Melrose Park, PA –

Dr. Ayal Feinberg has been named the Director of the Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights at Gratz College. He will officially join the college as Associate Professor of Political Science and Antisemitism Studies on June 1, 2023.

Feinberg joins Gratz after a substantive tenure at Texas A&M University. He will lead Gratz’s Center and its robust graduate and public-facing programs. Among these is the degree program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the largest provider of graduate-level Holocaust Studies degrees in the world.

Feinberg is a Quantitative Research Fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Antisemitism Research and his writing has appeared in scholarly and popular periodicals, and cited during the 2019 House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Hate Crime and the Rise of White Nationalism. His work is utilized by practitioners and policymakers concerned with the insecurity of marginalized groups and the perseverance of the Jewish community.

Gratz welcomes Dr. Feinberg for his first public lecture on Tuesday, May 16 at 7:00 pm. He will deliver the Shusterman Distinguished Scholar Lecture on the topic, “The Knots that Bind: The Holocaust, Israel and Contemporary Antisemitism.”

The Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights at Gratz College offers students the opportunity for graduate study in fields that address the universal human problems of hatred, bigotry, religious intolerance, inequality, and violence. The need is especially great in our world today for educated leaders, teachers, and scholars who have the knowledge and skills to address these challenges.

Gratz President Zev Eleff shares his enthusiasm and optimism about Dr. Feinberg’s upcoming leadership: “We will begin learning from a fresh and informed voice, part of a great and promising future for our College. In time, our community will learn much from Dr. Feinberg’s vision for the Center: new and powerful directions for its developing digital resources, degree programs, and public programming.”