PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy explains how The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies (“we”, “us”, “the institution”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal data belonging to our students, prospective students, participants, event attendees, alumni, staff, and website visitors, including students who reside in or are nationals of the United States and European countries. All Pardes students are adults (18 years of age or older); we do not knowingly collect personal data relating to minors.

This Policy is written to comply with Israel’s Protection of Privacy Law, 5741-1981, as amended by Amendment No. 13 (in force since 14 August 2025), the Protection of Privacy Regulations (Data Security), 5777-2017, and, for data subjects located in the European Union/European Economic Area, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Where our practices for US-resident students differ or additional disclosures apply under applicable US state privacy or student-records laws, this is noted below.

1. Who We Are

The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies is a non-profit educational institution registered in Israel amuta number: 580009330, located in Jerusalem. For the purposes of the Protection of Privacy Law and, where applicable, the GDPR, The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies is the controller responsible for the personal data described in this Policy.

Contact for privacy matters: info@pardes.org.il

2. Scope and Who This Policy Covers

This Policy applies to personal data we process about:

• Applicants and prospective students;
• Current students and participants, including those enrolled from the United States, EU/EEA countries, or elsewhere;
• Alumni;
• Emergency contacts;
• Visitors to our website and users of our online learning platforms; and
• Donors, staff, and volunteers, to the extent relevant (a separate policy may apply to employees).

3. Personal Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data. Some of this data qualifies as “information of special sensitivity” under the Protection of Privacy Law and/or “special category data” under the GDPR, and receives enhanced protection as described in Section 8.

We collect personal data directly from you through applications, registrations, donations, event sign-ups, surveys, newsletter subscriptions, correspondence, and other interactions with the Institute. We also collect information automatically through your use of our website, online learning platforms, and other digital services (such as cookies, log data, and device information). In some cases, we receive information from third parties, including referring educational institutions, payment processors, partner organizations, or publicly available sources where permitted by applicable law.

4. Why We Process Personal Data (Purposes)

• Evaluating applications and managing admissions;
• Providing educational services: instruction, assessment, and academic records;
• Health, safety, and welfare of students, including responding to medical needs, allergies, and emergencies;
• Communicating with students about academic and administrative matters;
• Billing, tuition collection, scholarships, and financial aid administration;
• Operating our website and online learning platforms, including troubleshooting and security;
• Compliance with legal, regulatory, and reporting obligations in Israel and, where relevant, in the student’s home country (e.g., visa/study confirmations);
• Alumni relations and, only with your consent, fundraising and marketing communications;
• Protecting the rights, property, and safety of the institution, our students, and staff.
• Administering registrations for educational programs, lectures, webinars, conferences, alumni activities, and community events;
• Delivering online learning through our learning management systems and monitoring participation and course progress;
• Sending educational resources, publications, podcasts, event information, newsletters, fundraising communications, and other institutional updates, where permitted by law and in accordance with your communication preferences;
• Producing aggregated or anonymized reports to evaluate educational outcomes, improve our programs, satisfy grant and donor reporting requirements, and support institutional planning; and
• Maintaining records relating to alumni engagement, donor stewardship, and community participation.

We do not sell personal data, and we do not use student data for behavioral advertising. 

4A. Marketing and Communications

We may use your contact information to provide information about educational programs, lectures, courses, events, publications, podcasts, alumni activities, fundraising initiatives, and other opportunities offered by Pardes.

Marketing communications may be sent by email, telephone, messaging applications, or postal mail where permitted by applicable law and, where required, based on your consent.

You may unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link contained in our communications or by contacting us directly. Opting out of marketing communications will not affect transactional or service communications relating to programs for which you have registered, donations you have made, or other administrative matters.

4B. Event Registration and Participation

When you register for educational programs, lectures, webinars, conferences, community events, or other activities, we may collect information necessary to administer your participation. Depending on the nature of the event, this may include contact details, emergency contact information, accessibility or accommodation requirements, dietary requirements, attendance records, travel or housing information, and other information you voluntarily provide.

We use this information to manage registrations, communicate event logistics, provide requested accommodations, ensure participant safety, evaluate our programs, and maintain institutional records.

4C. Online Learning Platforms

When you access our online learning platforms, we collect information necessary to provide educational services and administer your learning experience. This may include account information, course enrollment, lesson completion, assessments, participation in discussions, attendance, learning progress, downloads, and technical information such as login history, browser type, device information, IP address, and system logs.

This information is used to deliver courses, support learners, maintain the security and integrity of our systems, improve educational content, troubleshoot technical issues, and produce aggregate participation reports.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under Israeli law, consent generally remains the primary legal basis for processing personal data, and Amendment 13 requires that consent be informed, specific, and freely given, with clear notice of the purpose of collection, who may receive the data, and the consequences of declining to provide it. Where we rely on another lawful basis recognized under Israeli law (such as performance of an educational/enrollment relationship, or a legal obligation), we identify this at the point of collection.

For students and other data subjects located in the EU/EEA, we additionally rely on the following GDPR Article 6 bases, as applicable:

• Performance of a contract (e.g., our enrollment agreement with you or your family);
• Compliance with a legal obligation (e.g., record-keeping, safeguarding, or reporting requirements);
• Consent (e.g., for optional communications, certain sensitive data, or photography/media use);
• Legitimate interests (e.g., campus security, IT security, and improving our educational services), balanced against your rights and freedoms; and
• Vital interests, where necessary to protect someone’s life or physical safety (e.g., medical emergencies).

