of Israeli wifi start-ups
• Daniel Livner (USA): Director, Jconnect Seattle, birthright alumni coordinator
• Anshel Pfeffer (ISR): Founder, IsraeLife
• Joel Rothschild (USA): Programmer and founder, MoshavAm

Pre se nT en se In st it ute f or Cr ea ti ve Z io ni sm
info@creativezionism.com ∙ www.creativezionism.com
PRESENTENSE INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE ZIONISM
seeding initiatives to change the way the jewish people live, think and work

Pre se nT en se In st it ute f or Cr ea ti ve Z io ni sm
info@creativezionism.com ∙ www.creativezionism.com
PRESENTENSE INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE ZIONISM
seeding initiatives to change the way the jewish people live, think and work

Sponsorship Packages Available for the 2007 Summer Institute

The PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism, a highly-public space attracting top
talent in the Jewish community—and already attracting high volumes of media attention
—is providing sponsorship opportunities to organizations seeking to increase their
exposure to the global Jewish community. Due to the fact that PICZ fellows come from
countries such as Israel, France, England, Holland, Panama and the US, this local
opportunity has global possibilities.

Packages include the following:

1. Zion Package: For $5000 PICZ will list the sponsoring organization as a
Jerusalem Partner in all print materials, interviews, and on the PICZ website.
PICZ will also feature organization promotional materials in the Institute house
throughout the summer, and provide five official memberships with
representative access to all events, and aid in organizing off-hour recruitment
sessions for the sponsor throughout the course of the Institute.

2. Hermon Package: For $2000 PICZ will feature print materials for six weeks,
feature the organization on the web, and provide the organization with three
official memberships to the Institute, which provide the organization with
official and representative access to all events, as well as the opportunity to
organize off-hours recruitment and information sessions throughout the course
of the Institute.

3. Carmel Package: For $1500 PICZ will feature print materials in the center and
include the sponsoring organization's link and a short profile of the organization
on the PICZ website (new website which will feature media content including
podcasts and vodcasts, as well as liveblogging form the institute, will launch on
June 22nd)

4. Gilboa Package: For $1000 PICZ will feature a sponsoring organization's printed
materials in the PICZ center throughout the six weeks of the summer, and in all
special events PICZ will run.

5. Tabor Package: For $500 PICZ will feature a sponsoring organization's printed
materials in the PICZ center in the Rechavia neighborhood in Jerusalem for three
weeks of the conference.

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info@creativezionism.com ∙ www.creativezionism.com