11 men and women in their twenties were detained by Polish police on Friday, after they slaughtered a sheep and took their clothes off at the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The individuals aged 20 to 27, whose identities and motives are unknown, then chained themselves together in front of the camp’s infamous “Arbeit macht
11 arrested for desecrating Auschwitz Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryIn 1944, photographer Henryk Ross dug a hole in the ground and buried his negatives — more than 6,000 of them. Ross was the official photographer of the Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland. He also lived there. “His intention was really to preserve this record of the tragedy that they were living through, not knowing
Unearthing photos and memories of life in the Lodz ghetto Read More »
Jewish HistoryBy Steven K. Green, Professor of Law, Director of the Center for Religion, Law & Democracy, Willamette University. On Jan. 31, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court occasioned by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate hearing
Supreme Court justices in the pews and on the bench – and where Neil Gorsuch fits in Read More »
Jewish History, USAHistoric 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
“Yes, call me a Jew” Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Can you imagine shrinking to a tiny size and being able to walk through the pages of an interactive book? You stop on one page and you see photographs of Jewish pioneers, quotations from newspaper accounts about them, and perhaps a caption summarizing the high points of their
S.D. Jewish History an open book Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego CountyTwo 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
Prague synagogue gets two new Torah scrolls Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle EastMel 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
Mel Gibson quietlly supporting Holocaust survivors Read More »
Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAJust 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…
Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism at University of Illinois Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USANew York (dpa) – A room full of teddy bears is featured in an art exhibit that opened Friday at New York City’s Jewish Museum. Hundreds of teddy bears and other stuffed animals hang suspended from the ceiling and on the walls or sit on pedestals or piled on the floor. The exhibit “Chalemagne Palestine’s
New York’s Jewish Museum opens teddy bear installation Read More »
Jewish History, USAIranian 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
Iran Says Israel’s Netanyahu Distorts Jewish History Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East
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
San Diego Jewry exhibit opens at S.D. History Center Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Shor M. MasoriBy 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
Leo Baeck and Jewish liberalism Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There is a tantalizing parallel between what the Jews did in the first century, and what the Palestinians did in the 20th century. We know of two violent confrontations between groups of Jews in ancient times. One led to the story of Hanukah, when Mattathias Maccabee killed a Jew who
Arabs have not yet had their Altalena Read More »
Jewish History, Middle EastAdolfo 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.
The WWII counterfeiter who forged ahead in the face of horror Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA