TL;DR: The International Nahum Goldmann Fellowship (NGF) is a unique global gathering that cultivates Jewish leadership through deep learning, open dialogue, cultural exchange, and cross-community connection. For nearly four decades, NGF has united diverse Jewish leaders from close to 60 countries, fostering trust, creativity, and collaboration across ideological and geographic divides. More than a conference, it serves as a model for renewal, equipping leaders to navigate today’s challenges while building a resilient, compassionate, and globally connected Jewish future.

I first encountered the International Nahum Goldmann Fellowship (NGF) as a rabbinical school student. I was struck by how rare it is to find a space where young Jewish leaders from across the world gather—not simply to network or strategize, but to learn deeply, reflect honestly, and grow together in spirit and purpose.

Founded in 1987 by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, the NGF rests on a profound premise: the future of Jewish life depends on effective leadership and strong institutions, and on cultivating cross-cultural relationships and values-based leadership rooted in Jewish thought, history, and community. Over nearly four decades, the NGF has brought together rabbis, educators, activists, artists, scholars, and seekers from close to 60 countries—lay leaders and professionals who carry forth the richness of Jewish diversity across geography, religious denominations, and political ideology into a shared learning experience. In this way, NGF aligns with the mission of Global Jewry, a growing global network of Jewish organizations and leaders committed to strengthening ties across geography, ideology, and institutional silos. Many members of Global Jewry are part of NGF’s Global Alumni Network, and this partnership facilitates the amplification of different voices, resources, and collaboration efforts.

What makes NGF distinctive is its holistic, high-level approach. Each gathering blends:

• A safe and welcoming environment that allows participants to feel accepted, respected, and free to share openly—fostering trust, belonging, and honest exploration.
• Lectures from world-renowned faculty offering depth, challenge, and fresh perspectives on urgent questions historically and currently facing Jewish life.
• Cultural workshops and experiential programs that spark creativity and foster mutual understanding.
• A spotlight on the host country’s Jewish community—this year, participants will experience the vibrant Jewish life of Brazil, learning from its history, innovations, and challenges.
• Fellow-led discussion groups where participants explore big questions—about identity, community, and leadership—through the lens of their own lived experiences, seeking approaches and solutions that may benefit all.

Another distinctive characteristic of the NGF is its dialogical and open approach to Jewish texts—both ancient and contemporary. This method encourages participants to encounter the tradition not as a closed canon but as a living conversation, one that invites multiple perspectives and resonates with present challenges. By cultivating a spirit of learning rather than dogma, and eschewing the polemical or political, this approach provides a framework to engage even the most divisive and complex issues with openness, respect, and intellectual honesty.

Together, these elements make the NGF more than a conference—they create a laboratory for renewal. NGF’s model builds a shared language among Jews of vastly different backgrounds, one rooted not in geography or accent, but in timeless questions: Who are we to one another across difference? What do we owe the future? How do we lead with integrity in a time of complexity and change?

Beyond its distinctive educational model, the conceptual framework of the NGF is built upon creating meaningful dialogue and connection across real ideological differences. This includes a deep investment in fostering engagement, communication and community between Israeli and Diaspora Jewry.

At a moment when Jewish communities worldwide are navigating rising antisemitism, polarization, disaffiliation, and generational shifts, the NGF leads with a replicable blueprint for other global gatherings: combine intellectual rigor, cultural exchange, community immersion, and peer-to-peer dialogue, and you create proven opportunity for both personal transformation and collective visioning.

As I look ahead, I hope more leaders—emerging and established—will have the chance to experience the Fellowship’s depth, connection, and renewal. In doing so, we not only strengthen the individuals who attend, but also weave a more resilient, compassionate, and globally connected Jewish future.

Shavua tov — and may this be the week the hostages come home,

Rabbi Jeni S. Friedman, PhD
CEO, Memorial Foundation of Jewish Culture