2023 Bernard Lewis Prize

European anti-Semitism, in both its theological and racist versions, was essentially alien to Islamic traditions, culture, and modes of thought. But to an astonishing degree, the ideas, the literature, even the crudest inventions of the Nazis and their predecessors have been internalized and Islamized. The major themes—poisoning the wells, the invented Talmud quotations, ritual murder, the hatred of mankind, the Masonic and other conspiracy theories, taking over the world—remain; but with an Islamic, even a Qur’anic twist.

- Prof. Bernard Lewis

The 2023 Bernard Lewis Prize is awarded to scholars or practitioners engaged in the study of issues on antisemitism that were of great importance to our founding chairman, Prof. Bernard Lewis. While Christian antisemitism is well-studied, a stigma remains around addressing antisemitism in the Muslim world. Beyond this, relatively few scholars focus on the Middle Eastern dimensions of Christian antisemitism in religious and cultural terms, much less the political impacts in the West.

The winners of the 2023 Bernard Lewis Prize are:

An Age of Hate—The Tunisian Jews During the Holocaust
Dr. Shaul Bartal, Bar-Ilan University and University of Lisbon

Can "The Whole World" be Wrong? Lethal Journalism, Antisemitism and Global Jihad
Prof. Richard Landes, Boston University

Anti-Jewish Hate-Speech under Mubarak Reexamined
Dr. Limor Lavie, Bar-Ilan University

After the Holocaust
Prof. Monty Penkower, Machon Lander Graduate School of Jewish Studies

Worse than Jahiliyya? The Jew as the Muslim’s Nemesis in Sayyid Qutb’s Thought
Dr. Halil Yenigun, Stanford University   

Watch the ceremony at the Sixteenth Annual ASMEA Conference:

Professor Monty Noam Penkower Honored for ‘After the Holocaust’, The Jewish Link, 11/16/23