With Israel still reeling after the devastating Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, antisemitism surging and a contentious presidential election looming in the United States, University of Haifa’s Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies hosted a symposium on Tuesday featuring experts who unpacked those issues at this defining moment in the Israel-American Jewry relationship.
The Ruderman Program’s annual symposium featured a series of dynamic lectures from influential figures, including Tal-Or Cohen, executive director and founder of CyberWell, who analyzed antisemitism on social media and the impact of artificial intelligence; as well as an academic panel of leading researchers who discussed the rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in a post-Oct. 7 world, and the pitfalls of “woke” culture and how the radical left fosters Jew-hatred.
Antisemitic incidents are up 361% in the United States since the start of the war in Israel, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The academic panel featured leading researchers such as Pamela Nadell, the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History at the Department of History at American University; David Hirsh, a senior lecturer in sociology at Goldsmiths University and academic director and CEO of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism; and Izabella Tabarovsky, a senior advisor of regional partnerships and programming at the Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that provides nonpartisan counsel and insights on global affairs to policymakers.
“Sadly, this year, the core theme of our conference was obvious based on the growing rise of antisemitic sentiment around the world, especially after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. We can’t side-step this issue, as it has profound implications for American Jews and will impact their future as well as the relationship between the United States and Israel,” said Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation.
“The challenges that Jewish communities in the U.S. face are complex and it’s important that these discussions are held in Israel so we can better address it together. Doing so will only strengthen our connection to each other, which is a strategic asset for American Jews and Israel as a whole,” Ruderman said. “The Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies at the University of Haifa encourages deepening our mutual understanding and fosters engagement between these two groups of people to help bring the issue of antisemitism to the forefront.”
The symposium concluded with a panel moderated by GLZ (IDF) radio’s Idan Kweller, where attendees heard from Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Israel’s special envoy for combating antisemitism at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Zvika Klein, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.
This is the 11th year that the University of Haifa’s Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies held an annual symposium. The Master of Arts program offers students the historical background behind the Israel-American Jewry relationship as well as a comprehensive, modern-day understanding of the realities on the ground for the U.S. Jewish community, in order to ensure their knowledge translates into improving the future of these two communities moving forward. The program’s main objective is to explore how to maintain the critical relationship between Israel and American Jews for the benefit of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
“The rise of antisemitism, especially online, is extremely concerning and the State of Israel and American Jewry must unite to combat it,” said David Barak-Gorodetsky, director of the Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies. “This year, we added a course to the curriculum which addresses the history of antisemitism and how it is manifested. It is critical that our students have the tools to understand this phenomenon and offer practical solutions.”
