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Wednesday, June 12, 2019

'Jewish Diasporas, European Journeys' conference

Tomorrow, Thursday, June 13th, the Nahmanides Institute for Jewish Studies organizes a conference day to study and debate the concept of diaspora and the close relationship of this word with the history of the Jewish people

Free conference day with the participation of specialists in history and culture of the medieval Jewish communities, from Catalonia (Dolors Bramon and Irene Llop), Valencia (Ferran García-Oliver), Slovakia (Katja Smid) and Israel (Idan Pérez).

The Jewish people have a history troubled by centuries of itinerancy throughout the world. In the Middle Ages, Jewish people moved very frequently. Normally, it was due to the pressure and marginalization suffered by the communities that welcomed and dominated (Muslim or Christian, according to the place and the time). In some cases, however, displacement was due to the internal functioning of the communities themselves, to endogamous and socio-economic practices, or to issues of a spiritual and cultural nature.

The objective of this day is to present the different ways of understanding the concept of diaspora, through professionals from the academic world who will present diverse and complementary stories related to the trajectory of the Jewish people in the Catalan countries. The aim is to disseminate studies that are taking place in different parts of the world around Catalan Jewish history.

The Nahmanides Institute for Jewish Studies of the Patronat Call de Girona takes on documenting and investigating the Jewish history of the city and the country. It has a specialized library with more than 9,000 volumes, and organizes, together with the University of Girona and other academic entities, conference cycles, study days, courses and symposiums around Jewish culture and history.

Participation is free, prior registration by calling 972 21 67 61 or sending an email to reserves.callgirona@ajgirona.cat.