Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture
Encyclopedia
The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture was founded in 2001. Its mission is to help support the survival of Jewish life and culture in the face of unprecedented global threat to the Jewish people, especially in Israel; strengthen Jewish identity and sustain Jewish heritage in the United States in the face of assimilation; celebrate current Jewish achievement in all aspects of human endeavor; and work for the reform of Jewish institutions.
Jewish life in Poland received an almost mortal blow during the Holocaust. Decades of Communism followed World War II, see History of Poland (1945–1989)
. As a result, Jewish schools closed, public programs on Jewish culture were forbidden and only a handful of historians were permitted to study the archives of Polish Jewish history.
The fall of Communism in 1989 changed all of this dramatically. Many Poles have learned about their and Jewish culture has flourished. The JHIP is supporting institutions and individuals –– in Poland as well as in the United States –– who are helping preserve Jewish heritage or are enriching the cultural and intellectual landscape today. A list of grantees appears on the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture's http://taubephilanthropies.org/node/74 website.
To further the goals of the JHIP, the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture has established a base of operations in Warsaw at the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Culture at the . The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture is the only American Jewish foundation with an office and ongoing presence in Poland.
The JHIP Director is Shana Penn, author and visiting scholar at the [Graduate Theological Union]’s Center for Jewish Studies in Berkeley, California.
. He is chairman and founder of the Woodmont Companies, a diversified real estate investment and management organization. He has served as trustee of the University of Notre Dame de Namur, the University of San Francisco, and as governor of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
At his alma mater, Stanford University, Mr. Taube is founder and advisory board chair of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies, which was established in 1986. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution
and serves on its Executive Committee, and was founder and past chairman of the advisory board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
(SIEPR). In addition, Mr. Taube is past chair of the Stanford Athletic Board. His involvement in Stanford Athletics includes his family's principal gift to Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium and his significant support of Stanford's new football stadium, built in 2006.
Jewish Heritage Initiative in Poland
In 2004, the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture founded the Jewish Heritage Initiative in Poland (JHIP). The Initiative aims to nurture the revival of Jewish life in Poland, further awareness of this resurgence among Jews and non-Jews and foster positive interest in Poland and Polish Jews among American Jews. This mission reinforces the Taube Philanthropies’ broader purpose of sustaining Jewish culture in the aftermath of the Holocaust. The JHIP is a partnership program, made up of founding sponsors and new partners from the United States and Europe.Jewish life in Poland received an almost mortal blow during the Holocaust. Decades of Communism followed World War II, see History of Poland (1945–1989)
History of Poland (1945–1989)
The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Soviet Communist dominance imposed after the end of World War II over the People's Republic of Poland...
. As a result, Jewish schools closed, public programs on Jewish culture were forbidden and only a handful of historians were permitted to study the archives of Polish Jewish history.
The fall of Communism in 1989 changed all of this dramatically. Many Poles have learned about their and Jewish culture has flourished. The JHIP is supporting institutions and individuals –– in Poland as well as in the United States –– who are helping preserve Jewish heritage or are enriching the cultural and intellectual landscape today. A list of grantees appears on the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture's http://taubephilanthropies.org/node/74 website.
To further the goals of the JHIP, the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture has established a base of operations in Warsaw at the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Culture at the . The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture is the only American Jewish foundation with an office and ongoing presence in Poland.
The JHIP Director is Shana Penn, author and visiting scholar at the [Graduate Theological Union]’s Center for Jewish Studies in Berkeley, California.
Founder
Tad Taube is the chairman and founder of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture. He also serves as president of the Koret FoundationKoret Foundation
The Koret Foundation, along with the Koret Fund, is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was organized in 1978 by Joseph and Stephanie Koret, along with Tad Taube, their family friend and Chief Executive Officer of their women's sportswear company, Korett of...
. He is chairman and founder of the Woodmont Companies, a diversified real estate investment and management organization. He has served as trustee of the University of Notre Dame de Namur, the University of San Francisco, and as governor of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
At his alma mater, Stanford University, Mr. Taube is founder and advisory board chair of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies, which was established in 1986. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
and serves on its Executive Committee, and was founder and past chairman of the advisory board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research is a nonpartisan economic research institution housed at Stanford University. It was founded in 1982 as a way to bring together economic scholars from different parts of the University. George Shultz was a key player in its inception...
(SIEPR). In addition, Mr. Taube is past chair of the Stanford Athletic Board. His involvement in Stanford Athletics includes his family's principal gift to Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium and his significant support of Stanford's new football stadium, built in 2006.
See also
- Timeline of Jewish Polish history
- List of Polish Jews
- Jewish historyJewish historyJewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
- Jewish ethnic divisionsJewish ethnic divisionsJewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population. Although considered one single self-identifying ethnicity, there are distinct ethnic divisions among Jews, most of which are primarily the result of geographic branching from an...
- Jewish Culture Festival