ISGAP African and Jewish Diaspora Homeland Studies Program (AJDHP) 

Chair

Dr. Charles Asher Small, Executive Director, ISGAP

Academic Committee

Fentahun Assefa-Dawit, Executive Director, Tebeka
Dr. Harold V. Bennett, Chair, Department of Philosophy and Religion, Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. Carlton Long, CEO of Lawrence Long and Co., Educational Consulting
Professor Katya Gibel Mevorach, Chair, American Studies Concentration, Grinnell College, Iowa
Professor David Patterson, Hillel A. Feinberg Chair in Holocaust Studies, Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, University of Texas at Dallas
Benji Shulman, Director of Public Policy, South Africa Zionist Federation
Rabbi Akiva Zweig, Dean (Rosh Yeshiva), Talmudic College of Florida

Recent scholarly and policy studies and surveys indicate that forms of racism(s), antisemitism(s), as well as increased notions of xenophobia are increasing, particularly in Europe and the Americas. Some argue that these processes affect the very notion of diaspora communities and that of homeland in society. This interdisciplinary program aims to examine socio-economic, political, historical and cultural processes, in the age of globalization, that impact notions of diaspora and homeland. Attention will be placed on the re-emergence of white supremacy – which has a long history of impacting African and Jewish diaspora communities – and how this manifestation of hatred impacts society in general, as well as, how it challenges and shapes notions of diaspora, homeland and integration at the local and global levels. Contemporary issues, such as the refusal of contemporary reactionary social movements to recognize the legitimacy of the Other within society will be examined from various perspectives and disciplinary backgrounds.   

Racism(s) and antisemitism(s) are highly complex and, at times, perplexing forms of hatred. It spans history and has infected many societies, religious and philosophical movements, and even civilizations. Manifestations of racism(s) and antisemitism(s) emerge in numerous ideologically‐based narratives and in the constructed identities of belonging and otherness. As manifestations of racism(s) and antisemitism(s) are increasing in contemporary Europe and North America, along social movements that adhere to nationalist and xenophobic ideologies, this program will examine how racist and antisemitic discourse, pertaining to Israel and Africa or notions of “ homeland”, affect Jewish and African communities in the diaspora. Analysis will also focus on the impact on notions of integration, otherness, and citizenship.

This program will consist of seminars, provide a key element to the ISGAP-Oxford Summer Institute on Antisemitism Studies and Curriculum Development, provide workshops – both scholarly and policy-focused – to help empower scholars and communities to combat contemporary antisemitism and racism. The program will deliver:

  • Seminars at top universities.
  • Leading scholars as speakers to international venues.
  • Policy advisors.
  • Play a key role in organizing and planning the Wiesel – King Fellowship at the ISGAP-Oxford Summer Institute.
  • Leadership training for the Jewish and African Diasporas.
  • Develop academic and policy programming in Israel and Africa. 
Professor Brown just returned from an innovative trip to South African Universities and Government agencies to combat antisemitism and the BDS movement. ISGAP, with the leadership of Ansel Brown, continues the struggle of battling antisemitism on the battlefield of ideas.
 
“The equation of Israel with what the world knows to be one of the most evil, notorious political regimes in our modern era is a form of anti-Semitism that is rooted in a moral and historical bankrupt narrative of the truth,” – Ansel Brown
 
Please read these important articles detailing Professor Brown’s vital work in South Africa.