Report on the workshop “Jewish Dis/Connections across and beyond the Modern Mediterranean”

From April 6–8, 2025, the University of Warsaw hosted the international workshop “Jewish Dis/Connections across and beyond the Modern Mediterranean”, bringing together sixteen scholars from across Europe.

The event aimed to redefine Jewish history through the lens of the Mediterranean, emphasizing the mobility of people, ideas, and institutions, while challenging traditional Eurocentric narratives.

Organized by Dr. Magdalena Kozłowska (University of Warsaw), Dr. Noëmie Duhaut (University of Southampton), and Dr. Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah (University of Groningen), the workshop promoted an inclusive, transnational and transimperial approach to Jewish history. Topics discussed included nationalism, empire, gender, race, and memory.

A keynote lecture by Prof. Matthias B. Lehmann (University of Cologne) encouraged participants to view the Mediterranean not only as a space of connection but also of rupture and redefinition in Jewish identity.

Presentations covered a wide range of subjects—from Jewish-Muslim coexistence in Algeria to the migration of Jews from Salonica and Rhodes—highlighting the complexity of Jewish mobility and identity in the Mediterranean world.

The workshop fostered inclusivity by bringing together early-career scholars and established academics in a dynamic, interdisciplinary exchange. Participants also visited the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa Street, underlining the depth of Jewish heritage in Warsaw.

Unpacking Jewish Dis/Connections: A Mediterranean Journey of Memory, Identity, and Mobility