Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem

What happens when historians, archivists, and researchers get their hands on a bow and arrow for the first time?

This week, the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem team got together for a team-building day that included a meal and an introductory archery workshop. Although we are more accustomed to pens and keyboards, it seems that for some of us, a bow and arrow felt just as natural.

Many thanks to Israeli Archeri for a wonderful workshop!

Last Thursday, we had the pleasure of hosting the special seminar "Are There Jeckes in the Audience? The Jeckes from a German-Israeli Perspective”, before a full house and an even larger audience on Zoom.

The seminar, held in cooperation with Stiftung Verbundenheit, the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, and IRGUN – Organization of Israelis of Central European Origin, explored the history, identity, and contemporary relevance of the Jeckes, Israeli Jews of German origin. The event focused on the experiences of the second generation and the evolving place of German-Jewish heritage in Israel. Three keynote presentations brought together scholars, community representatives, and members of civil society, followed by a discussion with the audience.

If you missed it, we invite you to watch the full seminar on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/8dEamVJoAC8?si=E2r_dDcV-AjJpxft

Thank you to all our participants and speakers!

Join us for a special evening:

‘Are there Jeckes in the audience?’: The Jeckes from an Israeli-German perspective

Organized by Stiftung Verbundenheit, the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, and IRGUN – Organization of Israelis of Central European Origin, this seminar explores the history, identity, and contemporary relevance of the Jeckes—Israeli Jews of German-speaking origin. Focusing on the experiences of the second generation and the evolving role of German-Jewish heritage in Israel, the event brings together scholars, community representatives, and members of civil society. Through keynote presentations and audience discussion, participants will reflect on identity, memory, civic engagement, and the continuing significance of the Jeckes for German-Israeli dialogue and cooperation.

The event will take place at the institute, and will also be streamed online. Speeches will be in English and in Hebrew. Admission is free, registration is required. Register here - https://bit.ly/44VXUrT

Wea are Pleased to announce Talk Baeck: An oral history project documenting historical scholarship

Talk Baeck, a joint oral history project of the Leo Baeck Institutes worldwide, brings leading scholars together with students, colleagues and fellow researchers for personal conversations about childhood, family, their academic journeys and their connection to German-speaking Jewry.

Freely available online, the project offers scholars who have devoted their lives to researching history and culture an opportunity to tell their own stories, creating an intergenerational archive of voices, memories and ideas.

Watch the interviews on the Talk Baeck website:
https://bit.ly/4pRghIg

Read more about Talk Baeck and the rationale behind the project in an article by Dr Sharon Livne (in Hebrew):
https://bit.ly/4pQUyjx

Three new books have been added to the archive of the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, having made a long journey with a moving and fascinating story. The books come from the private collection of Rabbi Dr. Alfred Levy. Dr. Levy served as the rabbi of the city of Bonn until his death in 1934. His wife and daughter fled N**i Germany, first to Alsace and from there to Mandatory Palestine. His son fled and went into hiding in France. The family left his book collection behind, apparently in private hands or in the library of the Jewish community. The books were looted by the N**is and, after the war, were hidden in an unknown location. They were later handed over to a Jewish community in the Rhineland. When Rabbi Emil Davidovič left Czechoslovakia in 1962 and began serving as the State Rabbi of Westphalia, the books came into his possession, together with hundreds of other books looted by the N**is, and he added them to his personal library. In 1988, the collection was deposited as Davidovič’s estate in the library of the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies.

In 2018, the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies began conducting provenance research in order to identify the original owners of the books in its collection. The university’s archivists identified 18 books bearing Dr. Levy’s stamp, and in 2025 offered to return them to his grandchildren. The books were returned to the family, and at the request of the grandchildren, three of them were donated to the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem.

The journey of these books marks a moving closure of a circle, but also offers an opportunity to recognize the importance of provenance research and its ability to connect past and present and uncover the story of each individual volume.

Description of the books donated to the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem:

Ost und West (vol. 9), 1909. Illustrierte Monatsschrift für das gesamte Judentum
“Ost und West” (“East and West”), an illustrated monthly journal devoted to Jewish life and culture, edited by Leo Winz and published by Philo Verlag, Berlin.
The opening article of the issue discusses the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors in works of art, offering a striking glimpse at paintings by Renaissance artists such as Raphael and Baroque artists such as Rembrandt.

