About the JNI
Six Principles are the core of the organization and, as such, are not negotiable. They are (click to expand):
1. Point Of Departure
2. Judaism as Nexus
3. Zionism
4. Political Membership
5. Democracy
6. Israeli Sovereignty
What is the problem?
Today, there is a grave crisis of Jewish identity. It has sprung from a failure to effectively address the realities of the modern Jewish condition. This inaction has led to the problems of assimilation, stagnant political ideologies, the Jewish establishment’s neglect of the philosophical challenges put to the world by three hundred years of secular thought, and the decay of Israel’s autonomy in protecting itself, its citizens, and Jews around the world. This vulnerability has produced a precarious situation characterized by:
• Election and world recognition of Hamas as the government of
Palestine
• A statistically anti-Israel United Nations and ancillary activist groups
• Violent threats against Israel made by a near-nuclear Iran
• Intensification of worldwide anti-Semitism
• Fracturing, corruption, and extreme skew of the Israeli political system.
What is the JNI?
The Jewish National Initiative is an action-oriented forum that works towards the creation of a new Jewish culture that adequately serves as the expression of the Jewish nation. One that is strong, united, and sophisticated enough to interact with the nations of the world in order to both strengthen the position of Israel and world Jewry and contribute to the good of mankind.
We seek to establish a new framework of reference and understanding- a fusion of the progressive western secularism that has undeniably addressed the pragmatic needs of the polis, and the traditions and heritage that are unique and inherent to the Jewish national experience. It is through this fusion that the uniqueness of the Jewish experience will be adequately represented and properly secured.
We envision as the product of this dynamic, tradition-based culture, a world in which Jews are united philosophically by their heritage, and represented politically by an Israel that embraces the core values of Judaism.
How does JNI address the very real problems it recognizes?
In order to sow the ideas needed to create this culture, the JNI uses the principles and values of the Torah and Jewish experience to inform the policy and practice of each sphere of human activity today.
2. Judaism as Nexus
3. Zionism
4. Political Membership
5. Democracy
6. Israeli Sovereignty
What is the problem?
Today, there is a grave crisis of Jewish identity. It has sprung from a failure to effectively address the realities of the modern Jewish condition. This inaction has led to the problems of assimilation, stagnant political ideologies, the Jewish establishment’s neglect of the philosophical challenges put to the world by three hundred years of secular thought, and the decay of Israel’s autonomy in protecting itself, its citizens, and Jews around the world. This vulnerability has produced a precarious situation characterized by:
• Election and world recognition of Hamas as the government of
Palestine
• A statistically anti-Israel United Nations and ancillary activist groups
• Violent threats against Israel made by a near-nuclear Iran
• Intensification of worldwide anti-Semitism
• Fracturing, corruption, and extreme skew of the Israeli political system.
What is the JNI?
The Jewish National Initiative is an action-oriented forum that works towards the creation of a new Jewish culture that adequately serves as the expression of the Jewish nation. One that is strong, united, and sophisticated enough to interact with the nations of the world in order to both strengthen the position of Israel and world Jewry and contribute to the good of mankind.
We seek to establish a new framework of reference and understanding- a fusion of the progressive western secularism that has undeniably addressed the pragmatic needs of the polis, and the traditions and heritage that are unique and inherent to the Jewish national experience. It is through this fusion that the uniqueness of the Jewish experience will be adequately represented and properly secured.
We envision as the product of this dynamic, tradition-based culture, a world in which Jews are united philosophically by their heritage, and represented politically by an Israel that embraces the core values of Judaism.
How does JNI address the very real problems it recognizes?
In order to sow the ideas needed to create this culture, the JNI uses the principles and values of the Torah and Jewish experience to inform the policy and practice of each sphere of human activity today.
We begin by looking at these major spheres—economics, politics, art, education, security, religion and culture— in order to forge a new paradigm of Jewish life.
This framework looks at the world from a perspective that benefits from the strengths, and is confronted by the challenges, of the existence of a Jewish state; that has witnessed the failure of post-modern, post-Zionist thought as a valid theoretical framework for addressing the ethical and political issues of a nation; and that observes a major crisis building vis-à-vis Judaism, Israel, and geopolitical stability, which has seen little benefit from the philosophies and ethics employed by various segments of the Jewish nation.
This framework looks at the world from a perspective that benefits from the strengths, and is confronted by the challenges, of the existence of a Jewish state; that has witnessed the failure of post-modern, post-Zionist thought as a valid theoretical framework for addressing the ethical and political issues of a nation; and that observes a major crisis building vis-à-vis Judaism, Israel, and geopolitical stability, which has seen little benefit from the philosophies and ethics employed by various segments of the Jewish nation.
Who is JNI and what does it do?
Our approach is bottom-up: we start with the populations and areas on which we can have an immediate and meaningful impact. We look to the culture-creators, the students, the young professionals, and the new thinkers who are currently churning out the ideas and values which will be essential to the reinvigoration of Jewish life, the recalibration of Israeli politics, and the reawakening of belief in the tradition and heritage of Judaism.
The goal is to gather people who share our core, non-negotiable values and can advance the dialectic of the Jewish experience in a way that moves Jewish life closer to its roots while farther outward in its vast potential. To do this we will:
• Serve as a center for similar-minded people around the world
• Create independent policy that works on the basis of our paradigm
• Provide sponsorship to filmmakers, artists, and writers whose work
contributes to the progression of the Jewish dialectic
• Engage in political and social activism in Israel and abroad.
Each facet of the organization is geared towards shaping the Jewish dialog by confronting important issues head on and replacing critical issues, long-hidden under theories of apology or anxiety, back onto the table.
Copyright JNI 2007
All rights reserved © JNI 2010
