First woman head for Oxford Hebrew Centre

The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies is to have its first woman president since it was founded 46 years ago.

Professor Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, a specialist in medieval Jewish documents, will become the centre’s new head in September when Professor Martin Goodman steps down.

Having taken her first degree in Paris, she gained a PhD at Cambridge University working on Karaite marriage documents from the Cairo Genizah before becoming a junior research fellow at Oxford University.

In 2002, she became a professor in Hebrew palaeography and manuscript studies at the Ecole Pratiques des Hautes Etudes in Paris and two years ago was elected a corresponding fellow of the British Academy. She is a former president of the European Association for Jewish Studies.