Jewish History

“Yes, call me a Jew”

Historic Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia vandalized This new wave of anti-Semitism, delivered via bomb threats, cemetery vandalisms, swastika desecrations, and specific acts of violence, reawakens an old and bittersweet mantra in every Jewish soul: we are as vulnerable as we are enduring. I remember: somebody once wrote me a nasty letter after something I circulated […]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Prague synagogue gets two new Torah scrolls

Two new Torah scrolls donated to Prague’s Great Synagogue were inaugurated on Sunday during a festive ceremony. This is the first time since World War II that the Prague Jewish community received new Torah scrolls. During the Holocaust, Prague’s large Jewish community was almost completely wiped out: Prior to World War II, 125,000 Jews lived

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International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Mel Gibson quietlly supporting Holocaust survivors

Mel Gibson, the Catholic actor/director who in the past struggled with an anti-Jewish image, has been discreetly supporting an organization that helps Holocaust survivors. Comedy director Zane Buzby, founder of the Survivor Mitzvah Project, recently told Extra that her organization helps “bring emergency aid to Holocaust survivors in Eastern Europe who are in desperate need

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism at University of Illinois

Just days after posters accusing Jews of benefiting from “Jewish Privilege” were discovered on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, Jewish students say yet another wave of anti-Semitic materials has been found on school grounds. Last week, posters accusing Jews of economically dominating the United States were found plastered around campus. “ENDING WHITE PRIVILEGE…

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

Iran Says Israel’s Netanyahu Distorts Jewish History

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for saying Persians once tried to destroy the Jewish people, accusing the Israeli premier of distorting Jewish history. On a trip to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Netanyahu said Persians tried to destroy the Jewish people 2,500 years

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Jewish History, Middle East

San Diego Jewry exhibit opens at S.D. History Center

Story by Donald H. Harrison; Photos by Shor M. Masori SAN DIEGO — It was no accident that the “Celebrate San Diego! The History & Heritage of San Diego’s Jewish Community” exhibition in Balboa Park’s San Diego History Center opened on Erev Purim. Curator Joellyn Zollman explained to an opening evening crowd on Saturday, March

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori

Leo Baeck and Jewish liberalism

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Tucked away in a quiet Jerusalem side-street is the Leo Baeck Institute, where activities associated with the man himself and various aspects of his heritage are held, its official purpose being ‘the study of German and Central European Jewry.’ Sister institutes are to be found in cities elsewhere

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Jewish Religion

The WWII counterfeiter who forged ahead in the face of horror

Adolfo Kaminksy created fake documents that saved thousands of Jews in the Holocaust. Now his daughter tells his tale in a biography which opened a new page in their relationship By Anne Joseph Sarah Kaminsky can’t pinpoint the exact moment when she learned that her father Adolfo had been a forger during World War II.

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International, Jewish History, USA

Jewish American History Month to focus on medical pioneers

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Press Release)—Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM), a national commemoration of the contributions that Americans Jews have made to the fabric of our nation’s history, culture, and society, announces the theme for the May 2017 celebration. This year, JAHM celebrates Americans Jews who have made a significant impact in the field of medical research.

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Jewish History, USA

2nd Generation Survivor tells March 8 of helping her mother to write a Holocaust memoir

LA JOLLA, California (Press Release)– Pam Zimbalist, a second-generation survivor, tells her experiences encouraging her mother, Hanna Gendler Rom Young to write the memoir of her life in Kovno, Lithuania, as a child; in the Nazi concentration camp KZ Stutthof where her own mother starved to death, and after liberation in the United States. Her

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Jewish History, San Diego Calendar

Holocaust remembrance day set for April 23 in S.D.

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) –The Jewish Federation of San Diego County will host the annual Holocaust Memorial Commemoration event taking place at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center on Sunday, April 23 at 1:30 pm. San Diego’s commemoration is one the largest in the country with more than 500 community members attending. The commemoration serves

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Jewish History, San Diego Calendar