Jewish Studies and the Arts of Resilience in the Coronavirus Era

In fifteen years serving as an academic director, I have never experienced such a cascade of painful decisions as I have faced in the last few weeks, scuttling programs and plans that were years in the making, disappointing people, calling a halt to scholarly work that it is my responsibility to help advance. Of course, the disruption that the Katz Center faces is nothing compared to what so many are going through at Penn, in Philadelphia, and around the world right now.

A Personal Message from President Gutmann

This is a generation-defining moment. And like every such moment that has gone before, it is not only the crisis itself but also how we respond that matters most. 

The Penn community has responded heroically. Everyone has had truly difficult decisions to make. That we have done so together will contribute directly to the health and lives of members of our community and countless others. We will continue to do this guided by the best understanding and evidence for what will protect and save lives. 

The Katz Center in the Age of Coronavirus

Dear Katz Center community,

During the present public health challenge posed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Katz Center needs to follow guidelines established by the University of Pennsylvania. This includes cancelling all public programs for the remainder of the semester, as well as our annual Meyerhoff Lecture. We are hoping to reschedule many of these events for another time in the future, so please stay tuned.

New Rare Judaica Acquisitions at the Penn Libraries!

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The Library at the Katz Center is one of the world’s largest and richest resources on the history and culture of Jews. Schottenstein-Jesselson Curator of Judaica Arthur Kiron has recently announced the acquisition of a variety of new holdings, ranging from medieval Hebrew manuscript leaves re-used for binding Latin poetry to Holocaust-era texts belonging to Jewish refugees in Shanghai.

Announcing The Jewish Philanthropy Research Initiative

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In a newly published study that draws on the first comprehensive data set of US-based Jewish philanthropic organizations, Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim and Mathew Brookner show that such organizations gave more than $46 billion in grants in the period between 2000–2015. Beyond what it reveals about the amount of money American Jews invest in philanthropy, the data is full of yet-to-be-tapped insights into the nature of American Jewish life today, including the importance of foundations in setting the Jewish communal agenda.*