Simon Rabinovitch

Stotsky Associate Professor in Jewish Historical and Cultural Studies
Simon Rabinovitch is the Stotsky Associate Professor of Jewish Historical and Cultural Studies, and he teaches and writes on a range of topics in European, Jewish, Russian, and legal history. His latest book is Sovereignty and Religious Freedom: A Jewish History, published by Yale University Press in November 2025. His other books include Jewish Rights, National Rites: Nationalism and Autonomy in Late Imperial and Russian Jewry and the edited collections Jews and Diaspora Nationalism: Writings on Jewish Peoplehood in Europe and the United States and Defining Israel: The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law. He is currently working with students on several digital projects including a crowdsourced digital archive of Jewish migration (https://jewishmigration.org) and the website Digital History of the Jews of Boston (https://dhjewsofboston.northeastern.edu/).
- Northeastern University Tier 1 Research Grant, 2021.
- Israel Institute Faculty Development Grant, 2020.
- Henry Luce Foundation/American Council for Learned Societies Fellowship in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs, 2017–2018.
- Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2015 (for Jewish Rights, National Rites).
- Long List, Historia Nova Prize for the Best Book on Russian Intellectual and Cultural History, 2015 (for Jewish Rights, National Rites).
- Jewish Book Council, National Jewish Book Award Finalist in the Category Writing Based on Archival Material, 2014 (for Jewish Rights, National Rites).
Books:
- Prava natsii: Avtonomizm v evreiskom natsional’nom dvizhenii v pozdneimperskoii revoliutsionnoi Rossii [translation of Jewish Rights, National Rites], translated by Evgeniia Kanishcheva, Liubov Summ, and Svetlana Panich, with an introduction by Valerii Dymshits. Moscow: New Literary Observer (Historia Rossica Series), 2021.
- Simon Rabinovitch ed., Defining Israel: The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law. Cincinnati, OH: Hebrew Union College Press, 2018.
- Jewish Rights, National Rites: Nationalism and Autonomy in Late Imperial and Revolutionary Russia. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press (Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture), 2014; paperback 2016; Russian translation (above) 2021.
- Simon Rabinovitch ed., Jews and Diaspora Nationalism: Writings on Jewish Peoplehood in Europe and the United States. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press (The Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought), 2012.
Selected Recent Articles and Chapters:
“Jewish Politics: History and Historiographical Implications,” in The Routledge Companion to Jewish History and Historiography. Edited by Dean Phillip Bell. London; New York: Routledge, 2019, 534–49.
“The Quality of Being French v. the Quality of Being Jewish: Defining the Israelite in French Courts in Algeria and the Metropole,” in Law and History Review vol. 36, no. 4 (2018): 811–46.
“Jewish-Soviet-Ukrainian Relations during the Civil War and the Second Thoughts of a Minister for Jewish Affairs,” in Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism (special issue on nationality questions and the creation of the Soviet Union) vol. 17, no. 3 (2017), 339–57.
“Is ‘Jewish’ a Nationality or Religion? Inside Israel’s Fierce, Bitter Debate About Identity,” in Haaretz, December 31, 2020.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-is-jewish-a-nationality-or-religion-israel-s-fierce-bitter-debate-about-identity-1.9408781
“What is Wrong with Tolerance,” in Aeon, June 20, 2018. https://aeon.co/essays/reciprocity-not-tolerance-is-the-basis-of-healthy-societies
Digital Projects:
Digital History of the Jews in Boston. A collaborative project with students showcasing digital humanities research on Boston Jewish history.
https://dhjewsofboston.northeastern.edu/
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Education
PhD, Brandeis University
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Contact
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Dialogues
