By Jerry Klinger Touristing — better known as cultural travel, especially historical travel to see the places of events, and meaning to the American experience, preferably without resentful teenagers — is great. A fun thing to do in Florida is to visit historical lighthouses. There are big ones, short one, white ones, red ones, and
Cape St. George Island Lighthouse and the Jews Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Opinion, USA
On a cold December day in occupied Paris in 1940, a large group lined up at the Nazi commandant’s office. Jews stood waiting to be registered, anxious for their lives. In the crowd was a thin, tall old man with a bulging, high forehead, a shallow chin and a small mustache. After waiting for hours in the cold, he caught a bad cold, caught pneumonia, and died on January 3, 1941. He died in the very town in which he had been born 80 years earlier. Registered by the Nazis, the old Jew was one of France’s most famous men, Professor Henri Bergson of the Collège de France, member of the French Academy of Sciences, winner of the 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature. In the Pantheon there is an inscription on one of the columns: “To Henri Bergson, a philosopher whose life and work have done honor to France and to human thought. [Alex Gordon]
Jewish Biography: Henri Bergson Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Jan. 24, declared that day to be Holocaust Remembrance Day in San Diego County – three days before this coming Friday’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, coinciding with the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in 1945. [Donald H. Harrison]
County Supervisors Approve & Help Finance Holocaust Remembrance Exhibit Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA
After nine days as dean of students at a middle school, Michael Woodberg resigned. The offense? Being Jewish. His bosses are not antisemitic. Nor is there evidence of rampant antisemitism among the students. In early January, the Richmond Community Schools received frightening threats directed at Woodberg and other staff at the middle school. The school district serves a rural area 45 miles northeast of Detroit. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Anti-Jewish Threats to School Administrator Prompts His Resignation Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, Opinion, USA
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was too concerned about negative public opinion to take the leadership on finding refuge in the United States for European Jewry during the early years of the Holocaust, scholar Lawrence Baron told a bruncheon audience at Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Sunday. [Donald H. Harrison]
Holocaust Refuge at Fort Ontario, New York, Recalled Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA
By Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel –The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation website says about her: “A freedom-loving woman in a world in which women were not free; an intellectual in a world in which only men were considered educated and intelligent; a political leader in a world in which men ruled; a socialist in a world of
Jewish Biography: Rosa Luxemburg, the ‘Red Rose’ Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History
“The exhibit … aims to combat bigotry and hate by investing in greater education and understanding of the history of hate and racism towards the Jewish community and other victims of the Holocaust,” Fletcher continued. “The United States Institute of Peace emphasizes the role that memorialization plays in reconstructing social fabric and relations following conflict. It is important that the initiative is led by those with personal connections to the Holocaust, as well as with the San Diego community, to encourage authentic representation and meaningful engagement.” [Donald H. Harrison]
County Supervisors to Vote Jan. 24 on Funding Holocaust Exhibit Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County
Beginning at 5 p.m. tonight, there will be six presentations in UCSD Library’s Holocaust Living History Workshop series, an education and outreach program cosponsored by the Jewish Studies program that aims to preserve the memories of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. [Press Release]
Six Remaining Holocaust Presentations in UCSD Library Series Read More »
California, Holocaust, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
“Our findings seem to provide the first evidence that there was also an ‘Israeli Silk Road’ used by merchants along the international trading routes. This route branched off from the traditional Silk Route that passed to the north of Israel, crossing the Arava and connecting to the main historical trade routes that crossed the country, as well as to the main ports of Gaza and Ashkelon that served a major gateways to the Mediterranean world.”
Archaeologists Find Evidence of Asian Trade Route Through Israel in 8th Century Read More »
International, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Travel and Food
By Jerry Klinger National Public Radio reported a story that was frankly, flabbergasting, a big word meaning — you have got to be kidding. An office within the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work says it is removing the term “field” from its curriculum because it may have racist connotations related to slavery.
Woke Intolerance and the Canceling of the Father of the Georgia Peach Industry Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Opinion, USA
Although I had no close relatives who were victims — and it wasn’t until years later that I learned that Nazis had hanged an uncle of my wife’s by his tallis — I was obsessed by the Holocaust. [Joel H. Cohen]
Anne Frank and Me: Three Weeks and 3,600 Miles Apart Read More »
Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Joel H. Cohen, USA
After years of running and hiding during the Holocaust, Jenny Benrey, decided that her five-year-old daughter, the future novelist Michèle Sarde, should be baptized in the Catholic Church. So many of her relatives and friends had disappeared in the Nazi Holocaust! But later, when it came time for Michèle’s confirmation, Jenny could not bring herself to complete her abandonment of Judaism. Michèle was withdrawn from the confirmation class, thereafter living neither as a practicing Jew nor as a Catholic. And the Holocaust that had prompted Jenny’s impulses became a forbidden subject, enveloped in silence. [Donald H. Harrison]
Sephardic Family History Stretches from Spanish Inquisition to Post-Holocaust Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish HistoryBy 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 History