06/05/2026
A few months ago, my research proposal on Jewish culinary practices in Spain was selected and awarded by Project Shema. My work focused on the manifestations of antisemitism in Spanish texts and literature.
The relevance of this topic became even more apparent to me because of an issue I had in the academic word : in February 2025, I proposed a proposal for a conference on Spanish mediaeval literature. This one was first accepted under the name “ The ‘other’ and his food practices in Spanish literature“ but was later rejected by this academic committee when the new the exact title “ antisemitism in mediaeval Spanish literature “. This occurred last year, when the conference was scheduled on September 1, 2025.
Project Shema’s Translations series will soon publish my essay, “The Taste of Exclusion: Food and Antisemitism in Spain from the Middle Ages to Today.” The article explores the ways in which food has long been intertwined with politics and exclusion, while also reflecting on the contemporary consequences of antisemitism for kosher / Jewish restaurants or restaurants owned by Jewish people, in the United States.
Before the publication of this essay, Project Shema and I collaborated on a podcast discussing these themes and their broader historical and contemporary significance: About the Show.
“In our latest episode of Translations, we’re joined by historian Hélène Jawhara Piñer, whose work sits at the intersection of food, history, and identity. Together, we explore how Jewish dietary practices have historically been used not just as cultural markers, but as tools for targeting and exclusion. From the Spanish Inquisition to present-day attacks on Jewish, Israeli, and kosher spaces, this conversation traces how something as commonplace as food can reflect broader systems of power, belonging, and discrimination.
LISTEN 🎧: link in bio
