Dr Gideon Reuveni took up his role last week as the new Director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies.

He will also hold the post of Reader in Modern Jewish History in the School of History, Art History and Philosophy.

Gideon followed his BA in Philosophy and Political Science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with an MA on 'German historiography after the First World War', and then a doctorate in 2001 on 'Reading culture and consuming culture in Germany before 1933'.

At Sussex he will be able to draw on a wide range of previous experience as a Lecturer or Research Fellow at the Universities of Munich and Leipzig, Madison-Wisconsin, Melbourne and the Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

His teaching expertise includes courses on the History and legacy of Weimar Germany, Jews and the modern European economy, Modern Jewish history, and Holocaust controversies.

His study of Literature and Consumer Culture in Germany before 1933 has been published both in English and in Hebrew, and he has co-edited a number of books including Jüdische Geschichte lesen, The Economy in Jewish History, and Emancipation through Muscles: Jews in European sport. Gideon is fluent in Hebrew, German, English and Yiddish.

Gideon said: "I am most excited to be joining colleagues whose work I have long admired.

"My predecessor Christian Wiese has shown that specialized research groups can become major players in Jewish studies.

"Building on these achievements, I hope we will be able to strengthen the study of Jewish history at the University and extend the activities of a dynamic, outreaching Centre that will combine the highest standards of teaching with cutting-edge research."

The previous director, Professor Christian Wiese, has accepted the Martin Buber Chair in Jewish Thought and Philosophy at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. He will continue serving as Visiting Research Professor at the Centre for German-Jewish Studies.