Jewish History

Thoughts on Chagall’s ‘White Crucifixion’

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –This past Shabbat at Temple Beth Shalom we had a most remarkable discussion on the famous Russian painter, Marc Chagall, as we discussed his various paintings of Jesus’s crucifixion. A panel consisting of Dr. David Strom, Dr. Tzvi Sax, and myself explored the history of several of […]

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Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

16th-century tapestry taken from Hitler’s retreat returned to Germany

Berlin (dpa) – A 16th century tapestry taken by a US soldier at the end of the Second World War from Adolf Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest mountain retreat has been returned to the southern German state of Bavaria. US Army Lieutenant Colonel Paul Danahy’s daughter Cathy Hinz handed the wool-knitted tapestry to the Bavarian National Museum

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International, Jewish History

How many Jews are there in the world?

Sunday will begin the Week of Connection to Diaspora Jewry, a week dedicated to strengthening the ties between Israel and Jews in the diaspora in light of the various challenges and complications currently facing Jewry in Israel and abroad. According to the Diaspora Affairs Ministry’s statistics, there are currently 14.4 million Jews in the world,

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International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

Anne Frank arrest may not have been due to betrayal, says museum

Amsterdam (dpa) – The wartime arrest of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who wrote one of the world’s best known diaries, may not have been as a result of betrayal as previously thought, a new study has suggested. Researchers at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam say the annex where she was hiding with her

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International, Jewish History

In praise of Mona Golabek, author and performer

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Several years ago I read The Pianist of Willesden Lane written by Mona Golabek about the experiences of her mother, Lisa Jura, first in Vienna and then in London. She had been sent there at the age of fourteen in the framework of the Kindertransport, the undertaking that

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Italy was unlikely protector of Shoa Jews

Author Elizabeth Bettina wrote her book, I t Happened in Italy, to highlight “the goodness” of the Italian people in protecting Jews during the Holocaust. Photo courtesy Elizabeth Bettina Hadassah members serving on the program committee included, from left, Judy Tabak, Judi Harrison, Aimee Braverman, Judy Slutzky, and Rena Kallman. Photo by Debra Rubin On

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International, Jewish History

Italy Holocaust survivor who helped capture Nazi criminal dead at 90

Rome (dpa) – Giulia Spizzichino, one of Rome’s last Holocaust survivors and the woman who helped bring Nazi criminal Erich Priebke to justice, died overnight aged 90, the Jewish Community of Rome said Tuesday. Spizzichino is credited for convincing the Argentine government to allow the extradition of Priebke to Italy, where he was tried and

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International, Jewish History

70 years after the Holocaust, a Surinamese memorial for Caribbean victims

‘Not one’ expert she interviewed knew of Caribbean Jewish victims, says Jamaican author, but that didn’t stop community from raising international funds for monument By Julie Masis More than 70 years after the end of World War II, a small South American country erected its first Holocaust memorial. Over 100 Jewish names were engraved on

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International, Jewish History

Two extra ordinary Holocaust films: ‘Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe’ and ‘Denial’

By Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — This past weekend I saw two intense biographical documentaries dealing with completely opposing viewpoints on the Holocaust. The first, Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, told of the melancholy meanderings of the Austrian writer/playwright/philosopher who, at the height of his career in the 1920s and ‘30s was one of the

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Cynthia Citron, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Lucy Friedlander Covington preserved Native American life

Lucy Friedlander Covington was extraordinary. Her grandfather Herman Friedlander was Jewish and her grandmother an Entiat tribal woman. According to Lucy, neither of the couple learned the other’s language, so their seven children spoke both Jewish/German and Entiat. –– Charles Trimble, Oglala Lakota By Jerry Klinger Attending a Shiva House a few weeks back, a

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Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Travel and Food, USA

AJC helps rebuild arson- damaged mosque

NEW YORK – The American Jewish Committee (AJC) presented a donation on Friday to help rebuild the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, Florida, severely damaged in an arson attack in September. “An attack on any house of worship is an affront to all Americans, regardless of their religious affiliation,” said Robert Silverman, AJC Director of Muslim-Jewish Relations.

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Jewish History, USA

Details emerge on upcoming San Diego Jewry exhibition

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Some details are beginning to emerge about the major exhibition planned by the San Diego History Center about the Jews of San Diego. Bill Lawrence, executive director of the center that previously was known as the San Diego Historical Society, said the exhibit will run between nine months

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

At first German- speaking Jews fared better

I Only Wanted to Live; the Struggle of a Boy to Survive the Holocaust by Arie Tamir;  published by Arie Tamir, 2015; translated from the Hebrew by Batya Jerenberg By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Some kind of morbid fascination, possibly even masochism, seems to impel me to download and read yet another Holocaust memoir,

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History