News
Guest Post: Robert Jay Burton (Vera Kurczewski)
A new series of blog posts highlights coursework focused on the history of Jews in New York and at Columbia University: Vera Kurczewski, CC'29, shares research into student activist Robert Jay Burton, who proved to be a champion of Jewish advocacy at Columbia in the 1930s.
Guest Post: The Columbia University Menorah Society (Sonya Saepoff)
A new series of blog posts highlights coursework focused on the history of Jews in New York and at Columbia University: Sonya Saepoff, MA'26, shares research into the earl 20th-century Menorah Societies at Columbia and elsewhere, which "promoted the study of Jewish history and culture."
New Acquisitions Roundup, 2025 Edition
New acquisitions for the Norman E. Alexander Library for Jewish Studies include two pieces beyond the typical scope of the collection: a rendering of three houses of worship in Istanbul (pictured above) and a drawing of New York by day by mid-20th century artist Shalom of Safed.
Exhibition: “Jewish Studies at Columbia: From Samuel Johnson to the IIJS”
In conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, a new exhibition has been mounted on the third floor of Butler Library: “Jewish Studies at Columbia: From Samuel Johnson to the IIJS."
Beyond the Text: Reading Jewish History Between the Words
The 2025 Norman E. Alexander Celebration of Collections has an early modern focus, where three scholars discuss their research on what we find in books when we look beyond the actual texts - at annotations, illustrations, and other paratexts.
[WATCH] In the City of New York: The Unique Story of the Jews at Columbia
In a talk for the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies Michelle Margolis discusses the long and winding history of Jews at Columbia, from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries.
Jews at Columbia: The Early Butler Years and the Trustee Question (1901-1920)
Librarian for Jewish Studies Michelle Margolis continues a series of blog posts about the history of Jews at Columbia with an installment on the first years of the Nicholas Murray Butler presidency during the early 20th century.
Guest Post: Noa Tsaushu on Issachar Ryback’s Shtetl, mayn khorever heym: a gedekhenish
Noa Tsaushu, a doctoral student in Yiddish studies at Columbia, consults a newly-acquired copy of "Shtetl, mayn khorever heym: a gedekhenish" by Issachar Ryback for her dissertation on Yiddish art and "the battle for cohesion among the Soviet-Yiddish avant-garde."
American Jewish Historical Newspapers - Available and Online!
The Libraries partners with the Jewish Historical Press (JHP) and peer institutions to facilitate access to Jewish newspapers from around the world, including numerous titles that represent the Jewish experience in the United States throughout history.
New and Newly Processed Collections | Jewish Studies
Recently-acquired and newly-processed collections in the Norman E. Alexander Library for Jewish Studies include a selection of prayer books that broaden the Libraries' holdings of Jewish materials from the Middle East and highlight Jewish and Persian art.
From the Stacks: Exploring the Sephardic World in Amsterdam
The Judaica collection at Columbia includes a strong selection of materials related to the Jewish community in the Netherlands; in fact, the backbone of the entire collection, donated to the University in 1892, originated in Amsterdam.












