"It is not the critic who counts. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena."— Theodore Roosevelt
If you're reading this, you probably already sense that something is missing.
You've built things. You've led people. You've sat in rooms where everyone is talking about growth metrics and fundraising rounds — and found yourself thinking about something else entirely. Something harder to name.
You're not looking for another accelerator. You're not looking for a network. You're looking for the question underneath all the other questions.
That's what Moonshots Fellows is for.
Israel turns 100 in 2048. The founders of the next generation of Israeli companies will be the people in this room — people who are, right now, in their twenties and early thirties, building their first companies or leading their first teams.
The question Moonshots Fellows asks is not whether they will be successful. They will be successful. The question is whether they will be wise. Whether they will know who they are when the pressure is at its highest. Whether they will lead with integrity when no one is watching. Whether they will pass something worth passing on.
That is what a compass is for.
The founders who built CyberArk, Armis, Mobileye, and Waze didn't just have great technology. They had a sense of mission — a feeling that they were part of something larger than their cap table. They saw themselves as builders of a state, not just a startup.
That sense of mission is not being transmitted. It is not being taught. Moonshots Fellows draws on the Great Books of Western and Jewish civilization, the living story of Israeli pioneering, and the discipline of rigorous self-examination — to produce leaders who know not just how to build, but why.
This program has no political agenda. We welcome fellows from every background — secular, religious, left, right, Arab, Jewish. Our only interest is in helping each fellow develop a compass that is authentically their own, grounded in deep values and serious sources.
Every session is different. But here is the shape of a typical Friday morning in central Tel Aviv.
We chose Friday morning deliberately. The week is winding down. The news cycle loses its grip. Shabbat is approaching — and with it, a natural invitation to slow down and reflect. There is something distinctly Israeli about starting Shabbat having asked a hard question. The session ends at noon, and the afternoon is yours — to sit with what you've just encountered.
The program is not designed to give you answers. It is designed to give you the tools to find your own — and the people to find them with.
A living document you built yourself — your values, your decision-making framework, your north star. Not assigned. Not borrowed. Yours.
A ten-minute talk at the Closing Ceremony, before an invited audience of mentors, investors, and partners. A statement of who you are and what you stand for.
The Great Books — Jewish, Western, Israeli — that serious leaders have always drawn from. A library you'll return to for the rest of your career.
The ability to know what you believe when the stakes are high and the room is moving fast. The hardest thing to build — and the most valuable thing to have.
Not contacts. Not connections. People who have sat across from you in hard conversations for six months. The rarest and most durable kind of network there is.
Ongoing sessions, annual seminars, and access to every fellow across every cohort. The program ends. The fellowship doesn't.
Every Fellow builds a living document across the full six months — a personal decision-making framework grounded in everything they have read, argued, and examined. Presented publicly at the Closing Ceremony. Not as a summary of what they learned. As a declaration of who they are.
"Israel's greatest export is not technology — it's the kind of person the Israeli experience produces. Moonshots Fellows is about making that formation conscious, intentional, and transferable to the next generation."
Moonshots Fellows is for young Israeli leaders in the hi-tech and business ecosystem, aged 20-30, who sense that something is missing. Who are building — or about to build — and feel the pull of a deeper question.
Ambitious young Israelis who are building, or preparing to build, something significant. Not yet founders — but unmistakably on the way.
High-potential employees at Israel's most consequential tech and business organizations — already trusted with real responsibility, asking bigger questions.
Graduates of Unit 8200, Sayeret Matkal, and other elite units making the transition to civilian life. The IDF produces Israel's most capable people — and almost none receive formation education.
Analysts, associates, or junior partners at Israeli VC firms. They shape the next generation of companies — they should be shaped too.
All nominations must be submitted by this date.
Shortlisted candidates invited for a personal conversation.
Three-day residential seminar. Where the cohort truly begins.
Every Friday, 09:00–12:00, central Tel Aviv. Breakfast included.
Graduation is a beginning. Moonshots Fellows are part of a growing network of Israeli leaders who have asked the same hard questions — and chosen to answer them seriously.
Once a year, all cohorts come together. New thinkers, new questions, the same depth. The room gets more interesting every year.
Periodic evening sessions throughout the year — bringing fellows back together around live issues and guest speakers.
