Jewish leadership training programs are a new phenomenon, with 69% of the programs founded within the last 10 years. UJA New York Federation, Panim for Jewish Renaissance in Israel and Gesher want to encourage the growth of this field. This report is a first contribution towards the greater effort. It provides an initial understanding of the Jewish leadership training programs, on two levels:  1) A description of the basic characteristics of the programs covered by the survey; 2) Initial thoughts on the accomplishments and challenges facing Jewish leadership training programs and questions for future discussion and research.

The report provides the basic information required for strategic discussion and decision making and for determining an agenda for future research. Given preliminary nature of the research goals, the authors will not make "recommendations," but rather pose strategic questions throughout the report. These questions are based on the data collected from the survey. Funders, who wish to benefit from this report, should pose these questions, both to themselves in order to clarify their own goals regarding social change in Israel and to the organizations they fund.