Prof. Guy Miron has entered his position as Chairman of the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem. He replaces Prof. Galili Shahar, who served in the role since 2020. Prof. Miron is a member of the Institute’s Executive Board and a long-time friend of the Institute, having also published a study on the Institute’s history.

Jerusalem, 4.3.2026 – The Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem announces today the appointment of Prof. Guy Miron as Chairman of the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem. Prof. Miron is a historian, a faculty member of the Department of History, Philosophy, and Jewish Studies at the Open University of Israel, and the head of the Centre for Research on the History of German Jews during the Holocaust at the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem. His research focuses on the history of German and Central European Jews in the 20th century, the history of Hungarian Jews, Jewish historiography, and the intersection of history and memory. His books have beens published in Hebrew, English, and German. Additionally, he published a study on the history of the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem (2004/5).

Currently, he is engaged in two main research projects: the history of the German-Jewish diaspora (an international project of the Leo Baeck Institute) and a study on the relationship of German Jews to German nature (in collaboration with Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi).

“I have been involved in the activities of the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem for about three decades,” said Prof. Miron. “Over the years, the Institute has granted me access to an extensive research network—an international community that I am blessed to belong to this day. I am happy to to part in its mission to be a center for encouraging young researchers, as well as for conducting public events and publishing research and sources in the Hebrew language; and in maintaining its important place as part of an extensive international network that continues the legacy of the founders from the German-Jewish diaspora and makes its relevance present for future generations.”

The Director of the Leo Baeck Institute, Dr. Alexander Dubrau, congratulated the incoming Chairman. “It is a great privilege to work alongside Prof. Miron at the head of the Leo Baeck Institute. Together, we will continue the Institute’s mission to cultivate the rich spiritual, historical, and cultural heritage of Central European Jewry. Prof. Miron knows the Institute inside and out, and I am glad that his knowledge is at our disposal in the face of the challenges ahead—expanding the Institute’s activities and the community of researchers upon it.”

The outgoing Chairman of the Leo Baeck Institute, Prof. Galili Shahar, said, “It was a great privilege for me to serve as Chairman at the Leo Baeck Institute. I thank my colleagues at the Institute, the management and the board, and the friends of the Institute, for the trust and camaraderie. A new Chairman has been appointed to the Institute’s management—Prof. Guy Miron, a historian, a renowned researcher of the history of German Jewry and the diasporas, talented and experienced, an expert on the history of the Institute, who knows how to accompany and oversee the coming years, together with the Institute’s staff and management. I wish everyone Good luck.”