Dr. David Frey Spoke on March 31, 2025

The Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies partnered with the YSU ROTC, the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, and the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission to bring Dr. David Frey, Professor of History and Director of the Resnick Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at West Point Military Academy to YSU. Dr. Frey spoke to a large audience in the DeBartolo Auditorium on the history of the “Ritchie Boys,” a special unit in the U.S. Army during World War II for Holocaust refugees to go back to Europe and gather intelligence, helping the Allies defeat the Third Reich.

Symposium and Keynote Address (5/22-24)

CONTACT: Meetings and Movements of Jewish People and Artifacts across Cold-War Boundaries
Co-sponsored by the Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies at YSU and the Jewish Studies Program at Purdue University

May 22-24, 2022 at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor (Steel Museum), 151 W. Wood Street, Youngstown

Keynote: May 22 at 6:00 in person and online
Dr. Anat Plocker, “‘A Dream of Belonging’ The Expulsion of Jews from Communist Poland”

All sessions are open to the public. More information.



Keynote Address Announcement

We’re excited for Dr. Anat Plocker’s keynote address, “‘A Dream of Belonging’: The Expulsion of Jews from Communist Poland”

Sunday, May 22 at 6:00 PM eastern at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor (Steel Museum). We also hope to livestream and record the talk.

Dr. Plocker’s Keynote will open our symposium, co-organized with the Jewish Studies Program at Purdue University, “Meeting and Movements of Jewish People and Artifacts across Cold-War Boundaries.”

More information / Purchase Dr. Plocker’s book.

Model Knesset, Spring 2022

What a wonderfully successful and educational event!
To learn more about Dr. Adam Fuller’s Model Knesset program, click here.
To view pictures from this year’s Model Knesset, click here.

The Winning Coalition
From right to left: Jacob Stanko (Likud), Nicholas Spano (Labour), Casey Schwab (Ra’am)
Antonio Campolito (Religious Zionist Party), Ryan Sinopoli (Blue & White), Justin Madura (Shas) Ryan Scherer (United Torah Judaism)

“Models of Israeli-Palestinian Peace” – Dr. Ilan Peleg

We welcomed Dr. Ilan Peleg (Lafayette College) to YSU on April 11th for a discussion about different pathways to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We are grateful to Dr. Peleg for his time and for allowing us to share his talk online for those who may have missed it or those who would like to revisit his ideas. We also thank Dr. Adam Fuller for inviting Dr. Peleg to join us.