Jewish History

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Mordecai Kaplan

Courtesy of Wikipedia Mordecai Kaplan (June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983) was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist branch of Judaism along with his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein. He has been described as a “towering figure” in the recent history of Judaism for his influential work in adapting it to modern society, contending that Judaism should be a unifying […]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Jewish Biography: Boris Pasternak Avoided, Denied, His Jewishness

Pasternak’s feelings about Jews and Jewry in the first 22 years of his life are ̶ negative: humiliation, oppression, pogroms. A different vision of the Jewish problem was revealed to him in Marburg. Pasternak encountered Jewish thinking for the first time in his life: Cohen’s teachings were based on the ethics of Judaism. Plagued by Jewish complexes in Russia, he was apparently shocked by the position of the Jewish thinker and rejected Cohen’s offer to continue his philosophical studies. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

‘101 Treasures’ from Israel Library is also a Treasure for Home Collections

The joke is that my wife has been an unflagging downsizer, in resisting my acquiring new books, but gifts may be different. I thanked my friend, “Never seen Karen so pleased to get a book in an age where she is trying to get them out of the house.” [Oliver B. Pollak]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Oliver Pollak, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Lion’s Trail: Beit She’an

It was a surreal parallel of reality, courage, and life that refused to give up. The mayors of Beit She’an, Kiryat Shemona, Beit Jann, and the Council Rep from the Golan Regional Council came to join us.  Each of their communities is under attack by Hezbollah.  Each of their communities has a Lion.  Each of their communities determinedly endures. [Jerry Klinger]

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Israel, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

OpEd: The ‘Music’ of Socialism

Why didn’t I become a socialist? Soviet socialism destroyed my family and I could not love it. But it turned out that I disliked socialism for the same reason I did not become a musician: my aunt’s piano also left Kiev.  Instead of using my absolute musical ear for music, I had to use it to listen to the atonal music of wailing, to the unmelodic moans and gloomy chords of the lamentations of the Soviet Jews. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Highly Readable Holocaust Memoir Carefully Delineates Sources

In 1942, when Alfred was 8 and Herbert was 5, their parents arranged for the boys to be sent to a summer camp operated by a Jewish rescue organization.  Much to the boys’ distress, their safety-minded parents had them stay much longer than the summer.  While they were gone, their father, who had been helping the French Resistance, was arrested by the Vichy government. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Ohio Attorney General Sues to Stop Potential Sale of Rare Jewish Books, manuscripts

Published by The Center Square (The Center Square) – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants to stop the sale of ancient Jewish texts and books at the nation’s first permanent Jewish institution of higher learning in Cincinnati. Yost filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent Hebrew Union College from selling copies of the Talmud

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Nordot, Science, Medicine, & Education

‘Kidnapped’ Resurrects 166-Year-Old Controversy Between Jews and the Catholic Church

The name of “Edgardo Mortara” once rocketed around the Jewish and Catholic worlds – the Jews protesting that he was kidnapped by the Catholics, and the Catholics saying that once the boy was secretly baptized by the Mortara family’s maid, it had no choice but to assume parental control. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

German-Czech Future Fund supports Kafka anniversary projects

Published by DPA International To mark the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death, the German-Czech Future Fund is supporting cross-border projects that deal with the life and work of the German-Jewish writer. Interested parties from Germany and the Czech Republic can apply for funding until the end of this month, a spokeswoman said in Prague

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Nordot

Mexico has elected a Jewish woman as president. Claudia Sheinbaum inherits a polarised, violent country looking for hope

Published by The Moderate Voice : Claudia Sheinbaum Will Be Mexico’s Next President by Bart van Leeuwen, PoliticalCartoons.com Luis Gómez Romero, University of Wollongong On October 17, 1953, constitutional reform granted women the right to vote in Mexico, and two years later, women cast ballots for the first time in a federal election. Now, nearly

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International, Jewish History