15 Facts About Manfred Gerstenfeld

Manfred Gerstenfeld was an Austrian-born Israeli author and chairman of the steering committee of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Manfred Gerstenfeld founded and directed the center's post-Holocaust and anti-Semitism program.

Manfred Gerstenfeld was born in Vienna, Austria, and grew up in Amsterdam where he obtained a master's degree in organic chemistry at Amsterdam University.

Manfred Gerstenfeld studied economics at what is Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

Manfred Gerstenfeld had a high school teaching degree in Jewish studies from the Dutch Jewish seminary.

Manfred Gerstenfeld was an academic reserve officer in the Israeli Army.

Manfred Gerstenfeld was chairman of the Board of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a Jerusalem-based think tank, from 2000 until 2012, where he headed the Institute for Jewish Global Affairs.

Manfred Gerstenfeld is the 2012 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Journal for the Study of Antisemitism.

In 2019, Manfred Gerstenfeld received the International Lion of Judah Award from the Canadian Institute of Jewish Research in recognition of him as the leading international scholar on contemporary antisemitism.

Manfred Gerstenfeld is survived by his two sons, Dan and Alon.

Extrapolating from a 2011 study that showed respondents agreed at a high rate with the statement of "Israel is carrying out a war of extermination against the Palestinians", Manfred Gerstenfeld concluded that some 150 million, out of 400 million, EU citizens espouse a view that demonizes Israel.

Norway's TV 2 subsequently reported that Manfred Gerstenfeld said "Norwegians are a barbaric and unintelligent people".

When Manfred Gerstenfeld was questioned by Jewish community leader Anne Sender about the effect his book about Norwegian anti-Semitism might have on the Jewish minority in the country, he is reported as replying, "I couldn't care less about the Jewish Community in Norway, all I care about is to get your Jens, Jonas and Kristin off the back of my Prime Minister".

In 2011 Manfred Gerstenfeld warned that an investigation into antisemitism in Norway by the Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities was likely to minimize the extent of the problem in Norway and that the center would lose credibility.

Manfred Gerstenfeld recommended professionally discrediting academics who supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel, and denounced Jews who criticized Israel, such as US Senator Bernie Sanders, as "masochists" and "useful idiots for Israel's enemies".