Dr. Aliza Luft

Aliza Luft is Associate Professor of Sociology at UCLA, where she studies how social identities, ideologies, and moral beliefs shape—and are reshaped by—violence, particularly in contexts of war and genocide. Her research has appeared in leading academic journals and public-facing outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. Her book, Sacred Betrayal: How the French Catholic Church Broke Its Pledge to Protect Jews during the Holocaust, will be published by Harvard University Press in September 2026. She currently serves as Interim Director of UCLA’s Bedari Kindness Institute and on the Steering Committee of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.