About The Union
The World Union of Jewish Studies and the World Congress of Jewish Studies
The World Union of Jewish Studies (WUJS) was established in 1957, at the Second World Congress of Jewish Studies. WUJS was given the Dual mandate of of developing the Congress into a permanent institution for the progress of Jewish Studies, and promoting cooperation and academic exchange.
The first World Congress of Jewish Studies was held in 1947 at the Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus. Since 1957, it has been held every four years. Today, the Congress is the largest event in the field of Jewish Studies worldwide, and the largest conference in the humanities in Israel; it brings together thousands of participants, including scholars, teachers, students, intellectuals, and anyone interested in learning about the latest research in the field of Jewish Studies.
publishes the academic, peer-reviewed journal, Jewish Studies, along with monographs in the various disciplines of Jewish Studies.
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, including the Israeli Ministry of Science, Culture, & Sport, and various academic institutions.
The Second World Congress Of Jewish Studies
The Second World Congress of Jewish Studies was held at the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem from July 27 to August 4, 1957. This time, it was organized jointly by the Hebrew University and the Israel Ministry of Education and Culture, with the assistance of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The opening session of the Congress was held in the Binyanei HaʾUmah Conference Centre in Jerusalem. The President of the State of Israel, Yitzhak Ben Zvi, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and members of the cabinet attended the event. Opening addresses were given by the Prime Minister, as well as by Prof. Ben-Zion Dinur. President Ben-Zvi opened the Congress program proper with his lecture, “Research on the Jewish Communities of the Near and Middle East.”
Past Presidents of the World Union of Jewish Studies and the World Congress of Jewish Studies
Prof. Yosef Kaplan (2009-2013; 16th Congress)
Prof. Sarah Yefet (2005-2009; 15th Congress)
Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson (2005-2006)
Prof. Menachem Elon (1993-2005; 12th, 13th, and 14th Congress)
Prof. Ezra Fleischer (1989-1993; 11th Congress)
Prof. Ephraim Elimelech Urbach (1969-1989; President of the Union 6th-10th Congress, Chairman of the Organizing Committee – 3rd Congress)
Prof. Ben-Zion Dinur (Chairman of the World Union of Jewish Studies – 5th Congress, Congress Chairman – 4th Congress, Chairman of the Organizing Committee – 2nd Congress)
Prof. Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai (Congress Chairman – 3rd Congress)
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (Honorary Congress President – 2nd and 3rd Congress)
Over three hundred and fifty scholars and guests from Israel, and nearly one hundred from abroad, attended the Second World Congress. Two hundred and thirty lectures were held—in Hebrew, Yiddish, English, French, Spanish, and German. The program was organized under the topics of Bible, Hebrew Language, History of the Jewish People, Talmud and Rabbinics, Jewish Thought (encompassing Kabbalah, philosophy, and religion), Hebrew Literature, Archaeology and Palestinography, Yiddish Language and Literature, Jewish Ethnic Groups and their Languages, and Demography of the Jewish People.
Fourteen special exhibitions were organized, among them results of recent excavations (Hazor, Caesarea, Masada, Beth Sheʾarim); the Dead-Sea Scrolls; historical documents from various archives and from the National Library; demography of the Jewish People; Jewish coins; rare books and manuscripts; and Yemenite arts and crafts.
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