Why and How to Make a Donation

Help Polis keep growing!

Our achievements over the last twelve years

Since the founding of Polis in 2011, thousands of students have learned to speak both ancient and modern languages in our classrooms. Acquiring local modern languages is a necessary contribution to mutual understanding in the region, while mastering ancient languages opens a window to the founding civilizations of our world.

Notably, Polis has played a major role in revitalizing the languages of the Bible. Over two hundred people worldwide today speak Biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, or both because they have studied them at Polis. Many of them have become teachers themselves creating a ripple effect. This makes Polis a global hub from which these languages are disseminated around the world.

Check out 12 more major achievements of Polis by clicking on the button below!

Other achievements

Growth of the student body

The number of students in our language courses in Jerusalem has steadily increased from 200 in 2011 to some 660 during the last three years. Due to the impact of the Covid pandemic, however, enrollment stopped growing. Furthermore, the ongoing uncertainty caused by the current regional conflict has negatively impacted the present semester’s registrations.

Graduate programs also saw a significant annual growth from 10 students in 2013 to 40 in 2020. Again, the growth was halted by the pandemic. Anxieties over the current security situation have impeded our ability to recover our growth trajectory.

Aim of the campaign
Polis is a non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of languages and Humanities. Our dream is to foster peace through better mutual understanding and a deeper knowledge of the Bible and of the ancient world. To achieve this vision, we are launching an End-of-Year campaign with a single request: Help Polis keep growing!

Ways to contribute

Click on the four icons below to explore the four goals of our campaign that you can contribute to:

General Needs

Your donation can contribute towards Polis acquiring library resources, improving facilities, and implementing a new registration system. These are essential for our continuous development.

BUDGET: 50 000 EUROS

PROGRESS: 19 300 EUROS

38.6%

First edition in Hebrew of the complete Old and New Testament

This research project aims at producing the first edition in Hebrew of the complete Old and New Testament according to the order of the Vulgate. Strange as it may seem, some of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament have never been fully translated in Hebrew. If an Israeli scholar needs to read in Hebrew the complete Old Testament, including the Septuagint books which have been adopted into the Catholic canon (such as the book of Wisdom or Tobit), he or she will not be able to find these works within a single edition. The project includes a philological annotation of the biblical books.

BUDGET: 300 000 EUROS

PROGRESS: 40 000 EUROS

13.3%

Philological dictionary on the key words of the New Testament

This research project aims at producing a philological dictionary on the key words of the New Testament with the following title: The Words of Scripture: Meaning, Scope, Transmission. This book explores the definition of key words and phrases which have been subject to two thousand years of controversy. The book will treat each word of debated interpretation in alphabetical order. Out of the 57 entries of this dictionary, 13 have already been completed. The book is being written to be accessible to all educated people as well as to specialists.

BUDGET: 100 000 EUROS

PROGRESS: 63 000 EUROS

63%

Second volume of the Ancient Greek Thematic Dictionary

This research project aims at producing the second volume of the Ancient Greek Thematic dictionary. The Ancient Greek Thematic Dictionary organizes Attic and Koine words and phrases, attested in primary sources, according to semantic domains. The domains themselves (and their structure) are labeled in English and French. English and French. Each Ancient Greek expression is further illustrated with a relevant quotation. Thus, an entry comprises the English, French, and Ancient Greek expressions for a given concept. The first volume of the thematic dictionary was published in October 2025.

BUDGET: 150 000 EUROS

PROGRESS: 3 600 EUROS

2.4%

Endowment

For those who wish to make a lasting impact, consider donating to our endowment fund. You can contribute to our general endowment fund or the specific one dedicated to scholarships. To explore this option, please contact us at [email protected] or by filling the contact form underneath.

This is a long term project and is not limited to this campaign. The aim is to have a general endowment of 1.5 million Euros to continuously support the general needs of the institute and a 2.5 million Euros fund to provide scholarships to students coming to study at Polis.

GENERAL FUND - BUDGET: 1 500 000 EUROS

PROGRESS:

0%

SCHOLARSHIPS FUND - BUDGET: 2 500 000 EUROS