Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Awards
for Scholarly Excellence in Research of the Jewish Experience

Senior Scholar Award

Salo W. Baron famously described the Jewish experience as follows: “Suffering is part of the destiny” of the Jewish people “but so is repeated joy and ultimate redemption.” The Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Award for Scholarly Excellence in Research of the Jewish Experience will therefore recognize achievements of the highest excellence of researchers from all fields of study whose work focuses on the relationship of Jews and non-Jews and perceptions and understandings of Judaism in the wider societies in which they live, including but not limited to the history, culture, religion, and institutions of the Jewish people as well as their persecution. The Award may honor the outstanding lifetime achievements of an individual scholar or in recognition of the significant impact of an original book dedicated to an aspect of the Jewish experience that demonstrates excellence in research on a national or international scale.

The Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Award for Scholarly Excellence in Research of the Jewish Experience is awarded biannually. The Award is for scholarly excellence and will therefore be open to qualifying candidates without regard to national origin, ethnicity, confession, gender, orientation or other personal circumstances.

Recent Award Winner

Emanuel Tov, emeritus professor of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is the second senior laureate to be presented with the Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Award for Scholarly Excellence in Research on the Jewish Experience, established in 2020 by the University of Vienna and the Knapp Family Foundation.

Tov's research focuses on the Hebrew Bible as the central text of Judaism, and its history. Tov is a leading figure of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project. Under his guidance, more than thirty volumes appeared between 1992 and 2010 in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series.

He says he is greatly honored by this recognition: 

I am greatly honoured by the decision of the board of the prestigious Baron Awards to confer the 2023 award to me. I am humbled by your decision and will do my best to live up to the standards set by Salo W. Baron.

While announcing the award, Armin Lange, executive organizer, noted that Tov, like Salo W. Baron, is one of the few scholars who contributed to a new field of research but also to the organisation of research and science.

Previous Award Winners