The Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism is a centre of innovative research and teaching on antisemitism, racialization and religious intolerance. It contributes to knowledge and understanding, policy formation and public debate.
The Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism was established in 2010 by Birkbeck, University of London and Pears Foundation.
We are the only university centre in the UK dedicated to the study of antisemitism and one of only two in Europe. The Institute is renowned internationally for its innovative research and teaching.
Our work is framed by our conviction that antisemitism is a distinctive form of racism. Through our research and public activity we establish points of connection between the problem of antisemitism and the challenge of racisms more broadly.
Our scholarship contributes to public debate on antisemitism, racialization and religious intolerance and we provide expertise and advice to a wide range of institutions in the UK, Europe and the wider world.
The Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism is both independent and inclusive.
This conference explores the relationship between anti-racism and anti-antisemitism and the difficult and contested relationship of other minoritized groups, such as Muslims and travellers, to anti-racist politics in the UK.
Between 1947 and 1949, debates about Palestine within the United Nations pulled dozens of countries into the determination of the land’s fate – national interests and transnational sympathies shaped attitudes towards the partition of Palestine and the ensuing Arab-Israeli war. The war riveted the attention of the world – for reasons that still apply in our own day.
This series encompasses antisemitism and racism from the ancient world to the present day. It considers topical and theoretical questions and brings historical and multidisciplinary perspectives to bear on contemporary concerns and phenomena.
This lecture will bring together the narratives and memories of two suffering groups of people: the victims of the concentration camps and ghettos in Europe and the slave plantations in the American South.
Seminar | For Scholars
In this seminar, Emilie Wiedemann will focus on the preparations for the UN World Conference Against Racism held in September 2001 and the advocacy of diaspora Jewish NGOs within this context.
In this talk, Professor Evans explores the photography of two middle-aged Jewish women and former refugees, Lisetta Carmi and Madalena Schwarz, who fostered relationships of trust and kinship with the trans communities they photographed.
SEMINAR SERIES | ANTISEMITISM NOW
Drawing on quantitative survey data gathered both before and after the October 7 attacks, Jonathan Boyd will discuss the position of Jews in Britain today, how, if at all, they have been impacted by the Hamas-Israel war, and what the future may hold.
We build alliances to promote knowledge and share understanding, making our work ever-more relevant in a world threatened by populisms and conspiracy theories from the political left and right
Professor David Feldman, Director
