2 of Europe’s most prominent universities, & oldest rivals, come together to buy an impressive trove of 1000 yr-old Jewish manuscripts, including a handwritten parchment by Maimonides.
Preeminent British universities Oxford and Cambridge raised 1.2 million pound to purchase the Lewis-Gibson genizah collection, the BBC reported Wednesday.
![Text from the Cairo geniza.](https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.454622.1343631624%21/image/1945145998.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1945145998.jpg)
Text from the Cairo geniza. – Photo: Olivier Fitoussi
The universities, two of the oldest and highest-ranking institutions for higher education in the world, decided this February to put aside their historic professional rivalry and launch their first joint fund-raising campaign. With the immense sum raised, the “ancient universities” can now purchase the collection from its current owner, the United Reform Church’s Westminster College. Continue Reading »