Yale renews study of anti-Semitism

After the sudden cancellation of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA) earlier this month, the famed university reversed its decision by launching a revamped initiative on June 20, dubbed the Yale Program for the Study of Anti-Semitism (YPSA). Vowing to make the new program more scholarly in its research and discourse, it will examine the roots and history of anti-Semitism.

Alongside the new name, the center will not include Dr. Charles Small, who directed the previous initiative. Small criticized the new program’s focus on the past at the expense of researching current anti-Semitic incidents. “To focus on its roots and history, glosses over issues scholars must address today, especially when it comes to the threat of contemporary radical Islamist anti-Semitism,” Small said in a statement.

Abraham Foxman, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League, welcomed Yale’s restoration on the study of the topic, but also disappointment that Small was not reinstated to lead it. “While we are disappointed that Professor Charles Small, the one who originally conceived the idea of an institute for the study of anti-Semitism, will not play a role in the new program, we are confident that the study program will continue to strengthen its status,” Foxman expressed in a statement.

Professor Maurice Samuels, who has published works and taught classes on anti-Semitism in French literature and culture, will head the new program. Last August’s YIISA conference “Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity,” focused heavily on Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism, and some critics charged that Yale closed YIISA as a result of political pressure.

Maen Rashid Areikat, the PLO representative to the United States sent a letter to Yale President Richard Levin criticizing the event. “It’s shocking that a respected institution like Yale would give a platform to these right-wing extremists and their odious views,” Areikat wrote. “A conference on anti-Semitism that is ostensibly intended to combat hatred and discrimination against Semites would demonize Arabs - who are Semites themselves.”

Samuels expressed confidence that the program will cover a wide range of topics. “YPSA will discuss both contemporary anti-Semitism and historical anti-Semitism,” Samuels said. “Like many, I am concerned by the recent upsurge in violence against Jews around the world and YPSA will address these concerns.”