Across the entire span of Jewish history, Jerusalem has been at the heart of the spiritual and cultural life of the Jewish people. The Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies was founded in 1995 by Ingeborg Hanna Rennert and Ira Leon Rennert as an expression of their heartfelt commitment to the preservation and advancement of Jerusalem's unique heritage. The Rennert Center is engaged in programs which vitalize Jerusalem's eternal legacy, and which benefit students, scholars, the international academic community, visitors to Jerusalem and the public-at-large. The Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of all aspects of Jerusalem from ancient until modern times with special emphasis on the study of Jerusalem archaeology and sponsors an annual conference on New Studies on Jerusalem.
Jerusalem's fascinating and complex history is the focus of studies by scholars and scientists, from historians and archaeologists to military strategists, Bible scholars and sociologists. Since the Rennert Center was founded, its diverse range of programs has included the sponsorship of international conferences, research and publications, and public education projects, ranging from guided walking tours of Jerusalem, popular lectures and seminars to a course on Jerusalem's history presented over the Internet. The various research activities and conferences cover all aspects of the study of Jerusalem, from prehistory through Biblical, Second Temple, Classical and Medieval periods to the Modern era, and from history and geography to sociology and political studies. Outstanding scholars from all over the world, historians, archaeologists, Bible scholars and scholars from other related disciplines have participated in the programs of the Rennert Center.
An important aspect of the work of the Rennert Center is establishing cooperative academic ventures with institutions of higher education throughout the world. The Rennert Center has held conferences with the Katholieke Theologische Universiteit te Utrecht and also maintains an active collaboration with the faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Tilberg, The Netherlands. These collaborations have resulted in the publication of the E.J. Brill, Leiden series, Jewish and Christian Perspectives.
The Rennert Center publishes the proceedings of its lectures and conferences as well as other scholarly works and Jerusalem-related publications intended for the scholarly community as well as for the public-at-large Rennert Center publications. Among these publications is the journal Jerusalem and Eretz Israel.
The 16th Annual Conference of
The Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies on
"NEW STUDIES ON JERUSALEM" conference