Machon Meir

Machon Meir (Hebrew: מכון מאיר) is a religious Zionist^[1] outreach organization and yeshiva located near Givat Shaul in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat Moshe. It is one of the larger Jewish outreach (Hebrew: קירוב, romanized: kiruv, lit. 'bringing close') organizations in Israel and strongly associated^{[according to whom?]} with nationalist politics and the settler movement.

History & Ideology

The Beit Midrash of Machon Meir

Machon Meir was founded shortly after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 by Rabbi Dov Bigon. Bigon was educated at Mercaz HaRav under Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, so while Machon Meir is not officially affiliated with Mercaz HaRav, the two have very similar ideologies.^{[further explanation needed]}^[2] The yeshiva was founded for and geared toward students with less formal Jewish education and/or little knowledge of the Hebrew language.^{[citation needed]} Machon Meir encourages full participation in Israeli society and the Israel Defense Forces.

In Jerusalem, the Machon Meir yeshiva offers full-time, intensive study programs for young Jewish men of all backgrounds and levels of knowledge ^[3]^[4] in Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.^[5] Areas of study include Hebrew Bible, Talmud, the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, history, Musar literature, philosophy, and a male-only Hebrew ulpan.^[6] Machon Meir is also a common destination for non-Jews from all over the world seeking an Orthodox conversion to Judaism that will be recognised by the State of Israel.^{[citation needed]}