From the end of the nineteenth century until the middle of the twentieth, and particularly after the rise of the Nazis to power and throughout World War II, great numbers of Jews emigrated from Germany to different parts of the world, whether for economic reasons, ideological ones or as a result of persecution after the Nazis gained power. Jewish emigration from German-speaking lands to the USA, South America and of course Palestine-Eretz Israel, has been researched widely, but migration to other countries has been studied only sporadically.

Among the areas that have been neglected in research and have not had an impact on historical memory are countries in the Middle East other than Palestine-Eretz Israel. It is desirable to examine the connection between the Jews of German-speaking countries and this region, which extends from Asia Minor southwards and as far west as the Straits of Gibraltar. The beginning of this connection is to be found in the identification of Jews with the Orient, which was widespread in modern Germany since the period of the Enlightenment and with the complex identification of Jews from the German-speaking world with the Near East. The connection continued with the migration of German Jews – as individuals and in groups – to various countries in the Middle East. It ends in the degree of reception of German Jews and Judeo-German culture in the Middle East, the personal fate of the immigrants and the mutual relations between cultures.

These issues will be discussed at a conference to be held in Jerusalem on February 10-12, 2014. We are inviting scholars from various disciplines to submit proposals for papers from a number of perspectives:

- The reception of German-speaking Jews by local Jewish communities
- The perception of Orient on the part of German Jews, Judeo-German Orientalism. Attitudes toward geography, nature, culture, history and local populations
- German Jews who linked their fate with the Middle East (such as Eric Hobsbawm, Muhammad Asad)
- Jewish German communities and groups in the Middle East.
- Educational, cultural, economic and political enterprises of German Jews in the Middle East.
- The migration of Judeo-German culture to the Middle East and its reception (literature, music etc.)
- The attitude towards German Jews and their culture in the Middle East.
- The interaction of German Jewish immigrants and German Jewish culture with the Middle Eastern environment
- Related subjects

Proposals for paper topics should be submitted by August 15th, 2013 to the following address: gjmeconf@gmail.com.

Proposals should include a summary of no more than 200 words, a CV not exceeding 150 words in text form, academic affiliation and contact data. Please submit all materials in WORD files only.
The proposals will be reviewed and selected by a committee. Answers will be sent to the applicants by October 10th, 2013.