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Welsh historian joins elite Jewish heritage course
Laura Henley Harrison, who is not Jewish, has now been set the task of learning the Hebrew alphabet by November to better understand and promote heritage collections
A researcher from a small Cardiff-based charity will join Jewish archivists and curators from some of Europe’s foremost cultural bodies on an intensive study programme under the direction of leading figures from the world of Jewish heritage.
Laura Henley Harrison, who is not Jewish, has now been set the task of learning the Hebrew alphabet by November.
She said: “I was completely shocked to be offered a place,” and hopes the opportunity will give her the skills to share Welsh-Jewish links with a global audience.
Harrison will be one of twenty participants in two weeks of intensive study in Jerusalem and Prague taking place in November and January. The course entitled At the Source, was developed by the National Library of Israel as part of its Gesher l’Europa initiative.
Its aim is to increase the understanding of Jewish collections and the best ways of managing and preserving them among librarians, curators, archivists and museum professionals.
Harrison is Project Manager for the Jewish History Association of Wales, a small specialist charity, and also works with the Welsh Jewish Cultural Centre which was recently awarded £4 million of lottery funds to renovate Merthyr Tydfil’s Victorian Synagogue as a community centre.
Having studied Religious Studies and Archaeology with a focus on Judaism at Lampeter University, Harrison worked for two years at the Virginia Holocaust Museum in the United States. But returning home to Wales, there were few opportunities to pursue her interest in Jewish history. She even dreamt of opening her own museum to fulfil her aims.
Then an advert for a talk given by the Jewish History Association of Wales caught her eye, she began volunteering for the charity and worked her way up.
She added: “I have become passionate about recording the history and heritage of the Jewish community in Wales, and exploring how the Welsh communities link to wider Jewish history. It is also an essential time to preserve these histories, with the organisation not even ten years old, we have a lot of time to make up.”
Chair of JHAW Martyn Floyd said: “We hope that securing a place on this elite international programme will help to place the work that Laura does for us on the global map of Jewish heritage preservation. At The Source is just one example of the National Library of Israel serving as a beacon of excellence and knowledge for archivists and librarians in Europe who are working with Jewish heritage.”
Caron Sethill, Programme Manager Europe at the National Library of Israel (NLI) said that where critical artefacts are at risk, those working in state institutions might not have knowledge of Hebrew texts or traditions required to identify or preserve them.
“But,” she added, “these institutions may hold one-of-a-kind assets contain the stories, knowledge, and experiences that define Jewish communities, some of which no longer exist, but are crucial to understanding our collective history. Their preservation is vital both for the historical narrative, and as a resource for research and study.”
This year’s attendees come from the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, UK, Ukraine, and Sweden. They come from leading libraries, universities, large and small Jewish museums, state museums, Jewish cultural foundations, Jewish historical institutes and state libraries.
This is the sixth cohort to attend the programme, 100 European curators have so far graduated from the course.
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