Josefine Langer Shohat
Minerva PhD Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Can you briefly describe what you are exactly doing with your Minerva Fellowship in Israel, how long have you been there and how long will your fellowship continue?
I am a PhD candidate in History and currently a Minerva Fellow at the Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. My fellowship started on October 1, 2023 and will continue through November 2025.
How did you experience October 7 last year and what happened in the weeks that followed?
I was at home in Tel Aviv on October 7, and my family and I did not wake up from the first alarm that morning. Since we have two small children, my husband and I maintained a sense of normalcy during the day but did not leave the house. Also, we did not watch TV or listen to the radio, so information trickled in slowly. I think it took me some time to grasp what had happened, I was in complete denial that first day.
The following day we decided to leave the country and luckily got direct flights to Berlin.
The months in Berlin were very difficult both personally and academically. We had to move places four times in the first seven weeks and almost did not have any childcare. Also, our hearts and minds stayed behind in Israel, where we have family and friends, and it was hard to follow the events from abroad. On the other hand, of course, we felt lucky not to live with daily rockets. It was a sad and very challenging time.
What impact did the events have on your academic work in the weeks immediately following the attack?
Since we could not find childcare, I stayed with my two children and almost did not work on my PhD during that time. I am grateful to the Minerva Stiftung for allowing two additional months of funding back then because the attack and the war certainly had a direct impact on my work. Besides not being able to work on my dissertation, I also could not establish contacts with Israeli scholars in the way I had planned before October 7. It took months after my return to Israel to finally get a sense of arrival in Israeli academia.
When did you return to Israel?
In January 2024.
How was your return there? Have expectations and ideas (whether positive or negative) that you may have had beforehand been confirmed?
It was much easier than I had anticipated. The moment my children were back to their regular childcare, I was able to work again and surprisingly, that went very well. With everything that surrounds us here, my academic work somehow offers me a sanctuary, something to hold onto – at least most of the time.
What is it like to pursue your own research in Israel on a day-to-day basis? What influence do the armed conflicts in the Gaza Strip have on everyday academic life in Israel and thus possibly also on your research?
The war is very present in all conversations in and outside academia, but also visible on campus: Israeli flags and slogans related to the war (‘Together, we will win’, ‘Strong together’ etc.), pictures of the hostages and fallen soldiers and occasionally, protests. Also, especially at the beginning of the year 2024, many reserve soldiers came to campus and did their studies in uniform and armed with machine guns. All of that certainly transforms the university.
Regarding my research, I think the Hamas attack and the war on Gaza shifted my perspective on my subject in a subtle yet tangible way. Since I work on a subject related to German-Jewish history and the Holocaust, new research questions have come up since October 7 and I am sure to integrate some of them into my research in one way or the other. But that is still very much a work in progress.
On a personal level: How do you deal with the fact that it is currently uncertain how the crisis-ridden situation in Israel - both in terms of domestic and foreign policy - could change dramatically at any time and thus also upset your research plans?
With humour, I guess. A Yiddish saying goes: “Der mentsh trakht un Gott lakht”, man plans and God laughs, and that holds very true for our current situation.
Also, although I am aware of the difficulties a sudden change would bring about for me, I try to put my situation in perspective. Compared to many people, especially in Gaza but also here in Israel, I feel very privileged to have a German passport, family and friends outside of Israel and the support and understanding both of the Minerva Stiftung and my husband’s employer that if the situation deteriorates in Israel, we will have to leave again. Many people simply have nowhere to go. I do.
