Video of the lecture by Alfred Bodenheimer: “Forward into the Past: Contemporary Jewish Self-Definitions in the Grip of Historical Analogies”

In his lecture at the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics", Director of the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Basel and Hans Blumenberg Professor for 2026 Alfred Bodenheimer discussed the justification of Contemporary Jewish actions through historical and, in part, biblical events or models of behaviour.

In his lecture entitled “ Forward into the Past: Contemporary Jewish Self-Definitions in the Grip of Historical Analogies,” he explored the question of how historical—and in parts biblical—events and models of behaviour shape Jewish self-identification and contemporary actions.

Researchers from top international research institutions who bring innovative ideas to Münster are appointed to the “Hans Blumenberg Professorship for Religion and Politics”, which is named after the Münster philosopher Hans Blumenberg (1920-1996).