Mission Statement
Yehudit Institute provides humanitarian support to refugees, advances migration scholarship through research and public heritage interpretation, and promotes democratic values to help safe travel and return to and from anywhere people care to go.
Vision Statement
We envision a world where all people can travel and find home safely, where migration stories inspire empathy and reception, and where shared experiences of wonder strengthen humane and democratic worldviews. Yehudit Institute will be recognized as a leading organization bridging practical refugee assistance with action research in the field of Pilgrimage Studies.
At right, Judy Wallace. As an Orthodox Jewish woman, my personal faith guides my life, even as I study the history of religion with academic rigor. Distinguishing between religious belief and cultural context helps clarify the motivations behind my research. I strive for objectivity in my scholarship, though my humanity and faith naturally inform the questions I ask and the way I interpret historical evidence.
Values Statement
We believe in the human dignity of all people and embrace diverse ways of knowing with a mandate to pray for the peace of Jerusalem Psalms 122:6. Yehudit Institute contributes to a more just and cohesive society that values human mobility and the right to remain. In alignment with this value, we support democracy to protect human rights and promote individual freedom. We firmly oppose refoulement and stand against any forced return of refugees to places where they face persecution or danger.
The organization will help in three ways.
First, the organization will help refugees. Help will come from respite housing for Jews in the USA, Israel, and in the EU. Access to respite housing will also be supported by helping people who have a stated need for travel. A goal for the future will be to help with post-resettlement services.
Job Title: Helps and Manager of Respite Services
Second, help will come from authorship of books, articles, Hear-O podcast, and Q&A/lectures; and from heritage interpretation programs and resources. The content will be newly published research into the past, present, and preferred future of human migration with a specific focus on Pilgrimage Studies. A bias toward humane and faith-based action research affords a commitment to democratic values. Acknowledging this bias as a prosocial choice affirms the limits of neutrality in heritage interpretation. The audience served will be the educated public.
Job Title: Founder and Scholar
Third, help will come from community building to increase access to the human experience of awe. This means awe as a sense of vastness and humility, recognition of the sacred or profound, experiential foundation for ethical reflection, connection to something larger than oneself, and empowerment through awareness. The community will be an affinity group of supporters united by a shared commitment to human dignity. Through principled stewardship, we bridge the traditional divide between giver and receiver to advance the fundamental right to travel and return safely to one’s home country.
Job Title: Events and Donor Stewardship Specialist
Job Title: Crisis Communication Spokesperson