A Socratic exploration of worldly affairs.

The Classical Forum for Contemporary Issues was formed in the wake of the anti-Israel demonstrations sweeping through academia as a reaction to the massacre of Jews on October 7th and Israel’s response.
The Forum brings to academic audiences voices that have been silenced or are rarely heard on campuses today, including pro-Israel and pro-Western voices, as well as dissident voices from non-democratic authoritarian societies. It aims to provide a counter-weight to the numerous anti-Israel organizations that currently dominate academic discourse.

This team is supported by an international advisory board including Professor Ed Halper (University of Georgia), Professor Shale Horowitz (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Professor Eugene Kontorovich (George Mason University), Professor Jacob Howland (Austin University), Professor Shawn Zelig Aster (Bar Ilan University), Professor Michelle Kundmueller (Old Dominion University), Professor Filip Karfík (University of Fribourg), Professor Steven Balch, Professor Aldo Brancacci, Professor Ken Masugi, Dr. Fiorenza Bevilaqua, the honorable Pavel Bratinka, and many more, providing broad geographical and disciplinary reach.

We provide a space for tolerant and respectful discourse on topics of vital importance for the future, while drawing on the highest ideals of the tradition of humane thought stemming from Athens and Jerusalem.
The Forum is composed of scholars from classics and related disciplines, such as history, philosophy and political science, united in the desire to understand our world in a spirit of genuine inquiry. The leadership team includes Professor Gabriel Danzig (founder and president), Professor Sophia Stone (vice president), Professor Alexander Kulik (vice-president), Dr. Adiel Zimran (vice-president), Ms. Lauren Jerozolim (Chief Executive Officer), Dr. Christie Kas (Chief Marketing Officer), Dr. Ricardo Gancz (Social Media Director), Major Nechemia Danzig (Israel advisor) and Mr Nachshon Krauss, MA (international advisor).

The Forum provides a unique opportunity to counter anti-Israel narratives where they originate – within academia itself. While numerous organizations engage in public diplomacy, our forum is distinctively positioned to influence academic discourse by promoting respected scholars and using established institutional channels. Because it consists of both Jewish and non-Jewish professors, it offers an opportunity to strengthen alliances with silent majority non-Jews who are not part of the evangelical world.

Academic missions to Israel

Professor Danzig has hosted numerous professional conferences in Israel and online events with Zionist content. These conferences and events have put Israel on the map within his field of expertise, and have created bonds with Israel for numerous conference and online participants.

1. Exploration missionsfor overseas academics

2. Professional conferences

These missions bring friends and allies to Israel for 10 days of learning and exploring. They serve to educate the visitors about Israel, to encourage bonding with the land and people of Israel, and to provide the skills needed to advocate for Israel. While some missions will be aimed exclusively at Jewish academics, most will be mixed between Jewish and non-Jewish participants. All missions will include Israeli academics.

Often the most effective bonds are created casually when researchers visit Israel and collaborate with Israeli colleagues on professional subjects. We offer assistance to Israeli researchers seeking to convene academic and professional conferences in Israel. This includes supplementary mini-missions for academic conferences that are already scheduled.

Zionist publication project

Publication of academic research on a variety of Zionist topics including: the indigenous language, literature, culture and people of Israel, the history of the modern state of Israel, the role of international institutions in the conflict, the morality and effectiveness of warfare, personal stories of non-Jewish Zionists, new approaches to peace, new visions for Judaism and the Jewish people.
Sabbatical research program. We wish to provide an opportunity for highly committed academic advocates to pursue Zionist research projects in Israel with the goal of influencing academic discourse.
Publication support and publicity for academics pursuing Zionist publishing projects. Numerous works are available in Hebrew and other languages that need to be translated and published in English. Every publishing event is also an online media event.
Indigenous literature project. This is a four-volume series on indigenous literature of Israel (Bible, Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud, Piyyutim, Shulchan Aruch, Lurianic Kabbalah, Modern Hebrew literature). This will create a fundamental pivot in the conversation about the indigenous culture of this land.
MA program in Israel Indigenous Studies. We wish to engage and influence the pro-Palestine community by presenting materials on the history of the indigenous language, literature and religion of *Palestine*. This program aims at two markets: 1) Jews and *Palestinian* Arabs interested in the common heritage of the land. 2) Other interested parties who wish to learn about this land and its culture.
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