The World
The World Union of Jewish Studies is the most important parent body for research in Jewish Studies. Its members are scholars, students and intellectuals from all over the world. Its establishment in 1947 was initiated by scholars from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The World Union of Jewish Studies is a non-profit organization sustained by annual membership fees and by the support of public bodies and foundations, which include the Israeli Ministry of Science, Culture & Sport, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, various Israeli academic institutions etc.
The President of the World Union of Jewish Studies is Prof. Yosef Kaplan (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
Members of the Executive Committee are Prof. David Assaf (Tel Aviv University), Prof. Ed Greenstein (Bar-Ilan University), Prof. Aviva Halamish (The Open University of Israel), Prof. Katrin Kogman-Appel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), Prof. Aharon Maman (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Prof. Abraham Melamed (Haifa University), Prof. Avigdor Shinan (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), the President of the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) and the President of the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS).
Presidents of the World
Prof. Sara Japhet (May 2006 – August 2009)
Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson (August 2005 – May 2006)
Justice Prof. Menachem Elon (June 1993 – August 2005)
Prof. Ezra Fleischer (August 1989 – June 1993)
Prof. Ephraim E. Urbach (1969 – August 1989)
Goals
· To unite Jewish Studies scholars from all over the world and to serve as a unifying framework for regional research organizations.
· To organize or to sponsor international conferences and congresses, whose subject is Jewish Studies in their broadest context.
· To promote research in the various fields of Jewish Studies and to distribute knowledge and education of these fields.
· To publish journals, books and other scholarly materials dealing with subjects of Jewish Studies.
· To encourage students and scholars of Jewish Studies by establishing foundations, grants and prizes.
· To co-operate with other international scientific and research institutions and to help them gather information and literature on subjects related to Jewish Studies.
· To co-ordinate and nurture connections and co-operation between institutions and research bodies of Jewish Studies from all over the world.
Activities
* Congresses and Annual Conferences
The focal point of the
In addition to the international congress, which takes place every four years, the
* Lekket Database
Lekket (www.lekket.com) is a database of selected articles in Jewish Studies. It includes more than a thousand items in all fields of Jewish Studies. The project aims to spread the fruits of research and to assist scholars and students in their ongoing studies. It is supported by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, Inc., by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, by the Ministry of Science, Culture & Sport of the State of Israel, and by additional Israeli and foreign foundations. It is open to all, free of charge and no registration is required. The
* Publications
Iggud – Selected Essays in Jewish Studies
A collection of articles based on lectures of the 14th Congress, which were updated, edited and peer-reviewed. The articles are presented in three volumes: Volume 1: The Bible and its World, Rabbinic Literature and Jewish Law, and Jewish Thought (2008); Volume 2: The History of the Jewish People and the Contemporary Jewish Society (2009); Volume 3: Literatures, Languages, and Arts (2007).
Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies:
Ever since the World Congress was instituted, it has been the
Jewish Studies – Journal of the World
The Journal has appeared since 1996, when it replaced the WUJS Newsletter, which had been published since 1970. Beginning in 2010, the Journal’s Editorial Board includes three scholars: Prof. Ithamar Gruenwald (
Sources for the Study of Jewish Culture: This series is published by the World Union of Jewish studies and the Rabbi David Moses and Amalia Rosen Foundation. Head of the Foundation is Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson who succeeded Prof. Ezra Fleischer of blessed memory. The series is dedicated to bringing out critical editions of hitherto unpublished primary texts in the fields of Jewish History and Literature. The manuscripts should be edited according to accepted critical standards, and should be accompanied as required by commentaries and introductions (in Hebrew). Scholars who have such materials, and are interested in the possibility of publishing in the series, are requested to submit to the executive director of the World Union of Jewish Studies a detailed description of the content of their work. Proposals will be refereed, and responses will be supplied as soon as possible.
* Grants
Ephraim E. Urbach Post-Doctoral International Fellowship for Jewish Studies:
The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture in co-operation with the World Union of Jewish Studies has established a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in memory of Prof. Urbach, who was the president of the World Union of Jewish Studies as well as a vice-president of the Memorial Foundation. The purpose of the grants is to further the research of outstanding scholars and to assist them in publishing their first book. To be eligible for this program, applicants must be graduates of a Ph.D. program in a field of Jewish Studies; they must show a superior record of achievement in graduate school and must have completed their dissertations with distinction (applicants should submit a copy of their PhD diploma). Applicants must have received their doctorate within three years of the date of application. Recipients of the fellowship receive a stipend of $10,000 for the year. All recipients of the fellowship over the previous four years are required to deliver a lecture in special sessions at the World Congress of Jewish Studies.
Applications may be obtained by writing to:
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture
50 Broadway, 34th Floor
New York , N.Y. 10044 , USA
Or by e-mail: office@mfjs.org
Applications are to be obtained and submitted by the institutions for which the applicants wrote their dissertations. Candidates may not submit their applications directly to the Memorial Foundation.
WUJS Staff:
Executive Director: Dr. Ronela Merdler
Secretary of the World Congress of Jewish Studies: Mr. Yochai Ben-Ghedalia
Secretary: Mrs. Yochi Kahana