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NEW YORK, NY—The Posen Foundation and Yale University Press are proud to announce that Deborah Dash Moore will become the new Editor-in-Chief of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, a landmark ten-volume series that collects 3,000 years of Jewish literature, artwork, and artifacts, presenting the best of Jewish culture in its historic and global entirety.

“We’re delighted with Deborah’s appointment,” said Daniel Posen, CEO of the Posen Foundation. “Deborah has an astounding record of challenging, inventive scholarship. Now she’ll help guide a groundbreaking anthology toward completion, both in print and online. The project couldn’t be in better hands.”

John Donatich, Director of Yale University Press, noted that “Professor Dash Moore’s history of innovative scholarship in Jewish history and commitment to the Posen Library will make her a dynamic Editor-in-Chief.”

Professor Dash Moore, who holds the Frederick G. L. Huetwell chair in History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, is a pioneering scholar of American Jewish history whose work explores—and often challenges—prevailing notions of gender, Jewish cultural identity, and the experience of second generation Jews. She is renowned as a historian with a rare combination of talents, mixing meticulous scholarship, graceful prose, and vivid storytelling, while employing a serious theoretical framework.

Among her best-known works are GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation (Harvard University Press, 2004) and At Home in America: Second Generation New York Jews (Columbia University Press, 1981), about the sons and daughters of the immigrant generation. Both City of Promises: A History of the Jews of New York, a three-volume work for which she served as general editor, and her co-edited two-volume Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia won National Jewish Book Awards in 2012 and 1997 respectively.

Professor Dash Moore is the co-editor, with Professor Nurith Gurtz, of Volume 10 of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, which covers the period 1973–2005. “Deborah has been with the Posen Library since its conception, more than a decade ago,” said Joyce Rappaport, Executive Editor of the Posen Library, “and she has strong relationships with the Posen Foundation, Yale University Press, and the editorial board. Having worked closely with her on Volume 10, I value her insights and knowledge about composing anthologies.”

Professor Dash Moore takes over at a critical juncture for the Posen Library. Nine volumes are currently under production, with an international team of scholars, advisors, and editors working closely together on each manuscript. “I am thrilled to be working with such a stellar team,” said Professor Dash Moore. “The more I learn of each volume’s content, the more excited I get.” The volumes cover different eras in Jewish history, from the biblical period to contemporary times. The project is nearing completion and according to current plans, the nine volumes will be published between 2017 and 2021.

In addition to the print volumes, Professor Dash Moore will oversee the expansion of the Posen Digital Library (www.posenlibrary.com), a free online database that will include many of the materials in the print volumes.

Both the hardcover volumes and the Posen Digital Library are intended for a large general audience, not just researchers. “This project is for everyone, scholars and non-scholars alike,” said Rachel Weinstein, the Managing Editor of the Posen Library. “Deborah, to her credit, understands that. With her experience in digital platforms as well as published works, she’ll help give this rich compilation of Jewish culture the audience it deserves.”

The Posen Library was conceived in the late 1990s by Felix Posen, and grew out of his personal quest for Jewish knowledge and his foundation’s commitment to education. Mr. Posen sought to create an anthology that would include important Jewish texts, artifacts, and works of art. “Many Jews believe that apart from religious texts and observance, Judaism has little to offer,” Mr. Posen has said. “Yet nothing could be further from the truth.”

Now that project—which also includes a provocative and engaging “spinoff” title, Jews and Words, by Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger—is edging closer to completion with help from one of the country’s most esteemed historians. The selection process was neither lengthy nor difficult, said Weinstein: “When the position opened up, we asked several respected scholars for recommendations. Deborah’s name was mentioned time and again. She was clearly a top choice from the start."

Professor Dash Moore succeeds Professor James E. Young, who will retain his association with the project as Founding Editor.

TITLES IN THE POSEN LIBRARY

From Biblical Times to the Present

Volume 1: The Second Millennium B.C.E.–333 B.C.E., edited by Jeffrey H. Tigay and Adele Berlin

Volume 2: 333 B.C.E.–800 C.E., edited by Carol Bakhos

Volume 3: 800–1096, edited by Menahem Ben-Sasson

Volume 4: 1096–1500, edited by Ora Limor and Israel Yuval

Volume 5: 1500–1750, edited by Yosef Kaplan

Volume 6: 1750–1880, edited by Elisheva Carlebach

Volume 7: 1880–1918, edited by Israel Bartal and Kenneth Moss

Volume 8: 1918–1939, edited by Todd M. Endelman and Zvi Gitelman

Volume 9: 1939–1973, edited by Samuel D. Kassow and David G. Roskies

Volume 10: 1973–2005, edited by Deborah Dash Moore and Nurith Gertz