Jonathan Sarna Elected President of Association for Jewish Studies
Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, was elected president of the Association for Jewish Studies at its annual meeting.
Sarna is the fourth Brandeis professor to serve in the role — one was his father, Nahum Sarna.
“This is a great honor to be a leading an organization that plays an important role in furthering Jewish Studies scholarship and education,” Sarna said. “On a personal level, it means a great deal to me to be following in my father’s footsteps.”
Sarna is the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia and also serves as a JTA board member.
The Association for Jewish Studies was founded in 1969 at Brandeis by a small group of scholars seeking a forum for exploring methodological and pedagogical issues in the new field of Jewish studies.
The association’s mission is to advance research and teaching in Jewish studies at colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning, and to foster greater understanding of Jewish studies scholarship among the wider public.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30