Meat is one of the most visible markers of Jewish distinctness and social separation. In his most recent book, John Efron argues that meat has played an especially important role in the formation of Jewish and Christian identities in Germany from the Middle Ages until today. To an extent not seen elsewhere in Europe, the...
Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar, one of the most celebrated Hasidic masters of the twentieth century, is known not only for founding the world’s largest Hasidic dynasty, but also for his strongly held anti-Zionist views. His work articulates a Jewish political theology against Zionism built on the foundations of traditional Jewish sources, and its influence...
This lecture will examine the discussion of pluralism in the field of comparative theology in light of a core question in the history of Israelite religion. It will create a dialogue between the work of historians of religion such as Yehezkel Kaufmann and theologians such as John Hick, with some reference to the Egyptologist Jan...
In this talk, historian Julia Phillips Cohen discusses the unknown role that Jews from the eastern and southern Mediterranean played in the shaping of modern couture. Following two fashion houses run by an interconnected network of North African and Middle Eastern Jews in fin-de-siècle Paris, the talk reveals the participation of these firms in a...
This event has been cancelled. Sunday, May 17, 2026 • James Bridges Theater • 2 PM Occupied City The Barbara Roisman Cooper and Martin Cooper Jewish Film Series
In its fourteenth consecutive year, the ucLADINO conference supports and celebrates the growing preservation of Ladino language and culture in the Judeo-Spanish diaspora. The theme for this year’s ucLADINO conference centers around Ladino and community resilience, exploring the ways that Ladino language preserves cultural memory yet continually adapts and reacts to change. What is the...
What drew Jewish immigrants to the labor movement? How did unions become distinctly "Jewish" spaces - and what happened when they changed? Join historians, organizers, and community leaders for a panel on Jewish labor activism in Los Angeles: from the open-shop battles of the early 20th century to today. Thursday, May 28, 2026 • UCLA...
A dominant trend in scholarship about Jews in the Roman Imperial diaspora emphasizes the Jews' achievement of a successful balance between integration and separation, and regards this happy equilibrium as essentially stable for centuries. I will argue that this view rests on a fundamental misreading of the sources. Asia Minor (modern Turkey) provided the richest...
The phenomenon of “Godfearing”—adoption by gentiles, usually supposed to have been pagan—of Jewish practices including support for local Jewish communities and attendance in synagogues—has loomed larger in scholarship than it does in the sources. But the phenomenon surely existed. Some ancient writers suggest that in the first century most diaspora jewish communities had a “fringe”...
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 • 314 Royce Hall • 4 PM UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies Open House Celebration Share a bite with the Leve Center faculty, staff, students, and community friends. Learn about our diverse projects, programs, and courses. RSVP