New publication

Jews and Science. Daniel Langton, Reform Judaism and Darwin: How Engaging with Evolutionary Theory Shaped American Jewish Religion (De Gruyter, 2019). Further information.

Limmud, Manchester

Jewish Life Long Learning conference. Among those contributing to this year's Limmud in Manchester is Stefania Silvestri on 'Jewish Women and Emotional Objects'. 30 June 2019. Further information.

Conference contributors, BAJS 2019

What is commentary? Contributors from Manchester to the BAJS Conference 2019 include Dr Stefania Silvestri, University of Manchester, 'Interpreting a Jewish Object: A Circumcision Wimple as Religious and Affective Artefact', Tuesday 23, Session 4, 9:00-10:30am. Prof. Philip Alexander, 'Between Revelation and Commentary: The Apocalyptic Turn in the Middle East in the Early Centuries of Islam’, and Dr Katharina Keim, 'Scriptural Commentary and Apocalyptic in Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer’ Monday 22, Session 1, 9:00-10:30am. Oxford, 21-24 July 2019. Further information.

Conference, Oxford University

Jewish Music. Marton Ribary (Manchester University) is co-organising an international invitational conference entitled 'Jewish Music Between Oral and Written Traditions: The 19th Century in Context'. Clarendon Institute, Oxford, 14-15 July, with free attendance after registration. Further information. 

Concert, Bridgewater Hall

Jewish Music. Richard Fay and Dan Mawson present Amid the Mirk Over the Irk: When Irish Meets Klezmer. Traditional folk tunes, new compositions, intriguing fusions and spoken word evoke the confluence of cultures across the banks of the River Irk. Friday 12 July 2019 12.45pm, Bridgewater Hall. Further information.

Lecture, Yale University

Holocaust Studies. Ion Popa (Manchester) presented his research on Jews' experiences of conversion to Christianity before and during the Holocaust at a symposium at Yale University. 3 May 2019. Further information. 

Lecture, Vienna Wiesenthal Institute

Holocaust Studies. Ion Popa (Manchester) presented a paper on 'Conversion and Identity. Experiences of Jews who converted to Christianity before and during the Holocaust' at the Centre for Jewish-Christian Relations at the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies. 22 May 2019. Further information. 

New publication

Yiddish Studies. Yaron Matras et al, 'Multilingual repertoire management and illocutionary functions in Yiddish signage in Manchester' in Journal of Pragmatics, 135 (October 2018), 53-70. Further information.

Agunah Project

Religio-legal issues relating to Jewish divorce. In a programme designed to test and promote the impact of the work of the Agunah Research Unit, Bernard Jackson and Avishalom Westreich organised and attended two workshops in Israel in February, one designed for appropriate halakhic scholars and judges in the area, the other for activist groups. Similar activity is planned for the United States in June and in other geographical areas later. We are seeking to construct a database of practical measures being taken to resolve cases where a recalcitrant husband refuses to cooperate in granting a get, and also to encourage pre-marital counselling on the issue. Further information.