Jewish History

Jewish Trivia Quiz: South Korea

The ‍first ‍Jews ‍to ‍settle ‍in ‍Korea ‍included ‍Jewish ‍soldiers ‍who ‍fought ‍there ‍during ‍the ‍Korean ‍War ‍in ‍the ‍early ‍1950’s. ‍A ‍Chabad ‍House ‍was ‍established ‍in ‍2008, ‍and ‍a ‍mikveh ‍was ‍opened ‍in ‍2019. ‍What ‍book ‍that ‍is ‍connected ‍to ‍Judaism ‍or ‍Israel ‍is ‍a ‍best ‍seller ‍in ‍South ‍Korea? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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International, Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish Biography: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosopher and Logician

At the age of 14, Ludwig left his parents’ home to attend a real gymnasium in Linz, where his fellow student was Adolf Schicklgruber, the future Hitler, who was born six days earlier than Wittgenstein. Although the Wittgenstein family had converted to Christianity, they were considered Jews throughout the neighborhood. Therefore, the appearance of a Jew in the classroom provoked the ill-will of his classmates and the hatred of Hitler. “This Jew we did not particularly trust, […] we doubted his trustworthiness,” Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Racheli Boudjnah Paints with a Jewish Heart

This emotional piece captured the poignant moment of young children and women lighting Chanukah candles before facing the unknown. As a self-taught artist, Racheli seamlessly weaves her Jewish family tradition into her artwork, reminiscent of how Holocaust prisoners expressed their experiences through drawing what they saw. [Sandy Scheller]

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sandra Scheller, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Maybe it’s Because I’m a Londoner…

Spending a week in London in mid-November is not really a good idea for someone who has become used to the Mediterranean climate of Israel, but the arrival there of our son from Las Vegas proved an overriding attraction, so we went. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Anna Freud

Courtesy of Wikipedia Anna Freud (December 3, 1895 – October 9, 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian–Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father and contributed to the field of psychoanalysis. Alongside Hermine Hug-Hellmuth and Melanie Klein, she may be considered the founder of psychoanalytic child psychology.

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Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

The Netherlands Faces Antisemitic Echoes of its Nazi Occupation

While she has never felt the need in the past to warn her children about Jodenhaat (hate against Jews), Femmetje now realizes that they are discovering it themselves. Her oldest daughter received threatening remarks after writing about the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and its consequences. [Dorian de Wind]

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Antisemitism, Dorian de Wind, International, Israel, Jewish History, The Moderate Voice

Jewish Biography: Otto Weininger: A Jewish Antisemite

Sex and Character asserts that all human beings are composed of a mixture of masculine and feminine matter. “Masculine” is active, productive, conscious, moral and logical, while ‘feminine’ is passive, unproductive, unconscious, amoral and illogical. In this book, Weininger emerges not only as a misogynist but also as an antisemite. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Chaim Weizmann

Courtesy of Wikipedia Chaim Weizmann (November 27, 1874 –  November 9, 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the Zionist Organization and later as the first president of Israel. He was elected on 16 February 1949, and served until he died in 1952. Weizmann was instrumental in obtaining the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and convincing the

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Visiting the Gaza Envelope

Recently we followed in the footsteps of many Israelis and traveled south to the “Gaza envelope” (the area of Jewish communities adjacent to the border). We were on one of two buses sponsored by the ESRA organization going to the area where 1,269 Israelis (and some others) were killed, thousands were wounded, and 250+ were kidnapped. In addition to our bus there were many other busses and private cars visiting the area. [Steve Kramer]

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Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food

Jewish Biography: Leonid Solomonovych Pervomaysky, Ukrainian Author

Jewish themes were constantly present in Pervomaysky’s work. In the early “everyday” stories and novels they occupy a leading place. They were in the center of the story of The Promised Land, the stories The Umbrella of Pinchus-Moti (1926), In the Bookbinder’s Room (1928), From the Song of Songs (1935), and One Night of Ilyusha’s Childhood (1937). [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Baruch Spinoza

Courtesy of Wikipedia Baruch Spinoza (November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677), was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment, Spinoza significantly influenced modern biblical criticism, 17th-century rationalism, and Dutch intellectual culture, establishing himself as one of the most important and radical philosophers of the early modern period. Influenced by Stoicism, Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes, Ibn Tufayl, and heterodox Christians,

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Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Israeli Scholar Explains Religious Conflicts Between Jews and Muslims

Kedar emphasized that Islam views Judaism as having been nullified twice—first by Christianity and then by Islam itself. This ideological framework, Kedar argued, underpins much of the hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people in the Middle East today. According to this belief, the existence of Jews with their own land, military, and rights is an incomprehensible anomaly to the Islamic world. [Miriam Gershenson]

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Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Miriam Gershenson, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Elie Wiesel Was Fascinated by Joshua, Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah, and Jonah

Wiesel was convinced that the power of literature lies in its ability to galvanize human action. This includes the Bible. “The text is not – cannot be – neutral, nor is it an end in itself: it must serve to humanize our society.” Wiesel shows this in his discussions of Joshua, Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah, and Jonah’s lives and actions. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors