Mikael Shainkman, Jewish Studies

Living just a few blocks away from the beach in Tel Aviv is a different reality for Mikael Shainkman who spent a majority of his life in Sweden. Mikael is a post-doctoral fellow at the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at TAU and one of two recipients of the 2014-2015 Raoul Wallenberg Prize in Human Rights and Holocaust Studies. He made Aliyah in 2006 after completing his PhD at Lund University on the topic of the Holocaust in Israeli Historical Culture. Before coming to TAU, Mikael worked at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and at Yad Vashem, where he still works as a freelance guide today.

After spending time researching topics on anti-Semitism, Mikael was interested in broadening his research beyond anti-Semitism and hatred and exploring the contemporary relationship between Jews and Muslims in Europe. He initially came to the Kantor Center to work on their database on racism and anti-Semitism worldwide and then was given the opportunity to do post-doctoral research. When discussing his decision to continue his research, Mikael said that, "When I moved to Israel I really missed the university environment. I came to TAU because of the international standing of the Kantor Center and coming to TAU was like coming home."

Ultimately, Mikael hopes that his research could have a positive impact on the way that society is developing and the deteriorating situation in Europe between Jews and Muslims. He would like to see something happen towards improving the situation.  

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