Judaism

Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, founder of chief rabbinate conversion program, dies aged 76

By TOI staff Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, a pioneer in Jewish religious law and technology and the founder of the Chief Rabbinate’s office for conversion, died Thursday at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife Shlomit, five children and many grandchildren. Rosen was born in Tel Aviv in 1941. He studied in the

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Dual exhibitions lift veil on Nazi-era art hoard

Portions of the spectacular art collection hoarded by the son of a Nazi-era dealer will be shown for the first time since World War II in parallel exhibitions in Switzerland and Germany starting Thursday. “Gurlitt: Status Report”, which displays around 450 works by masters including Monet, Cezanne, Renoir and Picasso, aims to shed a light

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Leading Arab Israeli researcher of the Holocaust says it’s ‘in my DNA’

By Dov Lieber It took Asfahan Bahloul, a leading Arab Israeli researcher of the Holocaust, quite some time to formulate how she feels when she sees Israeli jets soaring over Auschwitz. She had to think about it for weeks. And then a few more days. She finally sent her answer by email, to which this

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Ahead of Balfour 100, UK enshrines Churchill’s headstrong case for Israel

By Robert Philpot LONDON — Deep beneath the main London road of Whitehall lie the cabinet war rooms. From this bunker, surrounded by a military and civilian staff who rarely saw daylight for the five years of World War II, Winston Churchill commanded Britain’s war effort. Now a museum to the country’s wartime savior, this

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International, Jewish History, Middle East

Israeli, Australian, New Zealand leaders mark landmark WWI battle

Israeli, Australian and New Zealand leaders gathered in southern Israel on Tuesday to mark the 100th anniversary of a key cavalry charge that helped clear the way to Jerusalem during World War I. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was joined by his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand Governor-General Patsy Reddy in Beersheba, where the

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International, Jewish History, Middle East

Plan to name German train after Anne Frank condemned

Plans by Germany’s national rail provider to name a train after Jewish diarist Anne Frank came under fire Monday, with a foundation saying it “caused new pain” to those who experienced deportations. “The (train’s) naming is controversial,” the Anne Frank Foundation said of the plans by Deutsche Bahn. “A combination of Anne Frank and a

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International, Jewish History

How the Philippines rescued Holocaust refugees

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — San Diego State University lecturer, Dr. Bonnie Harris, recently collaborated with award-winning filmmaker Noel “Sonny” Izon to create the documentary An Open Door: Holocaust Haven in the Philippines.  Harris, who is a Holocaust scholar, acted as the film’s associate producer and consulting historian. The documentary is based in part on research

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International, Jewish History, San Diego Calendar

Jewish trivia quiz: Fats Domino, z”l

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York –New Orleans musician Fats Domino died last week at the age of 89. Domino was called “the real King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Elvis Presley, and John Lennon said that “There wouldn’t have been a Beatles without Fats Domino.” What was the Jewish connection in Fats Domino’s life? A.

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

State Senator at Odds with Jackson Council Over Orthodox Eruvs

JACKSON-New Jersey State Senator Samuel D. Thompson advised Jackson Township Council members and Mayor Mike Reina against waging a battle with the Orthodox Jewish population in Jackson over the installation of a public eruv, according to a document released by Jackson Township. “I am advised residents in Jackson have requested approval of the township governing

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Jewish Religion, USA

Genealogy show unlocks Holocaust family tragedy for Scarlett Johansson

By TOI staff In the forthcoming episode of the PBS series “Finding Your Roots,” American Jewish actress Scarlett Johansson discovers the tragic fate of her relatives who died in the Holocaust. Johansson is overcome by emotion when she learns for the first time that her great uncle died in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

100 years on, international conferences debate Jewish role in Russian Revolution

By Julie Masis It is now 100 years since the revolution that brought down the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. For Jews, the fall of Tsarist Russia meant a new relative freedom: the end to the Pale of Settlement, which had prevented Jews from living in big cities, and the abolition of all other anti-Semitic laws,

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International, Jewish History