Sussex setting up Jewish studies institute with German government support

“It is a poignant and very saddening sign of our times that we launch the institute amid a discussion on the rise of antisemitism,” Mr Wittig said. “This rise is deeply troubling, coming just over 80 years after the events of Kristallnacht in Germany, when Nazi paramilitary troops and civilians unleashed a pogrom against Jewish citizens, unchecked and unchallenged by most of civil society.”

Dr Gideon Reuveni, director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies, said: “The vision of the Weidenfeld Institute is to become a leading intellectual hub for the interdisciplinary study and public discussion of the Jewish experience and how it relates to the key challenges of our time.

“This vision is rooted in the awareness of the fragility of our civilisation and the supposition that societies can be characterised by the way they treat their Jewish citizens.

“The Jewish experience — and especially the way in which antisemitism has emerged in different settings— can no longer be of mere antiquarian interest. The lessons of the Jewish past need to be applied politically and ethically in order to enhance civil society.”