Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archive
The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe is a philanthropic foundation that supports a range of projects across Europe focused on preserving and showcasing Jewish cultural heritage and strengthening and sustaining Jewish communal life.
Our grants assist organisations, institutions and individuals who share our vision for the dynamic role Jewish culture and heritage have to play in contemporary society. We support archives, libraries, museums, universities, cultural institutions and Jewish communal organisations. We also initiate our own projects which are designed to enhance the fields we support.
Our funding is focused on three key areas:
Academic Jewish Studies
RFHE aims to support rigorous, systematic research and education in Academic Jewish Studies (AJS) throughout Europe. The academic study of Judaism is fundamental to understanding the evolution of Judaism and the contemporary practices of the Jewish people. We also support AJS to ensure that the study of Jewish civilization is recognized as an important field of study in higher education in Europe, and that Jewish civilization itself is acknowledged as an integral part of both European and world culture, history and thought.
The different AJS grants available, both those for institutions and individuals, are all designed to develop the skills and broaden the horizons of students and early career scholars. This is to ensure that the Foundation fosters not only the next generation of Jewish Studies scholars, but also the next generation of Jewish heritage professionals, many of whom may pursue degrees in Jewish Studies prior to entering the heritage sector.
European Jewish Heritage
Museums, archives, libraries, cultural institutions and organisations across Europe are repositories of items that tell the story of the Jewish presence on this continent, from the Medieval period all the way up to the present day. These material, records, books and objects are some of the last surviving links with historic communities but they are often fragmentary, fragile and generally underused.
Our grant programme is designed to encourage organisations holding Jewish documentary heritage and items of Jewish significance, to make them as accessible as possible and showcase them to a diverse audience. We support efforts to preserve and catalogue these collections through to exhibitions which illustrate the ways in which Jewish life and communities have contributed to European life over the centuries and continue to do today.
Jewish Communal Life
Jewish communal professionals and volunteers across Europe play a vital role in supporting and enhancing Jewish life, working tirelessly to support their communities. They may be Jewish summer camp co-ordinators, programming staff at the Jewish Community Centre, Jewish studies teachers, synagogue and community lay leaders or parents who volunteer at Sunday schools.
Our grant programme recognises and appreciates their contribution and enables them to receive the necessary support they need to deepen their own Jewish knowledge or update their professional expertise so they can make an even greater difference to the Jewish communities in which they work.