According to the call, the remore course “explores a pivotal turning point in Iberian Jewish history, beginning with the violent attacks of 1391 that devastated Jewish communities and forced mass conversions to Christianity. These converts, known as Conversos or anusim—lived between identities, often maintaining Jewish practices in secret. Participants will examine the social, religious, and political consequences of these events, including the expulsions of 1492 and 1497 and the rise of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. Finally, the course offers insight into the resilience of hidden Jewish communities and the lasting impact of persecution, identity, and survival in early modern Spain and Portugal.”

Date: Thursdays, 15 October to 12 November.

Time 7 to 8:30 PM ET  (**sessions are being recorded and can be sent to participants after the session ends).

Laut Ausschreinbung geht es der Sommerakademie um “jüdische[n] Bilder-Geschichten […]. Sie nimmt nicht nur mehrere Epochen und Themen in den Blick, sondern auch die ganze Bandbreite künstlerischer Genres. Historische Ereignisse oder die Abenteuer echter und erfundener jüdischer Held:innen wurden nicht nur in Comics und Trickfilmen erzählt, sondern auch in der Buchmalerei des Mittelalters oder frühneuzeitlichen Flugblättern. Die Sommerakademie rückt Künstler:innen und Leser:innen, Selbst- und Fremdbilder, Genres und Medien sowie jüdisch-nichtjüdische Beziehungen ins Bild.”

The National Library of Israel, The Ilona and Hugo Lowy Special Collections Presentation Room

Prof. Elisheva Carlebach, Columbia University and Prof. Debra Kaplan, Bar-Ilan University

9:30-11:30 seminar open to graduate students and early career researchers registration

11:45-13:00 lecture open to the public registration required

14:00 guided tour “From Glikl to modern Israel” registration EN | HE, payment required

On June 22, 2026, Elisheva Carlebach and Debra Kaplan will lead a graduate seminar at the National Library of Israel hosted by the Contending with Crises research team at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The seminar (9:30–11:30) is open to graduate students and early career researchers and will include a close reading of texts.

Thursday, May 14  •  5 PM – 6:30 PM. Woolf Institute, Cambridge, England.

Usually, when thinking about medieval Spain, one thinks about castles, kings and knights. Spain is understood as an extension of Christian Europe. Its cultural diversity – when considered – is framed as a sort of European version of the Crusades. This event aims to look at medieval Spain under a different light: one in which the ‘otherness’ of those of different faiths is not seen as alien but understood as part of a rich cultural heritage; and one that is not focussed on the history of power, men and warfare but rather on the histories of poets, philosophers, women and everyday people. All these voices, intertwined, form the choir – sometimes harmonious, sometimes dissonant – that was the culture of medieval Spain.

This event will consist of three 15-minute talks, each of which will look at Spain and medieval Mediterranean culture from a different perspective. The event will conclude with a discussion between the speakers and questions from the audience.

Read more about Sotheby’s auction of the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor.