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THE EDWARD I KOCH CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND JEWISH ETHICS

Beit Morasha of Jerusalem and former New York Mayor Edward I Koch share a passion for strengthening Jewish identity, promoting Jewish ethics, and development of a meaningful and just public policy. Beit Morasha is therefore honored and delighted to pay well-deserved tribute to a valued and esteemed friend who has been a beacon of Jewish values in the United States and in Israel for over four decades, by naming the Edward I. Koch Center for Public Policy and Jewish Ethics at Beren College. The Center encompasses all of Beit Morasha's programs and institutes for the development of a just public policy and its programs that work to instill Jewish ethics and values in Israel and the Jewish world.

Central institutes of the Koch Center include:

The Schwarcz Institute for Ethics, Judaism and State (named after the late Prof. Ernest Schwarcz, Dean of Jewish Studies at Queens College, NY), where outstanding young scholars explore the interplay between Jewish tradition and western democracy, politics and values; The Institute aims to impact upon Israeli and Jewish society as a whole through publications, conferences, courses and the outstanding public careers of its graduates, who populate significant positions in education, politics, academia and social leadership;

The Institute for Social Justice, which offers educational programs that explore the ways in which Jewish Law, Philosophy and tradition may inform and respond to today's social justice challenges. Over 100 participants from all walks of life engage in weekly intensive interactive study sessions. The Institute conducts well attended monthly conferences on social justice issues in cooperation with Beit Avi Chai, and has recently published a book of essays written by its scholars and members.

The Mel Menachem Salberg Scholarship in Jewish Ethics, which will select an outstanding young scholar annually for a full research and study scholarship at the Koch Center Programs.

Read media coverage of the event establishing the Koch Center