Jewish Studies
Fiscal Year 2024-2025
Dear Donor,
This year, the Lipinsky Institute for Jewish Studies was proud to support various guest speakers and lectures at San Diego State University throughout the 2024–25 Academic Year.
The Institute also supported local conference initiatives, such as the Annual Western Jewish Studies Conference in March 2025, and maintained its ongoing engagement with the Murray-Galinson San Diego-Israel Visiting Scholar initiative. The Institute was pleased to provide support for teaching core courses in the areas of Jewish Studies and the Modern Jewish Experience, and, thanks to the generous gifts from the Gufan Family Endowed Scholarship and the Rabbi Aaron and Jeanne Gold Scholarship, the Institute was able to support three Jewish studies majors and minors in a signifcant way towards their tuition.
Finally, we’re especially excited to share that the Institute played a supporting role in the search for, and successful hiring of, a new faculty member in the area of Jewish studies and sustainability. We’re thrilled to welcome Professor Ishai Mishory to the San Diego State University community in Fall 2025.
Rebecca Bartel, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department for the Study of Religion Director, Jewish Studies Program
Propelling the SDSU Community Forward
Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies
This fund supported the instructional costs for the course The Jewish Heritage, allowing the course to run despite enrollment numbers that would have otherwise led to its cancellation.
The Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies also supported the 30th Annual Conference of the Western Area Jewish Studies Association, which took place in San Diego on March 16 and 17, 2025. The conference brought together 50 scholars of Judaic studies, including graduate students, for two days of panels and presentations on contemporary debates and research across the broad feld of Jewish studies.
The Institute also supported three events during Academic Year 2024–25:
1. A conversation with Nathan Thrall on his latest book: A Day in the Life of Abed Salama
2. A conversation with Peter Beinart on his latest book: Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza
3. A conversation with Ambassador Ido Aharoni (former Israeli Ambassador to the United States) — co-sponsored with the MGSDII and the Presidential Task Force for Combatting Anti-Semitism
Class of 2025 Graduates