Antisemitism:Understanding it in History and Today with Dr. Keren Fraiman and Dr. Dean Bell

Antisemitism is “the longest hatred.” While it has common themes that have endured
throughout history, it is also highly contextual and adaptive. In order to address the
troubling growth in antisemitism across the US and around the globe, we need to
understand it historically and as it is manifesting today.

March
2025

DATE/TIME Coming soon

Dr. Keren E. Fraiman is Spertus
Institute’s Dean and Chief
Academic Officer. She also
holds a faculty appointment as
Professor of Israel Studies. She
previously served as Director
of Research and Evaluation at
The iCenter for Israel Education,
where she continues to serve on
the faculty of the iFellows Masters
Concentration in Israel Education program. In January
2020, Dr. Fraiman was selected for the prestigious Wexner
Field Fellowship, presented by the Wexner Foundation
in partnership with the Jim Joseph Foundation. A former
Schusterman Israel Scholar, Dr. Fraiman has worked at
the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis,
served as an officer in the IDF, and led trips to Israel as
a Facilitator both for Encounter and Birthright Israel. Her
work has been supported by the US Institute of Peace,
the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism, and
the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism. Fraiman
is co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Judaism in
the 21st Century and author of the article “Barriers to
Entry: Exploring Educator Reticence for Engaging with the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”
Education: PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology;

Education: PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
BA, The University of Chicago.

Dr. Dean P. Bell is Spertus
Institute’s ninth President and
CEO. He also holds a faculty
appointment as Professor
of History. Dr. Bell has
taught at DePaul University,
Northwestern University,
Hebrew Theological College,
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, and the University of
California, Berkeley. He has served as President of the
Midwest Jewish Studies Association and has been a
member of the Board of Directors of the Association for
Jewish Studies. Dr. Bell is a widely published author in
the areas of Medieval and Early Modern Jewish history.
His current research focuses on interreligious dialogue
and leadership and environmental history. Bell is author
or editor of 13 books and monographs and dozens of
articles, including co-author of Interreligious Resilience:
Interreligious Leadership for a Pluralistic World; and
co-editor of Jews, Judaism, and the Reformation in
Sixteenth-Century Germany. He is Associate Editor of
Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice
and Persecution.
Education: PhD, University of California, Berkeley; MA,
University of California, Berkeley; BA,
The University of Chicago