Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies

The Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies – Columbia University’s center for the academic study and discussion of Jewish life, history, and culture – has long been a national and international leader in the field. Over its 75-year history, IIJS has trained many of the field’s leading figures. Its scholars and students have produced lasting and central works of scholarship in a field that continues to grow exponentially across the United States. The Institute is dedicated to the academic study and discussion of Israel and Jewish Studies. Committed to blending rigorous scholarship with cutting edge teaching and intellectual opportunities, IIJS explores the best that’s been thought and said in the field and examines the length and breadth of Jewish history and culture, as well as Israel and all of its complexities. The Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies supports the State of Israel’s right to exist and to flourish. As the oldest academic institute devoted to studying Israel, we support scholarly and scientific cooperation with Israeli academic institutions, colleagues, and students across the political spectrum. IIJS supports cooperative programs that involve Israel, including the Tel Aviv University-General Studies dual degree program, our Israel Fellowship programs, and other initiatives intended to strengthen the vigorous academic study of the region along with the human and intellectual diversity of our campus.