Foundation of Ours supports Jewish expression in the Kurdistan Region, and provides platforms for reconciliation and coexistence between all communities.
Foundation of Ours envisions a Jewish presence in the Kurdistan Region that is a core component of a peaceful, inclusive, and diverse society.
To contact us, please reach out at +1-207-216-5608 or at info@ours.foundation
Mission statement — Beit HaLevi provides a prayer space in Erbil including an appropriately housed Sefer Torah for the use of congregants and pilgrims.
Mission statement — Hamra Tava provides kosher services including dining, lodging, and logistics in Erbil and the broader Kurdistan Region, for congregants and Jewish pilgrims, as well as for all people to have a window into Jewish life.
Providing a kosher pantry and meal options makes the Kurdistan Region more welcoming for Jewish pilgrims, and allows the public to sit together and learn more.
Lodging allows pilgrims and scholars to stay on-premises with a comfortable setting.
By answering questions, supporting visitors, and serving as a liaison, Hamra Tava serves a much-needed role.
Mission statement — Museum of Ours is inclusive of all communities in and near the Kurdistan Region and provides eye-opening exhibitions, discussions, and publications that apply historiography, museology, and demography to counter misinformation and bias.
WhatsApp Facebook Podcast DatabaseMuseum of Ours looks to the past for problematization of history, not just simplistic and selective explanations for current events.
Museum of Ours collects and conserves objects, testimonies, and digitalia. Underlining the need for, and assisting, interpretation gives acquisitions 'social lives' that stimulate thoughtful conversations and improve the world.
Museum of Ours uses the demographic framework in all of its projects, paying attention to demographic characteristics to explore equality, equity, and segmentation.
Our three goals are envisioned as being realized in one facility built to last for centuries.
The Foundation will have a physical space that represents the three goals as three wings surrounding around a central courtyard, united around a courtyard with eco-friendly planting and irrigation.
The Museum is both a space for conservation and exhibition. It requires exhibition galleries, a study room, and archive/storage areas.
Hamra Tava includes a community area with refreshments, a semi-enclosed portico with booths for studying and meetings, and a staging area for public events.
As a religious institution, the Foundation also offers lodging for pilgrims and certain employees.
Ongoing collecting.
During the coronavirus crisis, acquisitions are still ongoing. Although we are moving toward our goal of acquiring land, all religious gatherings are on hold.
Combined History of Fire: An Exhibition Covering 900BC to Today
2020 Jan 24-25, Mr. Erbil, Erbil. RSVP
The Islam of Kurdistan: From Salahaddin to Gaylani and Effendi
2020 Jan 08, Book Café, Erbil. RSVP
By the river Tigris: Hanukah in Duhok
2019 Dec 28 and 29, Duhok. RSVP (private)
Stronger Together: Hanukah and Shabbat in Erbil
2019 Dec 27, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Churches of Mesopotamia: Syriac, Chaldean, and Assyrian
2019 Dec 16, Book Café, Erbil. RSVP
Multiculturalism and Reconciliation and the Jewish Community
2019 Dec 08, American Corner, Duhok. RSVP
Speaking engagement
Dubai.
By the Rivers of Babylon: The Jews of Erbil and Mesopotamia
2019 Nov 12, American Corner, Erbil. RSVP
Abrahamic: On Jews, Judaism, and Being Jewish
2019 Nov 09, Book Café, Erbil. RSVP
Around each corner: Walking tour of Erbil's ancient lower city
2019 Nov 02, Erbil. RSVP
10,000 BC to Today: A Combined History of Erbil
2019 Sep 25, American Corner, Erbil. RSVP
Passover + Shabbat + Erbil
2019 Apr 26, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Speaking engagement
Tokyo.
Gorgeous, mesmerizing Erbil: Walking tour of the lower city
2019 Apr 05, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Coffee, objects, and a combined history of Erbil
2019 Feb 20, Book Café, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Tour and lunch at the Erbil Civilization Museum!
2019 Jan 30, Erbil Civilization Museum, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Chanukah!
2018 Dec 07, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Passover + Shabbat <3 Erbil
2018 Mar 30, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Chanukah + Shabbat
2017 Dec 15, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Passover in Erbil
2017 Apr 10, Erbil. RSVP (private)
Pêseh le Hewlêr || Passover in Erbil
2016 Apr 22, Erbil. RSVP (private)
א — Incorporate as a religious nonprofit in the United States, and the Kurdistan Region. This requires establishing articles of incorporation, establishing bylaws, recruiting boardmembers, and incorporating in Maine and Erbil.
ב — Consolidate a local network of heritage professionals and enthusiasts. This requires fostering a sense of community and engaging people in the network with the mission statement.
ג — Establish an online and media-friendly presence for the Foundation. This means distributing press releases, improving the research database, and looking at digital initiatives.
א — Recruit Rabbis to advise on what is needed to have a Sefer Torah and accompanying housing, and prepare a series of objectives based on this advice.
ב — Identify the process for purchasing land and registering it to a religious organization.
א — Rabbinical monitoring to prepare a prioritized list of needs; and cross-check with potential pilgrims about their expectations.
ב — Begin to import necessary items based on the prioritized list.
ג — Identify a process for sponsoring visas for pilgrims to the Kurdistan Region: look at hurdles in the Kurdistan Region government; and look at hurdles in non-KR governments.
א — Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an emphasis will be placed on digital events such as weekly podcasts. Awareness about the Museum will be raised through press releases and pursuing media coverage.
ב — Identify and publicize local heritage institutions’ short-term needs. Fulfill these needs when possible, e.g. pamphlets, leaflets, and digital presence.
ג — Digitize the entire collection of objects acquired so far. Raise awareness with publication of materials produced via digitization.
ד — Reach 10,000 published photos on Wikimedia.
Foundation of Ours is a religious nonprofit organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and the Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act of the State of Maine. It is governed by its Board of Directors and by five officers: a President, a Clerk, a Treasurer, a Lead Rabbi, and a Museum Officer.
Because of the small size of Foundation of Ours, all officers are also on the Board of Directors. In addition to these Directors, there are non-officers bringing the number of Directors to __ (__) in total. Directors come from a range of faiths including Judaism, Ezidism, and Islam.
Beit HaLevi, Hamra Tava, and Museum of Ours are equipped with their own mission statements and objectives and their own public brands and social media channels. However, they are goals of the Foundation and as such they must operate within the Foundation’s mission and must not hinder the Foundation’s other goals or objectives. Additionally, they are not a separate legal entities from the Foundation and do not have authority separate from nor over the Foundation.