Online essay, WritersMosaic project

Jewish Multiculturalism. CJS honorary research fellow Dr Rachel Lichtenstein (MMU) has contributed towards the Royal Literary Fund's WritersMosaic project, in a special edition titled 'Jewish Multiculturalism'. Her essay and recording tell the story of activist Beatty Orwell, the oldest surviving witness to the Battle of Cable Street. To read and listen online, see further information.

Conference paper, CBL

Dead Sea Scrolls. Prof George Brooke will speak in Leuven at The Colloquium Biblivum Lovaniense on 'Performing Scripture in the Scrolls from Qumran and in the New Testament.'  3 August 2022.  Further information.

Funding, Screen & Talk Jewish Studies

Holocaust Studies. Congratulations to Cathy Gelbin and Katja Stuerzenhofecker who have been awarded £740 of funding by the Manchester Jean Monet Centre of Excellence towards the Holocaust Memorial Day 2023 event series Jews, Gay People and the Holocaust. This will comprise of a public film series, an expert panel discussion, and a Jewish community workshop. Further details will be published in due course.

Student Prize, BIAJS

Jewish studies. Congratulations to third-year student Andras Schweiczer (BA Theological Studies in Philosophy & Ethics) who has been awarded the British and Irish Association for Jewish Studies (BIAJS) Student Prize for a dissertation entitled 'Red, White, and Green: Three Aspects of the Debates on Zionism between 1897 and 1917' (supervisor: Alex Samely).

Screen & Talk, Film discussion

Film Studies. Cathy Gelbin and Katja Stuerzenhofecker co-organized the online streaming and panel discussion of The Brasch Family (Germany 2018) on 13 June 2022. A recording of the discussion with the film’s director and international experts is now available. Watch on YouTube.

Podcast, Sherman Lecture 2021

Jewish Studies. The 2021 Sherman Community Lecture by Prof George Brooke (University of Manchester) is now available to view online. The lecture entitled "Questioning Qumran: Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls" was on 9 Dec 2021. Further information.

Conference paper, British Sociological Association

Jewish Studies. Katja Stuerzenhofecker will give a paper entitled "Traditional prayers, returning voices: Orthodox Jewish women and girls' singing in a public ritual under COVID-19" at the SocRel annual conference for which the theme is disruption, crisis and continuity in religion. 4-6 July 2022. Further information.

Screen and Talk

Jewish Studies. The Centre for Jewish Studies and the Department of Drama at Manchester University are pleased to announce that the next Screen & Talk event will be the streaming of ‘The Brasch Family’. Annekatrin Hendel’s documentary depicts three generations of the Braschs, a Jewish family whose first generation returned from exile from National Socialism to settle in East Germany. Whereas the first generation were ardent supporters of the German Democratic Republic, their three sons Thomas, Peter and Klaus – all of them artists – developed into critics of the system. Through interviews with surviving relatives, loved ones and friends, the film paints a social, political and cultural history of the GDR through the canvas of a family saga. The film will be available on the UKJF streaming platform from 9-13 June 2022. It is followed by an online live discussion panel on 13 June, 18.00 BST (British Summer Time). Register for the panel discussion in advance here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Further information.

Public Lecture, Oxford University

Jewish Studies. Philip Alexander will give a lecture to celebrate the launch of the book The Mishnaic Moment: Jewish Law among Jews and Christians in Early Modern Europe (2022). Exeter College, Oxford. 23 June 2022. Further information.

Launch of Rylands Jewish Manuscripts online catalogue and digital exhibition

Rylands Jewish Manuscripts online catalogue and digital exhibition. Join us at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library to celebrate the launch of the online catalogue and digital exhibition of the Library’s manuscripts in Hebrew script, signifying the culmination of a project which began in 1992. The John Rylands Research Institute and Library conserves one of the world’s treasured collections of Hebrew and Jewish manuscripts, archives and printed books. This rich and diverse collection draws a picture of Jewish life and its many aspects. Featuring Hebrew script in many languages – Hebrew, Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Persian, Judeo-Spanish, Judeo-Provencal, Judeo-German, and Judeo-Turkish, the texts spring from all over the Jewish world – Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India, and even China. They range from magnificent illuminated Passover Haggadot to the only known manuscript copy of a 17th-18th century Purim play from southern France, composed in the local vernacular. 27 Jun 2022, 14:00 BST at The John Rylands Research Institute and Library. Free event, booking required through Eventbrite.