The Institute Today
Impact on the Faculty | Impact on Campus and in the World | Structure
Columbia
has long been a leader in Jewish studies. The Institute for Israel and
Jewish Studies embodies that proud tradition, as well as our ongoing commitment
to excellence in the field. It is home to many preeminent scholars in
Jewish history, culture, religion, philosophy, languages, and literature,
whose interdisciplinary perspectives illuminate our understanding of Israel
and Judaism in both the historical and modern global context.
—President Lee Bollinger
Impact on the Faculty
Preserving and enhancing the institute’s academic mission to serve as a hub of scholarship and teaching is of primary importance, and requires the continued preeminence of our faculty. Designation as an institute ensures that, more than ever, the finest scholars in the world are drawn to Columbia's program. The upgrade also offers a structural advantage: unlike a center, an institute can participate in joint appointments with departments, allowing it to address more effectively its instructional responsibilities. While students and faculty continue to benefit from the inclusion of Jewish studies in departments across the University, the establishment of a central location where Israel and Jewish studies are examined and amplified furthers our impact.
For example, the new professorship of Israel and Jewish studies is grounded primarily in the institute, with a joint appointment in the appropriate disciplinary department of its incumbent, and the professorships in Hebrew literature are held jointly in the institute and in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures.
Impact on Campus and in the World
The institute provides a vibrant and stimulating environment for discussion on campus among students, faculty, alumni, and others. Lively intellectual discourse occurs not only within classroom settings, but in other venues as well. The institute interacts with other institutes and organizations on campus to engage as many individuals as possible on topics of importance to Israel and Jewish studies.
Lastly, the institute serves as both a national and an international forum on pressing issues. While engaging with the world beyond Columbia's gates, it ensures that a multiplicity of viewpoints and topics are brought to our students, our graduates, and interested individuals. In addition, the institute improves public awareness of activities related to Israel and Jewish studies, highlighting Columbia's distinguished past, flourishing present, and even more promising future in the field.
Structure
The institute is administered by a director and an associate director, currently professors Yosef H. Yerushalmi and Michael F. Stanislawski, respectively. Upon Professor Yerushalmi’s retirement, it is anticipated that Professor Stanislawski will become the director, and a new associate director will be appointed. The structure of the institute, as approved by the trustees, requires that the director be a tenured professor of Israel and/or Jewish studies at the University, while the associate director can be a non-tenured but full-time member of the faculty.
In addition to Professor Yerushalmi, the Salo Baron Professor of Jewish History, Culture and Society, and Professor Stanislawski, the Nathan J. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Literature and Institutions, both of whom are located in the Department of History, the following Columbia faculty members are associated with the institute:
- Nehama R. Bersohn, Lecturer in Hebrew Language (Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures)
- Uri S. Cohen, Assistant Professor of Hebrew Literature (Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures)
- Jeremy Dauber, Atran Assistant Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture (Germanic Languages and Literatures)
- Arthur A. Goren, Russell and Bettina Knapp Professor Emeritus of American Jewish History (History)
- Miriam Hoffman, Lecturer in Yiddish (Germanic Languages and Literatures)
- Dan Miron, Leonard B. Kaye Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature (Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures)
- Ruth Raphaeli-Slivko, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew Language (Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures)
- Jonathan Schorsch, Assistant Professor of Religion (Religion)
- Alan F. Segal, Professor of Religion (Barnard)
- David Weiss-Halivni, Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Classical Jewish Civilization (Religion)
The institute's advisory committee, formally constituted as of July 1, 2005, currently includes:
- Mark Kingdon
- Harvey Krueger
- Rabbi Robert Levine
- J. Ezra Merkin
- Philip Milstein
- David J. Stern
- Richard Witten
For details on faculty associated with the institute, see Faculty.