Meet the 2026–27 Marcus Center Fellows

In 1977, Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus imagined a place where questions about the American Jewish past could bring people together. He created an initial fellowship not just to reward scholarship, but to spark conversation, and to draw curious minds to Cincinnati and into the archives he built.

Nearly fifty years later, that vision continues.

This year's Marcus Center Fellows join a global community of fellows now more than 500 strong, representing over 20 countries. They arrive as teachers, students, scholars, and practitioners, each carrying out a question, a project, or a story waiting to be uncovered. This year also welcomes the inaugural Sy Syms fellow: Kirsten Fermaglich, Ph.D. of Michigan State University, doing research on Jews in Academia, Gender, and Internal Migration in the U.S., after World War II. Over the coming months, they will immerse themselves in the American Jewish Archives, share ideas with one another, and become part of the intellectual life of Hebrew Union College.

Supported by a network of dedicated donors and more than twenty endowed fellowships, these fellows are united by a common purpose: to deepen understanding of the American Jewish experience, and, in doing so, to illuminate the broader story of America itself.

Dana Herman, Associate Director of Research and Collections at the American Jewish Archives, says: "The Marcus Center's fellowship program has been a driving force in the growth of American Jewish history for nearly half a century, and there is no parallel in the world of Jewish archives. The extraordinary range of topics pursued by this year's fellows speaks directly to the depth and richness of our holdings-and to the vital role our collections play in advancing scholarship. Through this work, we are not only preserving the past; we are actively shaping the future of the field."

These new fellows mark a new chapter in an ongoing conversation that began with one historian's belief in the power of research, community, and discovery.

The following are this year's fellows:

2026-2027 Fellows

Ellie Ash, Ph.D.

Indiana University-Purdue University
The Herbert R. Bloch Jr. Memorial Fellowship
Havurah and the Diffusion of Jewish Feminism After 1975 

Elazar Ben-Lulu, Ph.D.

Ariel University
The Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Fellowship 
Dynamic Peoplehood: American Jewish Responses to Israeli Wars 

Jenny Caplan, Ph.D.

University of Cincinnati
The Bernard & Audre Rapoport Fellowship 
Jewish Characters in the DC and Marvel Universe 

Rabbi Philip Cohen

Independent Scholar
The Loewenstein-Wiener Fellowship 
An Intellectual History of American Reform Jewish Thought 

Oskar Czendze, Ph.D.

University of Toronto
The Joseph & Eva R. Dave Fellowship  
The Habsburg Empire and its Legacy in American Jewish Culture 

Ms. Kyra Dezjot

Fordham University
The Loewenstein-Wiener Fellowship 
Jewish Opposition to German American Bund Summer Camps 

Kirsten Fermaglich, Ph.D.

Michigan State University
The Sy Syms Fellowship
 Jews in Academia, Gender, and Internal Migration in the U.S. After World War II 

Francesca Freeman

University of Notre Dame
The American Council for Judaism Fellowship 
American Zionism & Palestine, 1912-1929 

Rabbi Ben Gurin

Boston University
The Rabbi Amy & Gary Perlin Fellowship 
Philosophy of Halakha in Reform Judaism 

Gustavo Guzman, Ph.D.

Free University of Berlin
The Rabbi Theodore S. Levy Tribute Fellowship 
Jewish Responses to Antisemitism in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1917-1991 

Clarence Jefferson Hall, Jr., Ph.D.

Queensborough Community College/CUNY
The Loewenstein-Wiener Fellowship 
Environmental History of the New York City Jailing Complex at Riker's Island 

Mary Juzwik, Ph.D.

Michigan State University
The Marguerite R. Jacobs Memorial Fellowship 
Elie Wiesel's Night and Secondary English Language Arts Curriculum 

Ms. Ellen Kowitt

JewishGen
The Martha Berg Fellowship 
Survey of Synagogue Records with Genealogical Value 

Geoffrey Levin, Ph.D.

Emory University
The American Council for Judaism Fellowship 
American Jews and Middle Eastern Jewish Dilemmas, 1941-1979 

Johann Nicolai, Ph.D.

Independent Scholar
The Bernard & Audre Rapoport Fellowship 
Transnational Network of B'nai B'rith in Interwar East Central Europe 

Gil Ribak, Ph.D.

University of Arizona
The Joseph & Eva R. Dave Fellowship 
Self-Censorship in Jewish Culture in a Historical Perspective 

Mr. David Selis

Yeshiva University
The Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Fellowship 
Jewish Libraries and the Creation of American Culture 

Haim Sperber, Ph.D.

Western Galilee College
The Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Fellowship
Agunot in America, 1870-1914 

David Tal,Ph.D.

University of Sussex
The Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Fellowship
American Jews Between Israel and the United States 

Rebecca Wartell, Ph.D.

Earlham College 
The Bernard & Audre Rapoport Fellowship
Conversas in Contrast: Reading Women in Mexican Inquisition Sources 

Rabbi Danny Zemel

Temple Micah, Washington, DC
The Rabbi Theodore S. Levy Tribute Fellowship
The Life of Solomon Goldman