For special category / especially sensitive data (health,  religious affiliation, etc.), we obtain explicit consent or rely on another specific legal exception (e.g., a substantial public interest, or protecting vital interests) before processing, and we apply heightened security measures described in Section 8.

6. Adult Students; No Data on Minors

All students enrolled in Pardes programs are adults (18 years of age or older). Pardes does not knowingly collect, process, or store personal data relating to minors, and this Policy does not address parental or guardian consent mechanisms. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a minor, we will take reasonable steps to delete that data promptly.

7. International Data Transfers

Because we serve students from the United States, Europe, Africa, South America, and Oceana, personal data may be transferred to, or accessed from, countries outside Israel (for example, to communicate with families abroad, to use cloud-based school-management or learning platforms, or to comply with a student’s home-country requirements). The European Union recognized Israel as providing an adequate level of data protection in January 2024, which facilitates transfers of personal data from the EU/EEA to Israel. Where we transfer personal data onward from Israel to a third country (including the United States), Amendment 13 and its regulations require that the destination country provide an adequate level of protection, or that we put in place appropriate safeguards (such as contractual data protection clauses with our service providers).

We take steps to ensure that any third-party processors we use (e.g., cloud hosting, learning-management systems, payment processors) that store or transfer data internationally provide appropriate contractual and technical safeguards for personal data.

8. Data Security

In line with the Protection of Privacy Regulations (Data Security) and the strengthened obligations introduced by Amendment 13, we implement technical and organizational measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the data we hold, including:

• Encryption of personal data in transit and, where appropriate, at rest;
• Role-based access controls, so that staff can access only the data necessary for their role;
• Periodic risk assessments and security reviews of our systems and, for large databases containing especially sensitive information, penetration testing at legally required intervals;
• Written data security procedures and staff training on handling personal data, particularly information of special sensitivity;
• Vendor/processor due diligence and data-processing agreements with third-party service providers.

Data breach notification. In the event of a security incident that qualifies as a “severe security incident” under Israeli law, we will notify the Privacy Protection Authority without undue delay, and will notify affected individuals where required to do so, or where the incident is likely to cause them harm. For affected individuals in the EU/EEA, we will also meet applicable GDPR breach-notification requirements.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, including satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Academic records may be retained for extended periods to allow us to issue transcripts and confirm past enrollment after a student leaves the institution. When personal data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it, unless we are required by law to retain it for longer.

Where practical and appropriate, we anonymize or aggregate personal data before using it for statistical analysis, educational assessment, institutional planning, or reporting to donors, grant-making organizations, or other stakeholders.

10. Sharing and Disclosure of Personal Data

We disclose personal data only where necessary and to the following categories of recipients:

• Teaching and administrative staff on a need-to-know basis;
• Service providers acting on our behalf (e.g., IT/cloud hosting, learning-management systems, payment processors), under written data-processing agreements;
• Government authorities and regulators, where legally required (including authorities in a student’s home country, e.g., for visas);
• Medical professionals or emergency services, where necessary to protect a student’s health or safety; and
• Successor entities, in the unlikely event of a merger, reorganization, or transfer of our operations, subject to continued confidentiality protections.

We do not share personal data with third parties for their own independent marketing purposes.

10A. Communication Preferences

We maintain records of your communication preferences so that we can respect your choices regarding newsletters, fundraising communications, alumni updates, educational programming, publications, and other institutional communications. You may update your communication preferences or request to stop receiving marketing communications at any time by contacting us or using the options provided in our communications.

11. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the following rights regarding personal data we hold about you:

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@pardes.org.il. We will respond within the time periods required by applicable law (generally without undue delay, and, for access requests under Israeli law, within statutory timeframes). We may need to verify your identity before actioning a request.

Israel: You may lodge a complaint with the Privacy Protection Authority (PPA), Israel’s data protection regulator. Subject to applicable law, you may also request information regarding whether your personal data is included in one of our databases and exercise your rights in relation to that information.

EU/EEA residents: You have the right to lodge a complaint with your national supervisory authority, or with the supervisory authority in the EU/EEA country where you live, work, or where the alleged infringement occurred.

US residents: If you reside in a US state with a comprehensive privacy law, you may have additional rights under that law; contact us and we will address your request in accordance with applicable requirements, and, where relevant, US educational-records laws (such as FERPA, where applicable to programs operating under US frameworks).

12. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website and online learning platforms may use cookies and similar technologies to operate core functionality, remember preferences, and understand site usage. Where required by law (including for EU/EEA visitors), we will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies and will provide a cookie management tool allowing you to adjust your preferences. See our separate Cookie Notice, if available, for details.

13. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use fully automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on applicants or students (for example, automated admissions decisions) without human review. If this changes, we will update this Policy and provide information about the logic involved and your right to request human intervention.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law, including future guidance issued under Amendment 13. We will post the updated Policy on our website with a revised “Last reviewed” date and, for material changes, will take reasonable steps to notify students directly.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal data, please contact:

The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies

Email: info@pardes.org.il