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Indiana University removed its Jewish studies director. His replacement has ignited a firestorm over Israel.

JL;DR SUMMARY The appointment of Günther Jikeli as director of Indiana University's Jewish Studies program, replacing Holocaust scholar Mark Roseman, has sparked significant controversy due to Jikeli's strong pro-Israel stance. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish IdentityAcademic FreedomJewish StudiesCampus PoliticsIndiana UniversityDonor InfluenceGünther JikeliMark Roseman

Places mentioned

Bloomington, Indiana, United States
"Hillel International estimates that 12% of Indiana Universitys undergraduate students are Jewish, and it has one of the oldest and most prestigious Jewish studies programs in the United States."
Michigan, United States
"New York University announced a seven-figure donation to create a center to study and combat antisemitism shortly after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks two years ago, and other schools including the University of Michigan and Brandeis University have launched similar programs."
Germany
"At Indiana, both supporters and detractors of Jikeli, a German academic whose work has focused on Muslim antisemitism in Europe, believe he is acting as an enforcer of what should legitimately be considered as Jewish studies."
New York City, New York, United States
"And on the other side, Rosenfeld said, are the sizable share of Jews that had supported New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and all that he seemed to represent anti-Zionism, or at a minimum the belief that nonsectarian concerns should be prioritized over Jewish solidarity."
Massachusetts, United States
"Jewish studies is at the precipice of a cliff in America, said Shaul Magid, a professor of Jewish studies at Harvard."
Georgia, United States
"Other schools have adopted similar approaches since Oct. 7, some of which appear more focused on advocacy than traditional academic study."
Washington, United States
"At the University of Washington, a new faculty initiative called Bridges for Change is meant to fight antisemitism."
California, United States
"But regardless of what happens in Bloomington, the growing divide between funders and Jewish scholars and between scholars and some of their students is intersecting with unprecedented political pressure on universities in a manner that seems certain to permanently transform the academy."

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Cairo Item ID 66914
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-11-14 05:31:04 UTC
Curated 2025-11-14 08:31:26 UTC