Founding Principles
Kol Am’s founding principles are shaped by the wisdom of three modern Jewish voices. Yuval Noah Harari, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, and Rabbi Sherwin Wine each offer a lens that grounds our approach in humanism, feminism, and secularism. Together, their ideas inspire how we teach, learn, and build community.
Progressive Humanism
“The humanist religion worships humanity, and expects humanity to play the part that God played in Christianity and Islam, and that the laws of nature played in Buddhism and Daoism.”— Yuval Noah Harari
Progressive Humanism is the belief that people can create lives of meaning and integrity without relying on divine authority. It emphasizes human dignity, reason, and empathy as guides for action. Rooted in curiosity and responsibility, it invites us to question freely and shape justice together.
At Kol Am, we believe human experience and agency are the drivers of justice, meaning, and change. We teach our children that cooperation across diverse individuals and communities is the foundation of human progress. We find joy in asking big questions, and we celebrate the human capacity to imagine and create a more just world.
Jewish Secularism
“No deity will save us; we must save ourselves.” — Sherwin Wine
Jewish Secularism is a way of being Jewish that celebrates culture, ethics, and history without requiring belief in God. It understands identity as rooted in human creativity and responsibility, not divine command. It offers memory and tradition as tools for meaning and connection in the here and now.
At Kol Am, we celebrate Jewish identity as a cultural, historical, and ethical inheritance — independent of supernatural authority. We find meaning in stories, traditions, and values that enrich our lives and connect us across generations.
Genderful Feminism
“Solidarity is the political version of love.” — Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
Genderful Feminism is the meeting place of queer and feminist visions, where gender is embraced as expansive and creative. It resists rigid hierarchies and imagines new possibilities for freedom and belonging. At its core, it is about care and the right to thrive as one’s self.
At Kol Am, we teach our children to recognize inequality, to question power, and to act with grace and solidarity. We create a learning spaces built upon collaboration, compassion, and care, celebrating all genders.