Back to All Events

Forgotten Frontiers: Jewish Diaspora, Identity, and Survival on the Asian Continent

Three-part series: September 2, 9, 16

Presented by Dr. Geraldine Gudefin, Modern Jewish Historian
Delve into the rich but little-known histories of Jews across the Asian continent!

As far back as ancient times, Jewish communities have called various regions of Asia home. This three-part series will explore Jewish life in China, India, and Southeast Asia across multiple centuries, uncovering the diverse and evolving identities that emerged in these communities.

Join us to examine how Jews living on the peripheries of the Diaspora developed distinctive identities shaped by minimal antisemitism and deep engagement with surrounding cultures—Confucian, Hindu, and others. We will also explore the complex encounters between Jewish communities in Asia, such as the “rediscovery” of Chinese and Indian Jews by European Jews in the 19th century, racialized tensions among Jewish groups in India and Burma, and the role of Baghdadi Jews in assisting European refugees fleeing the Holocaust in Shanghai.

In our final session, we will trace the postcolonial migrations of Asian Jewish communities to Israel, focusing on their struggles for recognition by the Israeli Rabbinate and the broader challenges of integration into Israeli society.

Through these stories, Dr. Gudefin will shed light on inter-Jewish dynamics that continue to echo in contemporary debates around identity and legitimacy.

Three-Part Series Registration Fee
$36 before August 20
$45 August 20-Sept 2

All interested students are encouraged to join our programs. Should registration rates become a barrier to enrollment, please contact our Executive Director, Matthew Silverman.


Dr. Geraldine Gudefin is a French-born modern Jewish historian specializing in Jewish migration, family life, and legal pluralism. She holds an MA from Yale University and a PhD in History from Brandeis University. Her work has been published in American Jewish History and Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues. She has received fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, the Posen Foundation, and the Center for Jewish History.

Dr. Gudefin’s earlier research examined Jewish marriage and family law in France and the United States. Now based in Southeast Asia, she is currently researching Jewish life in colonial Singapore.

We extend a special thank you to Andrew R. Ammerman for sponsoring our Fall 2025 program lineup. He dedicates the our learning in loving memory of Josephine and H. Max Ammerman and Stephen C. Ammerman.