Jacob Robinson Institute - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Alexandra Herfroy-Mischler as an Affiliated Researcher at the Jacob Robinson Institute!🎉

Alexandra holds a PhD in Information and Communication Sciences from the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, specializing in Media and History Studies, and rabbinical ordination from Beit Midrash Harel, Jerusalem.

Her research spans Holocaust and post-Holocaust justice, transitional justice, human rights accountability, archives and testimony, and the moral and religious dimensions of post-atrocity repair. Her current work develops the concept of anticipatory transitional justice, examining how civil society documentation initiatives build legal and commemorative frameworks under conditions of ongoing conflict, with particular attention to initiatives that emerged after October 7.

Alexandra has held post-doctoral fellowships at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute and the Smart Family Institute of Communications at Hebrew University. She also served as a contracted research associate at the CNRS Centre de Recherche Français de Jérusalem, and has published in leading journals including Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism and Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.

Welcome to the team, Alexandra! 💐

🔗 Read more about Alexandra's work here: https://robinson.huji.ac.il/people/alexandra-herfroy-mischler

🎓 Our PhD fellow Idan Frisher is the winner of the 2025 Israel Gutman Prize for his outstanding MA thesis on property restitution to Jews and non-Jews in post-communist Lithuania, and the question of who gets recognized as a "worthy" victim.

This past Wednesday, June 3rd, Idan presented his prize-winning research at the official award ceremony on Mt. Scopus. Thank you to everyone who came out to support him!

Congratulations once again, Idan. We couldn't be prouder. 👏

מורשת Moreshet

Our Affiliated PhD Fellow, Adan Ershied, was selected to participate in the 2026 Graduate Student & Early Career Workshop of the Law and Society Association, held in San Francisco. 🌟

Chosen from a highly competitive pool, Adan joined a remarkable cohort of emerging scholars from around the world. At the workshop, she presented research from one of her PhD projects, examining the constitutional invisibility of religious communities in American religion law.

We are so proud of Adan and look forward to following her continued work. Congratulations! 🎉

📸 Highlights from our exhibition opening "In the Beauty Salon of History," held on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at the Max and Iris Stern Little Gallery, Mt. Scopus Campus.

"In the beauty salon of history, they know how to comb a forelock, even in the hair of a monster." – Ronny Someck, "Tractors"

The opening brought together scholars, students, and guests for an evening of reflection on one of the most urgent moral and political questions of our time: How should societies confront historical injustice?

Opening remarks were delivered by Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities הפקולטה למדעי הרוח באוניברסיטה העברית, Prof. Yitzhak Hen, Director of the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies (IIAS), as well as Prof. Gideon Reuveni (University of Sussex) and Dr. Iris Nachum, who were responsible for the exhibition’s scientific research.

Taking the 1952 Holocaust compensation agreement between West Germany, Israel, and the Jewish Claims Conference as its case study, the exhibition explores the possibilities and limits of reparations and reconciliation, drawing its title and guiding image from Someck's poem and its unsettling question of whether history can undergo a "beauty treatment."

The exhibition is the outcome of the Research Group "Paying for the Past: Reparations after the Holocaust in Global Context," which convened at IIAS in 2023/24.

Our deepest thanks to everyone who made this exhibition possible.
Curation: Dr. Michal Mor, Eli Ben-Arye
Research Assistant: Avishag Ben-Yosef
Artist: Maya Zack
Graphic Design: Idan Vaaknin
Exhibition Design and Production: Eli Ben-Arye, Yuval Ayali

The exhibition will be on display for one year at the Max and Iris Stern Little Gallery, Mt. Scopus Campus.

We warmly invite you to visit!

On Sunday, May 10, we had the honor of welcoming the University’s extended leadership - including the President, Rector, Director General, Dean of Humanities, and senior management - to the Jacob Robinson Institute.

It was a wonderful opportunity to share our research and ongoing projects. Thank you for the visit and for your continued support!

