Jewish History

Venice welcomes back Shylock in marking its Jewish history

Last week, an international, multilingual cast performed Shakespeare’s controversial play, “The Merchant of Venice,” in the secluded main plaza of the city’s historic Jewish Ghetto. It was the first time the play was performed in the iconic location. Enclosed by tall tenements and the arched windows of 16 th-century synagogues, audiences — US Supreme Court […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History

Reflections on a somber interview with Elie Wiesel

    By Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall SAN MARCOS, California — In 2007, I received an unexpected invitation: interviewing Elie Wiesel for a program at the Carlsbad Library (California). The city has an annual program in which residents discuss a common book; that year, it was Wiesel’s Holocaust memoir Night. To culminate the program, the city

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International, Jewish History, San Diego County

UN remembers Israeli athletes murdered in 1972 Olympics

With the Olympic Games set to open in Rio de Janeiro next week, the Israeli Mission to the United Nations on Thursday held the first of its kind memorial event at the UN to honor the Israeli athletes murdered in the attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics. Michal Shahar, the daughter of slain Olympic shooting

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Sports & Competitions

From suffering, adversity, to the Nobel Prize

By David Pratt KINGSTON, Ontario, Canada — When Elie Wiesel died on July 2, a voice was stilled that had spoken for the voiceless millions who perished in the Nazi concentration camps.  In May 1944, Wiesel was deported from Romania to Auschwitz at the age of fifteen, and was liberated from Buchenwald eleven months later. 

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International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education

Michail Tochman, Holocaust Survivor, 1926-2016

Michail Tochman, the last known survivor of the Odessa Ghetto and Concentration camp died Wednesday, July 28, of complication at 90 years of age. His recounting of life under German and Romanian occupation and the concentration camp where he was one of only 7 survivors is here. He wrote it, my sister translated his text.  —

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International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, Sam Litvin

Republican Jewish Coalition’s view of Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention

By Fred Brown PHILADELPHIA — If you thought Day One of the Democrat National Convention was the worst it could get, you haven’t been paying attention. Democrats followed up on their atrocious opening act with an equally offensive Day Two. To Recap: Morning Pro-Israel Protestors Greeted Top Democrats Attending A Panel Discussion Hosted By The

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Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Lithuanian concentration camp is now a wedding venue

KAUNAS, Lithuania — In this drab city 55 miles west of Vilnius, there are few heritage sites as mysterious and lovely looking as the Seventh Fort. This 18-acre red-brick bunker complex, which dates to 1882, features massive underground passages that connect its halls and chambers. Above ground, the hilltop fortress is carpeted with lush grass

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International, Jewish History

Iraq’s marshlands, nearly destroyed under Saddam, are coming back

It’s easy to believe, when you’re in Iraq’s southern marshes, that civilization really did begin there. Sunlight sparkles as herons dart from the reeds to spear fish, while women in long wooden boats glide through the water. The wetlands span thousands of square miles in the middle of desert. Some students of ancient history believe

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Jewish History, Middle East