O.P. Jindal Global University, India
16-18 February
2026
2026
About
Jewish Tides of Connection and Memory
Jewish life along the shores of the Indian Ocean has long remained in the margins of historical discourse. This conference brings to light the trade routes, cultural exchanges, and diasporic ties that linked Jewish communities from the Red Sea to South Asia. By tracing these overlooked connections, we seek to reframe the Indian Ocean as a vital space in Jewish history.
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Speakers
Attendees
HR
Panels
Exploring Jewish Presence Across the Indian Ocean
Uncovering overlooked dimensions
of the Jewish story
Adopting the lens of the “Oceanic Turn,” the conference approaches the Indian Ocean not as a boundary, but as a dynamic space of mobility, exchange, and connection. It highlights the roles Jewish communities played within broader networks of trade, culture, and migration across maritime Asia.
Bridging Time Periods and
Academic Disciplines
By drawing together scholars from antiquity to modernity and from diverse fields—history, religious studies, anthropology, geography, and more—the conference fosters interdisciplinary dialogue. This integration opens up new perspectives on Jewish diasporas and transregional interaction.
Fostering Global Academic Collaboration
Held in India and organized through cooperation between institutions in South Asia, Israel, and beyond, the conference brings together scholars from across continents. It promotes cross-cultural academic exchange and lays the groundwork for future collaborative research.
Catalyzing Further Research and Publication
This conference is envisioned as a starting point for an emerging field of inquiry. It aims to generate new research, build scholarly networks, and consolidate key findings and methodologies.
Speakers
Dr. Navaras Jaat Aafreedi
Assistant Professor of History at Presidency University
Prof. Achia Anzi
OP Jindal Global University
Sifra Lentin
Author and fellow Indian Council on Global Relations
Dr. Khinvarj Jangid / Suthar
Professor and Director of the Centre for Israel Studies, OP Jindal Global University
Dr. Menashe Anzi
Senior Lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University
Dr. Assaf Avraham
Head of the Research and Education Division at the Shazar Center for Jewish History
Dr. Rachel Yadid
CEO and Chair of Eeleh Betamar
Prof. Shalva Weil
Senior researcher at the Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. Miriam Frenkel
Professor Emerita at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a prominent scholar of medieval Jewish history in the lands of Islam
Prof. Bat-Zion Klorman-Eraqi
Professor Emerita of History at the Open University of Israel and a former director of the Center for the Study of Yemeni Jews at the Ben-Zvi Institute
Dr. Noga Raved
Post-Doctoral Researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev specializing in the history of museums in Israel
Prof. Steven Fine
Churgin Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University and Director of the YU Center for Israel Studies
Prof. Amihai Radzyner
Professor of Jewish Law, Family Law, and Legal History at Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Law
Kenneth X Robbins
Independent scholar and psychiatrist
Dr. Levi Cooper
Senior Lecturer in Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Law and an expert in the interface between Jewish law and Hasidism
Anna Zacharias
PhD student in Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Arghya Sengupta
Dual-degree student in International Relations at the University of Haifa and the University of Warsaw
Dr. Emy Merin Joy
Doctoral graduate from Central European University
Prof. José Alberto Tavim
Senior Researcher and Professor at the University of Lisbon and Chair of the Seminar “The Jews in Portugal and in the Diaspora.”
Joel Jyothis Tom, PhD
PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at the Central University of Gujarat
Dr. Geraldine Gudefin
Historian of Modern Jewry specializing in migration, family life, and legal pluralism
Prof. Jessica Roitman
Professor of Jewish Studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Lija Joseph
Cosmos Malabaricus Fellow at the University of Leiden
Omer Ghazi
Policy Researcher at the Citizens Foundation for Policy Solutions in Delhi
Rohit Kumar Sharma
Research Analyst at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi
Sayan Lodh, PhD
PhD candidate at Presidency University, Kolkata
Aditya Shinde, PhD
PhD student specializing in modern South Asian and Jewish history
Dr. Suraj Rajan Kadanthodu
Doctoral Candidate at the Department of Israel Studies, University of Haifa
Jude Pava, PhD
PhD candidate in Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Prof. Aren Maeir
Professor of Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and Head of the Institute of Archaeology
Lipika Pelham
Herbert D. Katz Centre for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
Prof. David Hamidovic
Full Professor at the University of Lausanne, holding the chair in Jewish Apocryphal Literature and the History of Judaism in Antiquity
Rishona Fine, PhD
PhD candidate in Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
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