✨TODAY at 16:15! ✨

Don't miss the opening of 'In the Beauty Salon of History' at the Max and Iris Stern Little Gallery.

See you there!

✨ The Jacob Robinson Institute for the History of Individual and Collective Rights is honored to invite you to the opening of the exhibition “In the Beauty Salon of History“ on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 16:15 at the Max and Iris Stern Little Gallery, Mt. Scopus Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The exhibition is the outcome of the Research Group “Paying for the Past: Reparations after the Holocaust in Global Context” which convened at the Israeli Institute for Advanced Studies (2023/24). Combining historical research and artistic expression, the exhibition explores one of the most urgent moral and political questions of our time: How should societies confront historical injustice?

Using the 1952 Holocaust compensation agreement between West Germany, Israel, and the Jewish Claims Conference as a case study, it invites reflection on the possibilities and limits of reparations and reconciliation. Inspired by Ronny Someck’s poem “Tractors,” the exhibition asks whether history can undergo a “beauty treatment” – and what might be gained or lost in the process.

The exhibition will be on display for one year.

We hope to see you there!

Scientific Research: Prof. Gideon Reuveni, Dr. Iris Nachum
Research Assistant: Avishag Ben-Yosef
Curation: Dr. Michal Mor, Eli Ben-Arye
Graphic Design: Idan Vaaknin
Exhibition Design and Production: Eli Ben-Arye, Yuval Ayali
Graphic Production: Kzat Aheret Ltd.

📅 Tuesday, 12.5.2026
🕐 16:15
📍 Max and Iris Stern Little Gallery, Mt. Scopus Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

For campus entry permits, please contact Inbal Levin at [email protected]

✨ The Jacob Robinson Institute for the History of Individual and Collective Rights is honored to invite you to the opening of the exhibition “In the Beauty Salon of History“ on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 16:15 at the Max and Iris Stern Little Gallery, Mt. Scopus Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The exhibition is the outcome of the Research Group “Paying for the Past: Reparations after the Holocaust in Global Context” which convened at the Israeli Institute for Advanced Studies (2023/24). Combining historical research and artistic expression, the exhibition explores one of the most urgent moral and political questions of our time: How should societies confront historical injustice?

Using the 1952 Holocaust compensation agreement between West Germany, Israel, and the Jewish Claims Conference as a case study, it invites reflection on the possibilities and limits of reparations and reconciliation. Inspired by Ronny Someck’s poem “Tractors,” the exhibition asks whether history can undergo a “beauty treatment” – and what might be gained or lost in the process.

The exhibition will be on display for one year.

We hope to see you there!

Scientific Research: Prof. Gideon Reuveni, Dr. Iris Nachum
Research Assistant: Avishag Ben-Yosef
Curation: Dr. Michal Mor, Eli Ben-Arye
Graphic Design: Idan Vaaknin
Exhibition Design and Production: Eli Ben-Arye, Yuval Ayali
Graphic Production: Kzat Aheret Ltd.

📅 Tuesday, 12.5.2026
🕐 16:15
📍 Max and Iris Stern Little Gallery, Mt. Scopus Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

For campus entry permits, please contact Inbal Levin at [email protected]

We are delighted to welcome Lara Raabe as a Guest PhD Fellow at the Jacob Robinson Institute! 🎉

Lara is a PhD candidate at the Chair for Research into the History and Impact of the Holocaust at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, and holds an MA and BA in History from Humboldt University, Berlin. Her research focuses on the history of National Socialism, N**i war crimes trials, and the persecution of Sinti and Roma, including their "second persecution" after 1945. Her PhD project examines West German trials for crimes committed against Sinti and Roma in Auschwitz-Birkenau, tracing these legal proceedings against the backdrop of broader societal changes from the 1960s through the 1990s.

Lara has several forthcoming publications in 2026, including contributions to the Encyclopaedia of the N**i Genocide of the Sinti and Roma in Europe and an edited volume on compensation and restitution after N**i injustice.

Welcome to the team, Lara! 💙

Photo credit: Anna-Maria Lück