This event, as part of the LSE Middle East Centre's Kurdish Studies Series, discussed the online exhibition and research project 'Bridging Identities: The Cultural Odyssey of Kurdistani Jews' exploring the identity and heritage of Kurdistani Jews.

The stories in this research project shed light on this community's past through the lens of their memories and nostalgic ties to the homeland they left behind as they migrated to Israel/Palestine, and reveal if and how the markers of Kurdishness are transmitted to generations next.

Meet the speakers

Bahar Baser is Professor in Politics and International Relations at Durham University. Bahar is an expert in the area of diaspora studies, peacebuilding and conflict transformation, with a regional focus on the Middle East. She has conducted extensive research on diaspora engagement in peace processes, post-conflict reconstruction and state-building in the Global South.

Duygu Atlas is part of the research team of the 'Bridging Identities' project. She is a historian and documentary maker and completed her doctoral studies at Tel Aviv University's School of History in 2019, with her dissertation titled 'Turkey’s Jewish Minority between Turkey and Israel from 1948 to the 1990s: Israel’s Impact on a Diaspora Community and its Identity Formation'.

Mesut Alp is part of the research team of the 'Bridging Identities' project. He is a photographer and documentary maker, and is also a graduate of Ege University's Department of Near Eastern Archaeology.

Moayed Assaf is part of the research team of the 'Bridging Identities' project. He is a Kurdish academic and photographer.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/events/2024/bridging-identities-cultural-odyssey-kurdistani-jews