NYU Launches Its Center for the Study of Antisemitism

At a moment when antisemitism is on the rise, NYU faculty, graduate students, and scholars from other universities grappled with the historical origins and widespread impact of this particular form of hate, examined its connection to other forms of bigotry, and analyzed the resulting harm to American democracy and societies around the world.

NYU's Center for the Study of Antisemitism, announced last fall, presented its inaugural academic conference, "Four Critical Questions: Confronting Antisemitism in 2024 and Beyond," on April 18 in the John A. Paulson Center's African Grove Theatre. With more than 120 in attendance-including university leadership, supporters, and community partners-the conference employed a multidisciplinary lens to examine the age-old hate and its role in our current global crisis.

Calling for critical inquiry founded in precision, empathy, and courage, NYU President Linda G. Mills opened the day-long event by emphasizing NYU's decision to harness its unique academic strength.

"The creation of the Center for the Study of Antisemitism comes in part out of the renewed wave of Jewish hatred we have seen in the past several months. There is a clear need for knowledge and further study," Mills said. "Today we have assembled several brilliant scholars from NYU and beyond to use the tools we at a university know best: systemic and scholarly review."

The conference came the day after a second Congressional hearing on higher education's handling of antisemitism and the challenges facing universities in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. The hearing was the latest to highlight the ongoing debate about how to weigh the protection of academic freedom with concerns about discrimination and student safety.

Avinoam Patt, the inaugural director of the Center for the Study of Antisemitism, welcomes participants to the April 18 conference. ©Hollenshead: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau

The groundbreaking center was created in November to meet this difficult moment. It will convene scholars and students from diverse disciplines-including the arts, humanities, social sciences, Judaic Studies, history, social work, public policy, psychology, law, sociology, media studies, management, and public health-to address the historical roots of antisemitism, its contemporary manifestations, and the most effective ways to combat it.

Presented in four parts, "Four Critical Questions" began with "Historical Perspectives," probing how Oct. 7 and the resulting surge in global antisemitism could be understood within Jewish history. With Benjamin Hary, director of NYU Tel Aviv, moderating, Lihi Ben-Shitrit, Henry Taub Professor of Israel Studies and director of the Taub Center for Israel Studies in Arts & Science, examined antisemitic attitudes across the political spectrum and how conflict in Israel contributes to anti-Jewish violence. Elisha Russ Fishbane, associate professor in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, explored the roots of anti-Judaism and antisemitism in the Muslim world, while Lawrence Schiffman, Global Distinguished Professor in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, traced the history of Jewish-Christian relations.

Eric Ward, executive vice president of Race Forward and senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, examined the connection between antisemitism and racism and other forms of hatred. In a keynote that was both personal and political, Ward described antisemitism as the "theoretical core" of the White Nationalist movement and charted its movement from the margins to the center of American society.

Eric Ward gave the conference keynote address. ©Hollenshead: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau

"It imperils us all. Because it doesn't look like anti-Black racism, we may think it is not a big deal. But I believe it is one of the biggest deals. Antisemitism is an effective conspiracy theory that dehumanizes us all. It distorts our understanding of how the world actually works. It isolates us. It kills, but it also kills American democracy," said Ward, who drew parallels to the Civil Rights Movement in outlining the importance of combating prejudice.

Most significantly, Ward explained why antisemitism is a threat to all civil society and not just to Jews.

"Antisemitism isn't just bigotry toward the Jewish community. It is, more accurately, utilizing bigotry toward the Jewish community and those seen as proximate to it to deconstruct 60 years of Black Civil Rights struggle," he continued. "It does so by framing democracy as ineffective and a conspiracy rather than a tool of empowerment or a functional tool of governance."

To start the afternoon session, President Mills presented a Proclamation in Honor of Richard Courant, the late NYU mathematics professor who joined NYU in 1933 after losing his position in Germany because he was Jewish. Not only a noted mathematician, whose name graces the university's institute of mathematics, Courant was a lifeline for others escaping Nazi Germany, Mills explained.

The next panel focused on the role of education in confronting antisemitism. Daniel Greene, a curator and subject expert at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., described how the museum pushes visitors to tackle difficult questions and contradictions.

"We are a nation of immigrants and we are also a nation that has closed its doors to immigrants," he said, citing one example of the tensions highlighted in the museum's exhibitions.

Batia Wiesenfeld, a professor and director of the Business & Society Program at the Stern School of Business, asks a question. ©Hollenshead: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau

Azedeh Aalai, associate professor of psychology at Queensborough Community College, and adjunct professor at NYU, discussed how studying the Holocaust exercises students' critical thinking skills, improves their emotional literacy, and makes them less susceptible to antisemitism. Difficult conversations around questions that may not have answers are opportunities for transformational learning, she said. Sara Fredman Aeder, director of Israel and Jewish Affairs at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, presented findings of her research on Jewish student belonging and the distinctions between students' experiences of antisemitism and their perceptions of safety.

Renowned Jewish historian David Engel, professor emeritus of NYU's Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, gave the day's final lecture, which examined the past, present, and future of Antisemitism Studies. Engel traced the meaning of the word from its debut in 1879 to the current day, arguing that its many meanings have prevented serious academic research on the varied forms of anti-Jewish persecution over time. Rather than focus on its definition, Engel encouraged research that empirically studies specific types of discrimination and responses to them. He also encouraged the center to tap NYU's strengths in data science and its global centers to create a framework for future research.

Avinoam Patt, Maurice Greenberg Professor of Holocaust Studies and the inaugural director of the center, concluded the event by thanking the presenters and participants for their thoughtful contributions.

"We know that right now we are living in a turning point in history…when resources are properly being invested in the critical study of this topic, but also, hopefully, in the study of a broader examination of hate in a radical time of profound social, economic, and political crisis," he said. "I'm under no illusions that the launch of our center will solve the problem of antisemitism, but we know that we can begin to ask serious questions and begin to do the research that will help move our field forward."