Access to every fellow across every cohort. The kind of network that opens doors — but more importantly, opens thinking.
When you nominate someone, you are signing your name to a claim: this person belongs in the room. We take that seriously. Here are the kinds of people who nominate fellows:
A former commander, professor, or senior colleague who has seen you perform under pressure and believes in who you're becoming.
A CEO, team lead, or investor who sees your potential daily and believes you need something more than your current environment offers.
A co-founder, fellow soldier, or close colleague who sees the questions you're already asking — and thinks you're ready to go deeper.
A graduate of a previous Moonshots Fellows cohort who sees in you what they once saw in themselves — and wants to bring you in.
A senior figure in Israeli hi-tech, the military, academia, or public life who believes the program needs people like the person they're nominating.
You cannot nominate yourself. But you can reach out to someone who knows you well and ask them to put your name forward. That ask itself says something.
If you're writing a nomination, here is what we're looking for — and what disqualifies a candidate.
They speak about uncertainty and gaps in their own thinking — not just their achievements
They've read seriously outside their field in the last year
They can describe a moment when they genuinely changed their mind on something important
They show intellectual humility without false modesty
They already ask questions that their peers aren't asking yet
They feel a sense of responsibility to something beyond their own career
They come in with all the answers already — the program is a credential, not a calling
They treat this primarily as a networking opportunity
They can't name a book they've read in the last year outside their industry
They dismiss the identity and values dimension as "soft"
Their nomination reads like a LinkedIn recommendation — impressive but hollow
They want to be selected. They don't want to be changed.
Every fellow enters through a nomination — from someone who knows them well enough to say: this person belongs in the room. If you know someone who should be here, nominate them.
Nominate a Fellow Nominations close 30 June 2026Every Friday morning, 09:00–12:00, in central Tel Aviv. Breakfast is included. The program runs October through March — six months, twenty-four sessions. The program also begins with a three-day residential seminar on 6–8 October at a significant location in Israel.
Every Friday morning for six months, plus the three-day opening seminar. Fellows are also expected to read assigned materials before each session — typically 20–40 minutes per week. Full attendance at all sessions, including the seminar, is a condition of the fellowship — not a preference. If you cannot commit to this, this is not the right year to apply.
Five thematic modules, each approximately one month. Who Are You? — identity, legacy, belonging. The Builder's Story — Israeli hi-tech as a civilizational project. The Man in the Arena — leadership and accountability. How to Think — philosophy, logic, epistemic humility. Law, Ethics, and the World You're Building Into — what founders owe to society. Every session is built around primary sources, live discussion, and direct application to each fellow's life and work.
No. Moonshots Fellows is explicitly apolitical. We welcome fellows from every background — secular, religious, left, right, Arab, Jewish, Mizrahi, Ashkenazi. We are not here to push any particular political position. We are here to help each fellow develop a compass that is authentically their own, grounded in deep values and serious sources. The goal is not consensus — it is clarity. Fellows will leave with different views. They will leave having examined those views seriously.
Sessions feature some of the best lecturers and thinkers in Israel — philosophers, founders, former military leaders, public intellectuals, and senior figures from the Israeli hi-tech ecosystem. Every guest is chosen not for their title, but for their ability to speak honestly and challenge a room of smart people. Expect people who have led under real pressure, built things that matter, and thought seriously about what they believe.
The program is heavily subsidized and costs 3,500 ILS for the full six months — covering all sessions, materials, and the residential seminar, including all meals. Scholarships are available upon request. Cost will never be the reason the right person doesn't participate.
Fellows do not apply directly — they are nominated. All nominations are reviewed, and shortlisted candidates are invited for a personal conversation. Selection is not primarily about what you have accomplished. It is about whether you are ready to be formed. Cohort size is 18 — small enough that every voice matters.
No. Every fellow enters through a nomination from someone else. If you think you should be here, ask someone who believes in you to put your name forward. That ask itself says something important.
The program is bilingual — Hebrew and English. Most sessions run primarily in Hebrew, with English used for international guest speakers and selected source texts. Fellows are expected to be comfortable in both.
Write to us at info@moonshots.co.il. We read every message and will respond within a few days.
"If you will it, it is no dream."— Theodor Herzl
Nominations close 30 June 2026. 18 Fellows. Six months. One compass.
Nominate a Fellow