Mission

The goal of the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program is to provide Israel's next generation of public leaders with advanced training in public management and leadership development, thus enhancing the quality of democracy and the institutional vitality of Israel's public sector.  

General Information

Established in 1989, The Wexner Israel Fellowship Program represents a unique and important partnership among The Wexner Foundation, The Israeli Civil Service Commission and The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Each year, up to ten outstanding Israeli public officials are funded to pursue a Master's Degree in Public Administration at the Kennedy School and to participate in a set of leadership institutes sponsored by the Foundation itself.

Wexner Israel Fellows find themselves at the hub of both the university-wide program in public policy and the Kennedy School's faculty, curriculum, students, and research centers. Consequently, they encounter a rich environment conducive to reflection and dialogue about Israel's policy challenges and the diverse leadership strategies that could address those challenges. Wexner Israel Fellows are awarded a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) upon successful completion of the academic year, as well as a certificate of achievement for completion of the Foundation's Israel Fellowship Program.

Highlights of the Program

During the course of the Fellowship Program, the Foundation sponsors a number of leadership institutes, seminars and meetings designed to supplement the formal academic experience:

• The Program's Co-Curricular Seminar meets weekly as a regular forum for incorporating the HKS experience into the Israeli public sector reality.
• The Foundation's fall and winter institutes provide Israel Fellows with in-depth training on the cultural, organizational and religious realities of North American Jewish community life. This training provides a platform for creating more significant and productive relationships between Israeli leaders and their North American Jewish community counterparts.
• The spring institutes revolve around the dynamics of American democracy and culminate with a week of on-site meetings in Washington, D.C., giving Israel Fellows an insider's view of the American political system. The spring institute also includes high-level, one-on-one meetings with national U.S. leaders, matched to the professional field of each Israel Fellow.
  
• Interaction with the New England Jewish community, creating ongoing personal and professional ties, gives further depth to Fellowship experience, often extending beyond the Fellowship year.    

Fellowship Awards

The Wexner-Israel Fellowship is granted for an 11-month period, during which each Fellow will complete the Mid-Career Master in Public Administration program at HKS, as well as the Foundation's institutes and programs.

The award covers:

• Tuition and fees at HKS;
• A generous living stipend;
• Funding for all Foundation programs and special institutes;
• Travel between Israel and Boston, for the Fellow, his or her spouse, and any accompanying dependents;
• Health insurance, for the Fellow, his or her spouse, and any accompanying dependents;
• Limited moving costs, for the Fellow, his or her spouse, and any accompanying dependents;
• Book allowance.

Upon Completion of the Fellowship Year

As of spring 2012, twenty-three classes of Wexner Israel Fellows will have completed this prestigious program and have returned to Israel, constituting a vibrant and engaged alumni network of 216 public sector officials. To learn more about our alumni community please click here.