Auge um Auge: Eine Untersuchung zum Alten und Neuen Testament, 1929.
“An Eye for an Eye: A Study of the Old and New Testaments,” by Benno Jacob, 1929, Philo Verlag, Berlin.
The book offers a theological study that challenges the literal interpretation of the biblical principle of “measure for measure,” as well as the reading of Judaism as a religion driven by revenge and retribution, in contrast to the Christian ethic of love.

Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums (vol. 3)
“The General Newspaper of Judaism,” third volume, 1839, edited by Ludwig Philippson and published by Philo Verlag, Berlin. This volume represents the newspaper’s third year of publication, which was also the year in which it became a weekly. The newspaper’s stated aim was to promote Jews’ historical knowledge of their own people, but it also regularly addressed other areas of interest to German Jews: politics, religion, Jewish and general literature, history, and philology.

Our director, Dr. Alexander Dubrau, was interviewed in the Juedische Allgemeine on his appointment as director, his vision for the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, and the importance of the institute's work.

"The Leo Baeck Institute explicitly sees itself as a bridge builder. It's not just about academic exchange, but about reaching a wider public."

read the full article here - https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/kultur/deutsch-juedische-geschichte-ist-nichts-verstaubtes

Alexander Dubrau ist neuer Leiter des Leo Baeck Instituts in Jerusalem Der Judaist Alexander Dubrau über seine neue Aufgabe als Direktor des Leo Baeck Instituts Jerusalem, akademische Herausforderungen und den Austausch mit der breiten Öffentlichkeit

Reminder: Today at 18:00 (Israel Time) - The Oral History Workshop Presents:

An Anthropologist's Journey from Oral History to Historical Fiction

Listen to Prof. Ruth Behar, a professor at the University of Michigan and acclaimed author on her journey from anthropological fieldwork, on the lives of Jews as a minority repeatedly forced to leave their homes and rebuild elsewhere, to writing historical fiction.

Online event in English. To register - https://bit.ly/4xCVjQJ

Reminder: Today at 19:00 (Israel time), join us for an online book launch event:

The Mosse-Women: German-Jewish Life Stories

You are invited to hear about the remarkable stories of the women of the Mosse family - a prominent German-Jewish family that helped shape modern Germany’s cultural, journalistic, and social life. The event will include a persentation from the author, Dr. Elisabeth Wagner, a scholar of German-Jewish history and twentieth-century German intellectual culture. She will be joined by Dr. Svenja Bethke of the Leo Baeck Institute London, Dr. Natalie Naimark-Goldberg of the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, and Dr. Skye Doney of the George L. Mosse Program at the University of Wisconsin.

The event is jointly organized with the Leo Baeck Institutes in London and New York, and will be in English. To register - https://bit.ly/4xj83f5

Call for Applications -

The German Studies in Israel Conference:
History, Language, Culture, and Society


On October 25, 2026, we will hold the annual Israel German Studies Conference.
We invite scholars at all career stages to submit proposals for individual papers or organized panels. We welcome contributions from all disciplines related to German Studies, including literature and culture, history, the social sciences, the arts, law, media studies, Jewish studies, and related fields.

Send your submissions and CVs by July 15, 2026. We cannot wait to see what you'll submit!

For more information and submission instructions: https://bit.ly/4ouEH9B

We are pleased to invite you are to an international launch event, jointly organized by the Leo Baeck Institutes in Jerusalem, London, and New York.

The Mosse-Women: German-Jewish Life Stories

Dr. Elisabeth Wagner, a scholar of German-Jewish history and twentieth-century German intellectual culture, sheds light in her new book on the remarkable stories of the women of the Mosse family - a prominent German-Jewish family that helped shape modern Germany’s cultural, journalistic, and social life. Through personal biographies, letters, and memories, the book reveals the lives of women who navigated between tradition and modernity, social integration and the upheavals of German-Jewish history.

Wagner will present the research behind the book and offer a new perspective on women’s lives, family, and identity in a world transformed beyond recognition. She will be joined by Dr. Svenja Bethke of the Leo Baeck Institute London, Dr. Natalie Naimark-Goldberg of the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, and Dr. Skye Doney of the George L. Mosse Program at the University of Wisconsin.

The event will be in English and will take place online via Zoom. Register here: https://bit.ly/4xj83f5