PhD completion

Simon Mayers on Catholic-Jewish Relations. The Centre would like to congratulate Simon Mayers on the successful defence of his doctoral thesis From 'the Pharisee' to the 'Zionist Menace': Myths, Stereotypes and Constructions of the Jew in English Catholic Discourse (1896-1929). His supervisor was Prof. Daniel Langton and the external examiner was Prof. Tony Kushner. See the list of current PhD students in the area of Jewish Studies at Manchester.

Research Seminar, Edinburgh University

A Database for the Literary Analysis of Ancient Jewish Texts. Prof. Alex Samely spoke on the topic of his database project to Edinburgh University's Biblical Studies Research Seminar on 2 November 2012. Further information.

Holocaust Day Conference

This Holocaust day conference at the Imperial War Museum of the North is co-sponsored by the Centre for Jewish Studies. The theme of the conference is 'Hiding, Flight and Rescue under Nazi occupation'. Date: Monday 22 October 2012, 9.30am-4.30pm. Venue: Libeskind Rooms, IWM North

Speakers/topics include: Bob Moore (Sheffield University) 'Hiding and Rescue in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, 1940-1945'; Pamela Shatzkes 'Holocaust and Rescue: Impotent or Indifferent? Anglo-Jewry 1938-1945'; Ludivine Broch (Pears Centre for the Study of antisemitism) 'Rescue, Railways and the Righteous of the Nations: French railway workers and the Jewish Deportations1942-44'; Remona Aly (Campaigns Director of Exploring Islam Foundation) 'The Besa code and the rescue of Jews in Albania'.

The programme organised by Dr Jean-Marc Dreyfus, Reader in Holocaust Studies, the University of Manchester. To book a place, please email learningnorth@iwm.org.uk

Public Lecture at the University of Antwerp

'Why the name New TESTAMENT?' Bernard Jackson, former Centre co-director and now Professor of Law and Jewish Studies at Liverpool Hope University, will speculate on why it is the 'New Testament' rather than the 'New Covenant'. Further information.

New Publication

Wisdom and Understanding. A Festschrift in honour of Prof. Bernard Jackson, former Centre co-director and now Professor of Law and Jewish Studies at Liverpool Hope University, was presented at a special session at the recent Yale conference of the Jewish Law Association.

Nomination for Portico Prize

Jews and Other Foreigners. Bill William's study of the Jewish refugee experience in Manchester between 1933 and 1940 has been nominated for the Portico Prize, one of the country's leading literary prizes. Two prizes of £4,000 each are awarded biennially to a work of Fiction and one of non-Fiction, which must be set largely or wholly in the North of England. Further information.

Public debate

Genocide denial: should we defend the right to speak evil? Jean-Marc Dreyfus will be a panel member for the Battle of Ideas debate on Genocide denial on Saturday 20 Oct, 5.15pm until 6.30pm. Further information.

Public Lecture at University of Southampton

 'Jewish Religious Thought and Darwinism'. Daniel Langton, co-director of the Centre, will give an evening lecture to the Parkes Institute for Jewish/Non-Jewish Relations on 9 Oct 2012, in which he will compare the ways in which Mordecai Kaplan and Hans Jonas drew upon evolutionary theory in their theological responses to Auschwitz. Further information.

BBC World Service

Heart And Soul (Religious Documentary Series): Clive Lawton travels to north Manchester to find out how the growth of Orthodox Jewish communities is affecting the faith. He and CJS fellow Dr Yaakov Wise meet various community leaders and discuss the changes taking effect. The programme will be broadcast 22 Sept 2012. Listen again.

Podcast of Sherman Lectures 2012

We are delighted to announce that the 2012 Sherman Lectures by Philip Alexander on 'The Messianic Idea in Judaism Revisited' are now available to see online. The lectures are entitled: 1. What is Jewish Messianism? 2. Messianism as an Historical-Political Process. 3. The Messiah as a Spiritual Redeemer. 4. “Neutralizations” of Messianism, Summary and Conclusions. Further information.

Research seminar programme 2012

We are delighted to annouce the research seminar programme for 2012-13. Most of the seminars this year have an Israel Studies theme, complementing the 2013 Sherman Lectures by Derek Penslar, who holds the first Chair in Israel Studies at the University of Oxford. In both semesters, the seminars will take place on Thursdays at 16:00 in room A7 in Samuel Alexander Building. Topics include The recognition of Israel as a Jewish State: Meanings and Challenges, Digital wars: social media and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Arabs and the Holocaust, Policing the Palestinian Arab Minority in Israel, The EU and Israel: troubled neighbours?, An historical analysis of Turkish-Israeli relations, Israel has moved (Israël a déménagé). Further information.

New Publication

'Progressive Judaism.' Co-director Daniel Langton has co-edited the Judaism section and contributed to the multivolume Encyclopaedia of Sciences and Religions (Heidelberg: Springer, 2012). Further information.

New Publication

'The Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the United Kingdom.' CJS fellow George Brooke has contributed to The Dead Sea Scrolls in Scholarly Perspective: A History of Research, ed. D. Dimant (Leiden: Brill, 2012). Further information.

New Publication

'The Pesharim and Prophetic Interpretation at Qumran.' CJS fellow George Brooke has contributed to A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism, ed. M. Henze (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012). Further information.

New Publication

Commentary on Psalms. CJS fellow Adrian Curtis has published Psalms (Epworth Commentaries 2004), reprinted with minor corrections, Eugene Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2012. This is an accessible commentary on the most widely read book of the Old Testament. Further information.

Public Lecture, University of Haifa

The rhetoric of bourgeois revolution and the 'Jewification of society'. On 16 January 2012, CJS fellow Marcel Stoetzler gave a lecture at the Bucerius Institute for Research of German Contemporary History and Society. Further information.

Anglican Clergy Training

Public Plenary on Jewish Mission. On Thu 26 July, CJS fellow Reuven Silverman and co-director Daniel Langton contributed to an Anglican clergy training day at Liverpool Hope University for the Southern North West Training Partnership on the subject of Jewish and Christian views on Mission. Further information.

New Publication

Antitheodicy, Atheodicy and Jewish Mysticism in Holocaust Theology. This is the publication of a PhD thesis produced within the Centre by Dan Garner (supervised by co-director Daniel Langton). The Holocaust has provoked many different Jewish theological responses. One of these has been the rejection and replacement of traditional theodicies which explain and justify suffering, with responses centred on ideas on recovery, consolation and divine mystery. Another is the use of Jewish mystical themes. This study shows how the presence of Jewish mysticism can be explained, at least in part, by this post-Holocaust collapse of theodicy. Further information.

Manchester Jewish Museum

Public lecture on Moses Gaster. On Sunday 12 August, Maria Haralambakis gave a lecture at the MJM entitled 'Moses Gaster (1856-1939): His Life and Work, Illustrated by the Gaster Collection at the John Rylands University Library Manchester.' Further information.  

Melilah

Supplementary volume of Manchester Journal of Jewish Studies. This volume is entitled Normative Judaism? Jews, Judaism and Jewish Identity and is the Proceedings of the British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS) conference 2008, edited by Daniel R. Langton and Philip S. Alexander. Melilah is the Centre's interdisciplinary journal and is now available not only as an electronic journal but also in book form, published by Gorgias Press. The journal is concerned with Jewish law, history, literature, religion, culture and thought in the ancient, medieval and modern eras. Further information.