Center for Law and Antisemitism

The Center for Law and Antisemitism was established in 2025 at the College of Management Academic Studies at the initiative of Dr. Ruthy Lowenstein Lazar, Dean of the Haim Striks School of Law, and is headed by Dr. Yossi Kugler, a historian of antisemitism and Israeli society.

The Center’s vision is to combine top-level theoretical research with a tangible contribution to the public, legal, and educational discourse on antisemitism in Israel and around the world. It operates on the understanding that antisemitism has far-reaching implications for human rights, Jewish identity, Zionist identity, public discourse, educational policy, and the shaping of public opinion. Accordingly, it must be examined from a variety of legal, historical, philosophical, and social perspectives.

While legal scholarship and education in law faculties across Western democracies often address the intersection between law and a range of identities—particularly race, gender, and other forms of discrimination—antisemitism rarely receives attention, either in research or in teaching. This gap exists in Israel as well. The Center seeks to fill this scholarly and educational void by addressing the many dimensions of the intersection between antisemitism and the law.

The uniqueness of the Center lies in positioning antisemitism as an independent, multidisciplinary, and complex subject. Its work is carried out with a deep commitment to drawing a precise distinction between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of the policies of Israeli governments, and with the aim of fostering a professional, sensitive, and well-founded discussion in an era of increasing polarization. All of this is undertaken while safeguarding academic independence and freedom of research, and with a firm commitment to democratic values and to the healthy tension between freedom of expression and the need to combat all forms of hatred, discrimination, and incitement.