Rev. Dr. Chavis announces ISGAP conference on Jewish consciousness at Cambridge

Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. announced a 2027 academic conference at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, aimed at confronting antisemitism through a framework called Jewish Consciousness. The event follows a Holy Land pilgrimage with about 500 Black pastors and focuses on identity, ethics and the fight against anti-Jewish hate in higher education and public discourse.

Why it matters: - The conference is designed to give scholars, students and allies a new framework for confronting antisemitism in academia and public life. - ISGAP and organizers say the effort also aims to reinforce ties between Jewish communities, people of African descent and other groups committed to justice and dignity. - The announcement comes amid what organizers describe as rising hostility toward Jewish identity in elite institutions.

What happened: - Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. announced the conference in Jerusalem at the Jerusalem of Gold Gala & Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Ramada Hotel Jerusalem. - Dr. Chavis received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the same event. - The conference, titled Jewish Consciousness: The Role of Ethics, Memory, and Power in Reclaiming Identity in Order to Confront Antisemitism, is being convened by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. - The event is scheduled for May 30 to June 1, 2027, at Jesus College, University of Cambridge. - Dr. Chavis was in Israel for the Unfinished Business Holy Land Pilgrimage honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the pilgrimage he planned in 1967. - The Black Christian Leadership Council on Israel Relations led the delegation, which organizers said included about 500 Black pastors and Christian leaders.

The details: - ISGAP says the conference follows years of research led by Dr. Charles Asher Small to map, decode and combat contemporary antisemitism at political and intellectual levels. - The conference centers on a framework called Jewish Consciousness, which ISGAP describes as a dedicated research project. - The framework draws parallels to the Black Consciousness Movement led by Steve Biko in apartheid South Africa and to the Black Consciousness Movement in America. - The framework seeks to ground Jewish identity in Jewish ethical and intellectual tradition, from Torah and Talmud to Maimonides and Emmanuel Levinas. - The framework also invokes Tzelem Elohim, the idea that every human being is created in the image of God. - ISGAP says the framework is intended to empower Jewish people and their allies in the struggle against antisemitism. - The conference will examine how the framework can help reclaim Jewish identity from imposed distortions and equip students and scholars to confront antisemitism and anti-democratic values. - The conference will also look at renewing the historic alliance between Jewish people, people of African descent and others around the world. - The call for papers is open to scholars across the humanities and social sciences. - Proposal deadline: February 3, 2027. - Submission email: info@isgap.org, with the subject line "Jewish Consciousness Conference Proposal." - More information is available in the conference call for papers.

Between the lines: - The conference is framed as both an academic gathering and a public response to what organizers see as a broader battle over who gets to define Jewish identity. - Dr. Chavis tied the effort to Black-Jewish solidarity and to the anti-apartheid legacy of Steve Biko, signaling a civil rights framing rather than a narrowly religious one. - ISGAP is positioning the event as a response to anti-Jewish ideas circulating in higher education, the media and political discourse. - The emphasis on ethics, memory and power suggests the conference will focus as much on identity formation as on antisemitism itself.

What's next: - Scholars can submit proposals through February 3, 2027. - ISGAP will host the conference at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, from May 30 to June 1, 2027. - The event is expected to continue building out the Jewish Consciousness framework through research, discussion and academic participation.

The bottom line: - ISGAP is turning a major academic conference into a broader campaign to redefine Jewish identity on Jewish terms and sharpen responses to antisemitism.