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Increasing knowledge and understanding of the Jewish heritage is the goal of this program. Through the innovative use of media, policy research, and leadership training, it endeavors to enhance awareness of Jewish history and culture and to build bridges between people of diverse backgrounds.

A central aspect of the program builds on the power of television and film to bring the past to life, opening up new worlds and engaging viewers in new ways. In this grant period, an acclaimed interfaith series with Bill Moyers on the Book of Genesis reached unprecedented audiences, demonstrating the powerful impact of ideas, conveyed with originality and brilliance over the small screen. Two landmark series about Israel and Jewish history supported by the Foundation evolved in new directions while, for children, Rechov Sumsum (the Israeli version of Sesame Street) broke new ground with a collaborative Israeli-Palestinian production, designed to teach Israeli and Palestinian youngsters about each other. The Jewish Heritage Video Collection, a video library with extensive curricular materials, helps ensure that these and other valuable film and television programs are available for educational uses at dozens of sites around the country.

A portion of the program is devoted to projects that use telecommunications technology to create innovative educational resources. For example, Heritage: Civilization and the Jews will shortly be issued in an interactive DVD, and the Internet is the location for a unique "virtual archive" on Jewish women that will present material from sites all over the world in attractive, accessible form. A new film we have supported uses the archive of videotaped Holocaust testimonies gathered by Yale University to communicate the experience of the Holocaust in a powerful way.

In Israel the Foundation has directed its resources to policy research that is contributing thoughtful, objective information to the often-heated debate on critical issues, including a new initiative on the environment. To develop leadership for research and teaching in the United States, Israel, and elsewhere, we have continued to support graduate fellowships in Jewish studies. A final group of grants supported efforts to improve understanding between African-Americans and Jews through conferences, theatrical productions, and museum exhibitions.

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