The Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism (YPSA) is an interdisciplinary center at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

New Haven, CT New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

devoted to the study of both historical and contemporary forms of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Housed at the

Whitney Humanities Center Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

, YPSA sponsors lectures and conferences, produces videos, and provides research grants to Yale faculty and students. It was founded amid controversy in 2011, following the decision by the Yale administration to shut down YIISA, the

Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA) was an academic center at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 2005, it was the first university-based center in North America dedicated to the study of an ...

. The current director of YPSA is

Maurice Samuels Maurice Samuels (born August 9, 1968) is the Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French at Yale University. He graduated with a BA ('' summa cum laude'') in 1990 from Harvard University, where he also earned his MA (1995) and PhD (2000). Before moving ...

, Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French at Yale University.

History

In June 2011, after a review by a faculty committee, then Provost of Yale University (now President),

Peter Salovey Peter Salovey (; born February 21, 1958) is an American social psychologist and current President of Yale University. He previously served as Yale's Provost, Dean of Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Dean of Yale College. Salovey i ...

, announced the closing of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism. Salovey cited insufficient scholarly activity as the main reason for the closing of the center. After an outcry in certain segments of the Jewish community and the press over the closing, a small group of Yale faculty met with Salovey and then-President

Richard Levin Richard Charles Levin (born April 7, 1947) is an American economist and academic administrator. From 1993 to 2013, he was the 22nd President of Yale University. From March 2014 to June 2017, he was Chief Executive Officer of Coursera. Early lif ...

to ask that a new center be created. On June 19, 2011, the university announced the creation of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism, with

as the inaugural director. Samuels is a specialist in the history of Jews in France. In a statement on June 21, 2011, Samuels announced that the new program would focus on both historical and contemporary forms of antisemitism: “Like many, I am concerned by the recent upsurge in violence against Jews around the world and YPSA will address these concerns,” Samuels wrote. “I also believe that we benefit a great deal by placing current events into historical context. YPSA will not refrain from exploring any controversial contemporary topic.”

Activities

Since its founding in 2011, YPSA has organized conferences on a number of topics relating to both contemporary and historical forms of antisemitism, such as: “Antisemitism in France: Past, Present, Future” (2012);“Exodus or Exile: The Departure of Jews from Muslim Countries, 1948-1978” (2013); and “Troubling Legacies: Antisemitism in Antiquity and its Aftermath” (2014). It also runs the Benjamin and Barbara Zucker Lecture Series, which has featured a number of talks on recent cases of Islamist terrorist attacks on Jews in Europe and elsewhere. YPSA administers the Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Research grants for Yale faculty and students studying antisemitism, named in honor of the Jewish historian

Salo Wittmayer Baron Salo Wittmayer Baron (May 26, 1895 – November 25, 1989) was a Polish-born American historian, described as "the greatest Jewish historian of the 20th century". Baron taught at Columbia University from 1930 until his retirement in 1963. Life ...

(1895–1989) and his wife. YPSA has produced a video featuring University of Illinois professor Cary Nelson discussing the “Ten Worst Things about BDS,” opposing the

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...

movement. YPSA also houses the

Yale Archive for Iranian Jewish Testimonies Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

, founded in 2014 by the journalist

Roya Hakakian , birth_date = ca. 1966 , birth_place = Tehran, Iran , death_date = , death_place = , occupation = , language = Persian, English , nationality = , citizenship = American , education = , alma_mater = Brooklyn College, , period = , ...

References

External links

Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism Official Website
ypsa.yale.edu. Retrieved 12 April 2016. {{authority control Yale University Centers for the study of antisemitism Research institutes established in 2011 2011 establishments in Connecticut