Isao Hada, Professor, Faculty of Economics

This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and Japan, and what bothers us is the future development of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been in a state of turmoil for many years.

There are now about 15 million Jewish people today, of which about half live outside Israel. In terms of time, they have a history of a few thousand years, so Jewish studies covers a broad range of topics and hence is interdisciplinary in nature. For example, there are archaeological studies to study ancient times; historical studies according to the period and area after the Diaspora; studies on Jewish religion and thought; linguistic studies of Jewish languages such as Hebrew and Yiddish; studies on the modern Jewish question including anti-Semitism, studies on Jewish thought, art and literature; Holocaust studies and Zionism studies; and studies related to international politics centered on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Furthermore, in many cases, these studies are closely bound together.

As for myself, I study the Jewish question in Europe, with a focus on Germany. There are diverse views and standpoints on this issue, and a clear-cut definition cannot be made, but I understand the Jewish question to be the relationship European people have developed with the Jews since their influx into Europe. In other words, I interpret the Jewish question to be the history of accepting the Jews and the entirety of various problems derived from this. Among these problems, I have been exploring how various images of Jews, mostly negative, have been formed. More specifically, I decipher media material, such as illustrations and documents from around the 10th century up to present, from diversified standpoints of religion, politics, economy, culture, and society. Through this work, I aim to reveal some of the characteristics of the Jewish identity.

Even in my studies, it is indispensable to collaborate and share information with researchers of various fields and disciplines. Therefore, I have also engaged in joint research with researchers of other universities and institutes. Although slightly dated, one of such achievements is Jews and the Nation States (Hiroshi Ichikawa, Izaya Teshima, et al. 2008, Iwanami Shoten). I wrote about the relation between the Christian Church (mainly the Catholic Church) and European Jews during the period from medieval to modern times, but just reading through the contents pages of this book, you would understand how wide-ranging Jewish studies is. By unraveling the formation of a “German identity” during the modern period from the standpoint of anti-Semitism, I am currently conducting research to inversely expose the state of German Jews.