The JEP Jakobovits Prize

To Make a Difference, to Change the World

JEP draws on the depth and creativity of Orthodox Jewish ethical traditions and brings them into dialogue with today’s moral challenges.

To this end, JEP presents the Rabbi Lord Immanuel Jakobovits זצ״ל Prize for Jewish Ethics to school pupils, university, yeshiva and sem students. Rabbi Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1991, was a pioneer of Jewish medical ethics and a leading moral voice in public life.

Entries should show originality, clarity, and grounding in Jewish sources, with attention to human well-being, practical application, and how ethical ideas can be tested in real contexts. Through these prizes, JEP hopes to help nurture a new generation of thinkers who can bring the richness of Jewish ethics into schools, universities, yeshivas, sems and the wider world.

ILLUSTRATIVE ETHICAL QUESTIONS

• What are our duties to civilians and victims of collateral harm?

• Where do the limits of collective responsibility lie?

• How far do obligations extend to non-Jews and vulnerable groups?

• How should Torah ethics address global crises without partisanship?

• What principles guide our response to Palestinian aspirations and our own?

The aim is not to produce legal rulings or political arguments, but to explore how timeless Jewish values can inspire fresh approaches to modern dilemmas.

Outstanding entries will be recognised with prizes and publication on the JEP website, and, where appropriate, in other publications. All participants will receive a certificate of participation.

JEWISH ETHICS PROJECT HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION

1. 1,000 to 5000-word academic essay (collaborations encouraged)

2. Focus: a creative Orthodox Jewish approach to a selected contemporary ethical issue

JEP UNDERGRADUATE, YESHIVA AND SEM COMPETITION

1. 1,000 to 5000-word academic essay (collaborations encouraged)

2. Focus: Jewish ethics and global debates

BOTH COMPETITIONS OFFER

• Cash prizes

• Selected entrants will defend their work before an expert panel

HOW TO ENTER

• Please register by sending us your name, age, institution and contact email, to:  competition@jewishethicsproject.org, as soon as possible.

• Full instructions will be published on the JEP website shortly after Succot and sent to registered applicants.

• Submission deadline: end of Chanukah

PUBLICATION NOTE

This will be a competition showcase, not a formal academic publication, and does not prevent later submission, in revised form, to peer-reviewed ournals or other outlets. Entrants retain full copyright in their work.

We are looking forward to your entries.