Early in the summer of 1980 Professor Jacob Neusner, then of Brown University, sent out a ‘Proposal for a European Consultative conference on Judaic Studies’, which began as follows: “My recent trip to lecture at a number of universities in Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Britain, left the impression that Judaic studies in Europe are now poised for an important step of stabilisation and consolidation. The purpose of this letter is briefly to describe the situation as I see it and to propose a modest but concrete act to improve that situation.” After some months of energetic correspondence Professor Neusner sent out a letter of invitation to some 25 European Judaic scholars to attend the first meeting of an organising committee, to be held at the Oriental Institute in Oxford from 11th to 13th May 1981 and chaired by Dr. Geza Vermes, who by then had taken over all preliminary responsibilities. The meeting was held, with the participants from abroad lodged in the Randolph Hotel; the participants also attended the Sacks Lecture given by Professor Neusner at Yarnton Manor.

The organising committee agreed that periodic conferences, inventories of research, a newsletter, and a journal, would be the proper means to promote research in Jewish studies, and immediately started to implement these resolves. A conference was announced for July of the following year, a bulletin was planned, and membership solicitation was undertaken.

Through support from the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, a permanent secretariat was established in November 1995 at Yarnton Manor, the home of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, the largest centre for Jewish studies in Europe, and in 1996 a new start with the Newsletter was made after an interval of six years. From this date business meetings of the Executive Committee were held annually, and in this context the production of the first Directory of Jewish Studies in Europe was realised in 1998, with support, amongst others, of the European Union. A new online directory of Jewish Studies was launched in 2006 but discontinued in 2024 due to the ease of identifying university departments and research institutions through advanced online search options. The website of the EAJS continues to provide access to the a website database of Jewish Studies Funders, established in 2009 and updated regularly. The former Newsletter of the EAJSwas transformed, after 17 issues, into the European Journal of Jewish Studies (EJJS), currently edited by Marcin Wodziński (Wrocław). It was in 2010 that the Association became a charitable company.

Beyond the EAJS Congresses, colloquia, and conferences, further events have been organised under the auspices of the EAJS. These include the six bi-annual Medieval Hebrew Poetry colloquia (since 2000), as well as the Nahmanides-Forum, an event format allowing academics in Jewish Studies to deliberate about issues pertaining to teaching Jewish Studies in an academic environment.

In 2015, the EAJS embarked on a new pathway with the Programme in European Jewish Studies, funded by the Stiftung EVZ (Berlin). Over three years, the Association funded two annual academic events (the so-called Laboratories and Roundtables). This grant programme had a focus on fostering cooperation between academics from different European regions and on emerging scholars. Equally in 2015, and with support from the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, the Association initiated the EAJS Conference Grant Programme, offering funding for a broad range of academic events. This ongoing Conference Grant Programme has contributed significantly to strengthening cooperation between academic across Europe, increased the visibility of the field, and supported scholarly initiatives over the entire range of Jewish Studies. The academic reports about events supported through both programmes can be found here.

In 2023, the Small Research Grant Programme was initiated with support from the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, offering Full and Student Members of the Association financial support in carrying out individual research trips. After a successful pilot year, a two-year cycle was initiated, to run until 2026.

Albert van der Heide, November 2008

Daniel Langton, May 2013

François Guesnet, November 2024