The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded $10.4 million to the New York–based think tank and educational center Tikvah — the largest grant in NEH’s six decades of existence.
The scale of this award is historic. But more important is its purpose. At a moment when antisemitism is surging across campuses, city streets and online spaces, the grant affirms that this ancient hatred cannot be confronted by politics or policing alone. It must also be answered in the realm of education, scholarship and culture — the very domain of the humanities.
Tikvah’s “Jewish Civilization Project” is designed to do just that. Over three years, it will develop curricula for schools, train teachers, expand fellowships for young people, build new university courses, and support publications and lectures on Jewish resilience and contributions to Western civilization. It will even provide fellowships for journalists to deepen coverage of Jewish history and antisemitism. This is a comprehensive effort to shape the next generation of citizens and leaders, replacing caricature with knowledge.
The NEH deserves credit for recognizing Tikvah as a uniquely qualified partner. Since 1965, the agency has funded museums, libraries, universities and scholars. Its $200 million budget is spread across hundreds of projects. That it directed such a significant portion of its resources to this single initiative signals that fighting antisemitism through education is now a national priority.
For two decades, Tikvah has built a record of serious work. Its seminars and fellowships have educated thousands in Jewish texts and ideas. Its publications, including Mosaic, have shaped debate in Jewish and American intellectual life. Its conferences convene scholars, policymakers and community leaders. Alumni serve in journalism, academia and public service. Tikvah has already demonstrated the ability to cultivate leaders who confront antisemitism with ideas rather than slogans.
Critics see things differently. Some dismiss the award as an authoritarian power play, with the Trump administration using its funding power to remake education in its own image while ignoring the free marketplace of ideas. They cast the grant as a cynical use of Jewish fear as a pretext to support the broader MAGA agenda and frame it as yet another front in the ongoing culture clash between liberals and conservatives.
That critique misreads the moment. While it is true that Tikvah is more conservative than many of its competitors, it does not hide its leanings and the administration is surely more comfortable supporting it than some of its peers. But there is nothing inherently wrong with government favoring like-minded partners when the objectives are legitimate and the recipient is deserving, capable and well-accomplished. To suggest otherwise implies that conservative institutions are disqualified simply for being conservative. That is neither liberal nor democratic.
This grant is not about left versus right. It is about whether America will meet antisemitism with seriousness. Tikvah is positioned to deliver an intellectual and cultural response at a scale few others can match. On the merits, it is qualified. On the need, the case is urgent.
The grant is a rebuke to intellectual laziness and moral cowardice. It invests in deep learning — study of Jewish texts, philosophy, history and contributions to Western democracy — as the surest antidote to ignorance and hate.
That is why this award should be celebrated. It affirms Tikvah’s central role, demonstrates that antisemitism will be confronted not just with slogans but with substance, and proves that America can still fight darkness with light.
