On Friday, 23 October 2026, the Luxembourg School of Religion & Society (LSRS), represented by its Director, Prof. Dr. Dr. Jean Ehret, and the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL), represented by its Chair of the Board, John Shakeshaft, signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a five-year framework for academic and archaeological cooperation in Jerusalem.

The agreement seeks to strengthen the Kenyon Institute’s role as an internationally recognised centre for archaeological research, teaching, and public engagement. LSRS will be represented by Assistant Professor Dr. Katja Soennecken, who has been appointed Honorary Director, Archaeology & Society, at the Kenyon Institute in Jerusalem.

The partnership envisages a sustained academic presence, scholarly events, archaeological fieldwork, and an international summer school programme. Initial projects under consideration include excavations at Tel Aphek in the Sharon Plain and archaeological investigations near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. From 2028 onwards, international Summer Field Schools are planned to bring together students from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, providing opportunities for field-based learning and cross-cultural academic exchange.

The Council for British Research in the Levant is a leading British research institution dedicated to the study of the Levant. Through the Kenyon Institute in East Jerusalem, it maintains a distinguished scholarly presence with a long tradition of archaeological, historical, and social scientific research. The Institute is named after the pioneering British archaeologist Dame Kathleen Kenyon, whose excavations in Jerusalem and Jericho profoundly shaped the archaeology of the southern Levant. For scholars from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the wider region, the Kenyon Institute has long served as an important centre for research, intellectual exchange, and academic engagement.

The Luxembourg School of Religion & Society contributes its expertise in the interdisciplinary study of religion, society, and cultural heritage. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to academic excellence, mutual respect, transparency, openness, and international scholarly cooperation. Building on the complementary strengths of both institutions, the agreement aims to further develop the Kenyon Institute’s academic and archaeological profile while promoting high-quality research and international collaboration across Jerusalem and the wider Levant.

Dr. Katja Soennecken brings extensive experience and longstanding academic connections in Jerusalem, notably through her work with the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in the Holy Land (DEI). In May 2026, she and Prof. Dr. Dieter Vieweger were appointed Archaeological Advisers to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Her new affiliation with the Kenyon Institute further strengthens these established relationships, providing an additional British and international institutional base for archaeological research and academic cooperation in East Jerusalem.