By Gene Klein THE VILLAGES, Near Orlando, Florida –The journey of a refugee is never forgotten. The sense of danger just behind, of hope just ahead, and of uncertainty ever present is indelible. I vividly remember many things about my Holocaust experience: being forced from my home, my three-day journey in a closed cattle car, and
Holocaust survivor appeals for Syrian refugees Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
PARIS, France (WJC)– World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer on Tuesday praised UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova for issuing a clear condemnation the third edition of a Holocaust cartoon contest held in Iran which features many entries that openly deny the Shoah. Singer had met with Bokova in Paris on Monday. Robert Singer declared: “I thank Director
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Jewish History, Middle East
The Timechart History of Jewish Civilization, edited and designed by Meredith MacArdle, World Press Ltd., 2010, Consultant: Judy Gold, Director, London Jewish Cultural Center By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — This is a large coffee table sized book that opens with a spectacular full color, sixteen page, unfolding panel which is eleven feet long. It
From the Jewish Library: ‘Timechart History…’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish HistoryBy Tammi Rossman-Benjamin SANTA CRUZ, California– As a resource to current and prospective students, parents, university administrators, elected officials, researchers, and donors, AMCHA Initiative has unveiled a database that chronicles anti-Semitic incidents that occurred over the past academic year by state and university. The incidents are organized into three categories: Targeting Jewish Students and Staff, Anti-Semitic Expression and Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
AMCHA Initiative database tracks anti- Semitic incidents Read More »
Jewish History, USA
ROME (WJC) Pope Francis on Sunday paid his first visit to a synagogue as Catholic pontiff, greeting Rome’s Jewish community in a show of interfaith friendship. Rome’s Great Synagogue is home of the oldest Jewish community in the Diaspora. The pope joined a standing ovation of the congregation when Holocaust survivors wearing striped scarves reminiscent
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International, Jewish HistoryBy Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — In the Spring of 1991, my wife and I, touring Israel, together with a small group of Calgarians, found ourselves in a caravan camp on the outskirts of Mazkeret Batya, our sister city. There we encountered the most remarkable sight; Jews who before their very recent arrival in Israel
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International, Jewish History, Middle East
By Michael Freund PALERMO, Italy — Something extraordinary is happening in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. More than five centuries after the forced conversion to Catholicism of large numbers of Sicilian Jews, followed by the expulsion of the rest, a nascent rebirth is well underway, as growing numbers of Sicily’s Bnei Anousim (whom historians refer
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International, Jewish History
Karen Levine, Hana’s Suitcase: The Quest to Solve a Holocaust Mystery; © 20r Te02, 2012; Random House Children’s Books; ISBN 978-1-101-93349-7; 135 pages, $9.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Perhaps because I’m in the process of researching a local biography, I’m all the more impressed by the resourcefulness and stick-to-it-iveness of Fumiko Ishioka,
Biographers can be inspired by Fumiko Ishioka Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish HistoryLA JOLLA, California (SDJW) — The Holocaust Living History Workshop at UCSD has scheduled 5 p.m. presentations by survivor Max Garcia and refugee Moselio Schaechter in the Seuss Room of the Geisel Library respectively on January 13 and Feb. 10. Susanne Hillman, project manager, provided these sketches of the upcoming presentations: Think Only of Today:
Workshops on Holocaust set at UCSD Read More »
International, Jewish History, San Diego CalendarBy Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — The Yom Kippur war of 1973 was an Israeli military success to the extent that when the cease fire came into effect the Syrian invading army had been pushed back behind the 1967 armistice line and though Egyptian forces had established a beachhead on the Israeli held side of
Ashraf Marwan: Master spy for Israel or Egypt? Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East
The Jewish Farming Settlement of Clarion, Utah: The Possible, Impossible dream (Editor’s Note: The following historical article is reprinted with permission from the Winter 2016 edition of Western States Jewish Quarterly.) By Jerry Klinger CLARION, Utah — European anti-Semitism had not improved by the latter half of the 19th century. If anything it became more vicious. “What
‘There’s a Jewish story every where’: Clarion, Utah Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Travel and Food, USA
Love in a World of Sorrow by Fanya Gottesfeld Heller, Gefen Publishing House © 2015, ISBN 9780965-229-839-3l 252 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –There are many authors like Fanya Gottesfeld Heller who tell their survival stories from the Holocaust at school assemblies and other forums. In San Diego County, the names of Gussie
Did Holocaust survivor love or just use her protector? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish HistoryBy Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Most families have some cousins they would rather not think about. Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York, by Stephen Birmingham (Syracuse University Press, 1996) and Poor Cousins by Ande Manners (Putnam Publishers Group, 1972) relate the stories of the powerful Jewish families of New York and
That ‘Other’ Part of the Family Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, USA
By Vera Meyer MALDEN, Massachusetts — I became interested in German Jewish history and culture because these are my roots, this is my heritage. Both my parents came from Germany. Both their families were deeply assimilated into German culture; that is to say, they were proud to be Germans first and Jews second. The spirit
FB group explores German- Jewish identity Read More »
International, Jewish History