Jewish History

A Trip to Tiberias on the Kinneret’s Western Shore

With about 45,000 residents, Tiberias is a relatively small town located on the western side of Lake Kinneret. The lake is one of Israel’s most popular holiday destinations, for tourists and Israelis alike. Named for the Roman Emperor Tiberius, the city is famed for the legendary rabbis who resided there, for its hot springs, and for Tiberias’ colorful lakeside promenade. [Steve Kramer]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food

Second Ancient Synagogue Found at Migdal, Israel

A 2000-year-old synagogue from the Second Temple period was recently discovered in Migdal, a large Jewish settlement from this period. Migdal served as the main base for Yosef Ben Matityahu (Flavius Josephus) in his war against the Romans in the Galilee during the Great Revolt. This is the first time that two synagogues have been found in a single settlement from the Second Temple period, the time when Jesus of Nazareth was active. [University of Haifa]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Memoir: The Soviet Man’s American Dream

My grandmother brought up her sons, my father and his brother, in the spirit of loyalty to Communism. She herself could not have been a Bolshevik, for in her youth she had been tainted by her membership in the Menshevik Party. She did not hide her biography and taught her children to be honest and frank with their motherland and the Bolshevik party. In the upbringing of my uncle, her eldest son, my grandmother had tremendous success. [Alex Gordon]

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

‘There Are Jews Here’ Documents A Dwindling World

There are Jews here. This can be a simple statement of fact, but it is often phrased: There are Jews here?! Small towns are not where we usually expect to find Jewish communities. Such small town shtiebels are the subject of a documentary film, There Are Jews Here through America Reframed and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

ADL: Facebook Still Permitting Some Holocaust Denial Posts

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]

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International, Jewish History, USA

Moroccan Cemeteries Waiting to be Visited and Remembered

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]

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International, Jewish History, Travel and Food, Yossef Ben-Meir

Bones of Theodor Herzl’s Grandparents Coming to Israel

(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

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International, Jewish History, Middle East

Good News from Israel (November 28, 2021)

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]

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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

3 Subjects Worthy of Deep Study: Torah, JCC’s, Mideast History

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]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA