Jewish History

The Jewish War 2.0

I, Josephus Flavius, born as Yosef ben Matityahu, a historian of the 1st century, once a deserter to my people but now repentant, narrated the first Jewish-Roman war to speak of my people’s struggle. I became a historian, and today, two thousand years later, I take up the pen again to recount the new wars of the 21st century. [Jose Galicot]

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Jose Galicot, Middle East, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

A Visit to Israel’s New National Library

Several art works adorn the library’s walls and spaces, both inside and outside the building, serving to underline the Jewish people’s connections with the Bible and other writings, as well as echoing aspects of the Land of Israel. The library also contains collections of books, manuscripts and other documents bequeathed or donated by Jewish and Israeli intellectuals, as well as unique collections such as Albert Einstein’s letters, Isaac Newton’s contemplation of the Bible, and the unique Gershom Shocken Collecetion of Kabbalah and Hasidism. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Rashi

In most modern editions of the Talmud, Rashi’s extensive commentaries on 30 of the 39 tractates may be found among  various other commentators’ notes that bracket individual Talmudic passages. Scholars believe his commentaries grew out of lectures and responsas to students at his yeshiva. [SDJW staff]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Maurycy Gottlieb

His painting “Shylock and Jessica” won the Gold Medal at the Munich Academy. Later, he returned to Vienna to study under Heinrich von Angeli, and produced paintings on biblical themes. Meeting in Rome, Matejko urged him to return to Krakow to work on a series of monumental paintings including scenes depicting the history of the Jews in Poland. [SDJW staff]

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday

Israeli Composer Forwards ‘Jewish Tunes from Haifa’

I completed a fantasy piece about the songs of the Jewish people a few days before their tragedy broke on the day of their great and joyous holiday, the Joy of Torah. I titled the piece I Hear a Scream. On the “Black Sabbath” of October 7, I heard the screams of Jews, victims of a pogrom that happened where there could have been no pogrom – in the territory of the Jewish state. [Boris Levenberg]

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Alex Gordon, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Videos

Jewish Biography: Hermann Cohen Sought a Merger of Judaism and Germanism

Beginning with the Kant and Moses Mendelssohn dispute, the German-speaking world debated the question of whether Judaism was a religion of reason. Cohen believed that Germany was the only country in which reason and religious feeling could easily be combined because of its philosophical idealism. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Milos Forman

In 1975, Forman had his first big hit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, about life in a psychiatric ward, which won him an Oscar as best director. In 1979, he directed Hair, based on the Broadway musical but it did not do well financially. In 1981, he directed Ragtime, based on a novel by E.L. Doctorow, and in 1985, he won another Academy Award for directing  Amadeus, about the life of Mozart. [SDJW staff]

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Holocaust, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Barbara Myerhoff

Following advice to “study your own,” Myerhoff began fieldwork on the elderly Jews at the Israel Levin Center in Venice, California, resulting in a 1977 Oscar-winning short documentary film, Number Our Days, and in 1979 a book of the same title. [SDJW staff]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

Jackie Gmach Utilizes the Arts to Teach Lessons of the Holocaust and the Tree of Life Synagogue

That drawing inspired Gmach to develop “We Are The Tree of Life,” a project focusing on Holocaust education utilizing the arts to promote a message of hope and survival. Literature, music, dance, poetry and drawings created by prisoners in the concentration camps and ghettos during World War II show that beauty can survive, even when experiencing unspeakable horrors. [Eileen Wingard]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ Revisited in Tel Aviv Performance

At the performance in Tel Aviv last week the audience sat in rapt silence as the orchestra played and the choir and soloists sang, bringing the majesty and drama of Verdi’s music to life. In Israel of today, with war being waged in the Gaza Strip and skirmishes raging in the north of the country, the performance of the Requiem has special significance. In the plaza of the nearby Tel Aviv Museum families of the hostages held in Gaza were demonstrating in order to convince the government to do more to get them released. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Anne Frank musical hits Dutch stage, ‘we should never forget’

Published by Relaxnews By Nick Gammon / AFP A new musical production based on Anne Frank’s diary has hit the stage in The Netherlands, with the producer and star convinced the story needs telling now more than ever. A new musical production based on Anne Frank’s diary has hit the stage in The Netherlands, with

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Nordot, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Rescue of 2 Hostages from Gaza was an Entebbe-Type Moment

I was reminded of Israel’s military tour de force in Entebbe when I read of the recent rescue of hostages Fernando Marman, 60, and Luis Har, 70, from a Rafah apartment. The reuniting of the hostages with their families and community members brought elation and joy to them. [Amy Neustein, Ph.D]

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Amy Neustein, International, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Republicans impeach US homeland security chief over border crisis

Published by AFP Washington (AFP) – Republicans impeached US President Joe Biden’s immigration chief on Tuesday, the culmination of months of attacks on the Democratic administration as they seek to make border security a key issue in November’s election. Conservatives in the House of Representatives, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans, blame Homeland Security Secretary

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International, Jewish History, Nordot, USA