Let’s examine some of the abnormal and/or misleading terms which our enemies have managed to implant in the public’s mind about the situation here: “East Jerusalem,” “West Bank,” “Palestinians.” [Steve Kramer]
How Names Influence Middle Eastern Politics and Reporting Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Steve Kramer
It was Chanuka, 1986. I had arrived at the Gorky Prison in June. In September I was sentenced to three years of hard labor. As the time drew close for my appeal, to be held in Moscow, Chanuka also drew near. [Ari Volvovsky]
The Miraculous Bread Menorah: Celebrating Chanukah in a Russian Prison Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Toby Klein Greenwald
In the year since Facebook banned Holocaust denial from its platform and finally classified it as hate speech instead of “misinformation,” a new ADL (Anti-Defamation League) analysis of the platform has found “cracks in enforcement” that have allowed Holocaust denial posts to still be accessible to many users. [Anti-Defamation League]
ADL: Facebook Still Permitting Some Holocaust Denial Posts Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA
In early July, I set out with colleagues of the High Atlas Foundation—a U.S. and Moroccan non-for-profit organization—to meet with agricultural cooperatives in Morocco to understand their needs and goals and create action plans toward lasting development. Along the way, we visited Jewish and Christian cemeteries, and met their caretakers and neighboring community members to discover their heritage stories. [Yossef Ben-Meir]
Moroccan Cemeteries Waiting to be Visited and Remembered Read More »
International, Jewish History, Travel and Food, Yossef Ben-Meir
(Israel Hayom via JNS) The president of the Republika Srpska of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed on Monday to help exhume the bones of the grandfather and grandmother of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, and send them to Israel. President Željka Cvijanović visited Mount Herzl earlier this week. During
Bones of Theodor Herzl’s Grandparents Coming to Israel Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East
Jewish historian Joellyn Zollman will discuss “Editing American Jewish History–Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Stories,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22, at Congregation Beth Israel, 9001 Towne Centre Drive, San Diego.
[Beth Israel Men’s Club]
Historian Joellyn Zollman to Address Beth Israel Dec. 22 Read More »
Jewish History, San Diego County
In honor of Chanukah, the Jerusalem-based nonprofit Shavei Israel designed and produced hundreds of dreidels with Mandarin lettering for the Chinese Jews of Kaifeng, China, as well as for 20 members of the community who have already made Aliya to Israel with the organization’s assistance. [Shavei Israel]
Kaifeng Dreidels Inscribed in Mandarin Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
In the November 28, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
–Two Israeli breakthroughs in cancer research.
–Two Israeli women “break the glass ceiling” – in innovation and IDF leadership.
–Two historic events uniting Israel and the UAE.
–Two more cool Israeli energy-saving innovations.
–Boost in Israel’s economic ties with Serbia and Morocco.
–Four more billion-dollar Israeli companies.
–Israeli wins at the Emmy awards and in the World jiu-jitsu championships.
–Two major Temple-era archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem [Michael Ordman]
Good News from Israel (November 28, 2021) Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
The great Jewish texts and sources are an enormous trove of knowledge, insights, traditions, and wisdom. His months at Pardes will barely scratch the surface and are tantamount to studying the initial pages of the first volume of a 32-volume encyclopedia—just enough to know that he’ll hardly know anything. But through these months, he will have evolved both respect and appreciation for the works’ scope and breadth. [Doron Krakow]
3 Subjects Worthy of Deep Study: Torah, JCC’s, Mideast History Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
The dead body of a British officer found floating in April 1943 in the waters off the coast of Southern Spain, near Huelva, may have been a key reason Hitler was unable to finish murdering the last Jews of Europe.
A valise, chained to the body’s wrist, contained top-secret military documents with plans to invade Greece by British and Allied forces. Nazi spies working with Spanish police copied the documents and sent them to Berlin. [Jerry Klinger]
British Deception Helped Defeat Nazis, Save Jews Read More »
International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History
Some of the rabbis of the previous centuries identified the turkey as the הוֹדוּ תַּרְנְגוֹל “Indian chicken,” and thought the bird originated in India. Jews were not the only ones who thought this way. The French referred to turkey as poulet d’Inde (“Chicken from India”), as did the Polish, Ukrainian and Russian countries. It was assumed that the rabbis in India permitted it. However, this was an assumption that could never be proven since it was based on a false assumption: Turkeys did not exist in India! [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Wait! Are Those Turkeys Kosher? Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Judaism, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Travel and Food, USA
French journalist Anne Sinclair confesses she had long felt guilty about not asking her late paternal grandfather Léonce Schwartz to tell her about his internment at a little-known concentration camp on the outskirts of Paris. Known by the French as the Royallieu-Compiegne Concentration Camp, and by the Nazi Germans as Frontstalag 122, it was not as well-known as Drancy, the notorious French transit point to the Nazi killing camps in Poland. However, the prisoners there were treated just as callously. Starvation, lice, frostbite were common ailments purposely neglected by the Nazis in their effort to humiliate and winnow the French Jewish population [Donald H. Harrison]
Journalist Documents Little Known Concentration Camp Near Paris Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History
The Genesis Prize Foundation honored the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks with the Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes Lord Sacks for his extraordinary role in inspiring the next generation of Jews, and his illustrious life-long work as a teacher of Jewish values and an advocate of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue. [Genesis Prize Foundation News Release]
Genesis Prize Foundation Honors Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Posthumously Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East
I flew to London last Wednesday, to say goodbye to my 97-year-old Grandpa. Although I usually see my grandparents half a dozen times a year, the pandemic has made it so that I haven’t been able to see them for two and half years. I entered their new assisted living apartment and went straight to my grandfather’s bed. Without hesitation I began to sing our favorite Yiddish song “Oy vey fein”. Immediately he chimed in and sang with me for about fifteen seconds. [Cantor Hanan Liberman]
A Cantor Says A Final Goodbye to the Grandfather Who Inspired Him Read More »
International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials