By Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — In 1783, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s play “Nathan the Wise” premiered at the Berlin Theater. The play was a literary and theatrical sensation and a shock to Germany, and perhaps to the entire Christian world. Hitherto Jews had been considered and portrayed as immoral and despicable people. Lessing’s character Nathan, […]
Moses Mendelssohn: The Berlin Dreamer Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Generous American donors have provided the money to build a museum honouring Shelby White and Leon Levy, to house in situ the huge mosaic dating from the Roman occupation of ancient Judaea. The town of Lod (Lydda) has been inhabited for millennia, and is mentioned in the Bible
The Roman Mosaic in Lod Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Jewish HistoryBy Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — Heinrich Heine was loved and hated by the two nations to which he belonged. The Germans loved his lyrics and disliked his political poetry. The Jews liked to attribute his genius to themselves and disliked his conversion to Protestantism, which he often joked: “What do you want? I found
Meeting Heinrich Heine Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Some people think that Maimonides was a deist. I am convinced that they are mistaken. There are some similarities between Maimonides and deists, just as there are similarities between Jews and Christians, but these similarities do not result in us calling Jews Christians. This becomes
Was Maimonides a Deist? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — On Wednesday, January 18, from 7-8 p.m., the Congregation Beth Israel Men’s Club Speaker Forum presents, “Antisemitism in Visual Art Since the Middle Ages,” a lecture by Claudia Hercman. Hercman was born and raised in Buenos Aires, within the Argentinian Jewish community. She is a tour guide and translator. She
Beth Israel Lecture to Cover ‘Antisemitism in Visual Art Since the Middle Ages’ Read More »
Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County
President Joe Biden signed a bill Monday in Washington d.C. that will rename the Rolando post office branch after former Rep. Susan A. Davis, D-San Diego. “Throughout her more than 20 years of public service, (Davis) always put her constituents first and fiercely advocated and delivered for our kids, students, families, service members and veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community,” Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, said in a statement when she introduced the bill. [Times of San Diego]
Biden Signs Legislation Naming a Post Office for Susan Davis Read More »
California, Jewish History, San Diego County, USAA Jew, a cosmopolitan, a humanist, a pacifist, a supporter of a united Europe, Zweig did not accept Herzl’s Jewish nationalism. At a request of Herzl to help organize a Zionist movement, Zweig refused: the Jewish theme was too small compared with the problems of Europe. [Alex Gordon]
The Burning Secret of the Great Biographer Read More »
Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History
Of all peoples, we Jews should be in the forefront of those promoting help to men, women and children literally running for their lives. The principle is certainly in our history, maybe even our genes. The impulse dates back to Biblical days, when patriarch Abraham was celebrated for his hospitality. [Joel H. Cohen]
Jews Must Show Compassion for Refugees Read More »
Jewish History, Joel H. Cohen, USA
By Gedaliah Borvick JERUSALEM — My company’s Netanya maven, Ruthie Yudin, texted me from Dona Gracia Street in Netanya. Googling the street name, she was blown away by Ms. Gracia’s life, and wrote: “Her story must be told!” Although streets in Tiberias and Haifa are also named in her memory, I was surprised that Dona
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous — and Generous Read More »
Gedaliah Borvick, International, Israel, Jewish HistoryBy Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — Jews have been criticized many times – by the left for being capitalists, by the right for being socialists. Only once in history has a Jew been both a socialist and a capitalist. It was Alexander Parvus. In Latin, “parvus” is small, the pseudonym under which Israel Gelfand began
Revolution as Business Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion
By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — Several years ago, on the sixth night of Chanukah, Chabad set up a giant Menorah for a celebration at Mission Valley Mall. It was fun. Kids were busily making crafts. Some were dressed as Maccabees and Dreidels and there was Chanukah music coming from the speakers. This is
Why We Need Chanukah Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion
By Sarah Ogince (JNS) The lights are kindled, the shamash is returned to its place and the family breaks into song: It is a rousing, march-like melody that is the aural equivalent of the menorah’s light—energy, joy and hope in the depth of winter, a promise of rebirth. It’s a familiar, comforting scene, repeated in
Everyone Knows ‘Ma’oz Tzur,’ Except They Don’t Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
My friend Susan Ferraro, who lives in a rural part of Northern California. tells me that since about the age of 7, she had fantasized about becoming a Jew. It started, she said, when she read Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. As children often do, she imagined herself invulnerable; death being something that unfortunately happened to other people. If she had been born Jewish, and living at that time, she could have prevented those Nazis from hurting Anne and her family and those hidden with them in the secret annex. [Donald H. Harrison]
Postwar Encounters with the Holocaust Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — On March 1, 1881, in Russia, members of the People’s Will assassinated Tsar Alexander II. The murder, to which the Jews had nothing to do, triggered the largest wave of Jewish pogroms in the 19th century due to a blood libel against Jews falsely accused of complicity in the
The Triumphant and Tragic Odyssey of the Inventor of Sea Cruises Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion