The Martin Buber Institute for Jewish Studies is proud to be part of the Consortium for Jewish Studies Across the Americas (CJSA), led by the Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Florida, a collaboration among several universities that have joined forces to advance the field of Latin American Jewish Studies and the study of the Jews of the Americas within a broader context. This consortium aims to promote interdisciplinary research and the study of Jewish experiences in Latin America within the broader hemispheric context of the Americas, including North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean.

The participating programs are:

• University of Florida’s Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies (USA)
• Brandeis University’s Initiative on the Jews of the Americas (USA)
• University of Cologne’s Martin Buber Institute for Jewish Studies (Germany)
• Azrieli Center for Israel Studies (MALI), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel)
• Universidad Hebraica’s Jewish Studies Program (Mexico)
• Israel and Golda Koschitzky Center for Jewish Studies at York University (Canada)

Led by Raanan Rein, Dalia Wassner, Matthias Lehmann, Aviad Moreno, Daniel Fainstein, and David Koffman, the Consortium plans to hold an annual meeting, rotating among the Consortium’s partner institutions, sponsor joint research projects, encourage cutting-edge publications, and support graduate students. The first annual meeting of the CJSA will be held February 9–10, 2026, at the University of Florida. For more information, see shorstein.ufl.edu/cjsa/

By focusing on the dynamics of minority-majority ties within and beyond Jewish communities, we offer a multilayered perspective on local, national, and transnational networks. This includes reshaped homeland-diaspora dynamics, transnational ties across shared origins, and evolving identities influenced by historical memory, demographic shifts, and intersecting cultural dimensions. We seek to adopt a multilayered approach that integrates diverse perspectives from the intersection of Latin American studies, Israeli studies, and Jewish and MENA (including Sephardi) studies.

In a broader theoretical sense, we aim to reframe current understandings of diaspora politics by shifting the focus away from traditional divisions—such as the Ashkenazi/Sephardi and East/West dichotomies—and toward transnational ties and hierarchies that emerge among communities sharing similar origins in the “Old World” across the Americas, such as Polish or Syrian Jews in New York and Buenos Aires. We will also explore how homeland-diaspora dynamics are being reshaped as Israel assumes an increasingly central and complex role—not merely as a geographical homeland but as a symbolic trope that forges solidarity or, at times, exacerbates divisions across the Americas. At the same time, Israel has become both a destination and a source of ongoing demographic shifts within the diaspora. Likewise, Spain’s enduring significance as a homeland for Sephardic Jews on the move will provide a compelling lens for examining the interplay between historical memory and contemporary communities across the Americas that, in recent generations, have also seen a return across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.

Current trends in dynamic Latin American Jewish communities will be examined through the lens of demographic shifts, shedding light on how these ongoing transformations influence hierarchies of belonging and self-representation, as well as geopolitical, economic, and class dynamics. In this vein, it is important to emphasize that over a quarter of Latin American Jews currently live outside the region, contributing to multi-layered expressions of Jewish identity and diaspora. Special attention will be given to the United States (primarily Florida), Europe, and Israel, as major and rapidly growing hubs for Jewish Latin Americans. We aim to broaden the conversation by addressing intersecting topics such as gender, cinematic representations, art, media, social media, religion, and other cultural dimensions.

Places at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are primarily awarded to students majoring in Jewish Studies and History. However, students from other disciplines may also apply. The spots are intended for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students.
Two one-year spots (or four semester spots) are available per academic year.
Students may apply separately to the Office of International Affairs for a PROMOS scholarship.

Eligibility Requirements

• Enrollment in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Cologne
• Proven English proficiency at level B2 (CEFR) or higher  
• Minimum grade point average of 2.0 (GPA 3.0 or 80%)

Application Deadlines

• For the upcoming winter semester: February 1
• For the following summer semester: August 1

Application Process

1. Fill out the online application form
    
2. Send the following documents in a single PDF file via email to philfak-zib-bewerbunguni-koeln.de
    
   • Copy of the confirmation email (sent to you immediately after you complete the online application form)
   • Statement of purpose (at least 1 page)
   • Resume (max. 2 pages)
   • Transcript of Records
   • Certificate of Enrollment
   • Proof of sufficient English proficiency