Judaism

Lion Sculpture Sited at Common Border of Israel, Gaza and Egypt

The Kerem Shalom Lion, at the well-publicized Southern Gaza border crossing, was sited recently.  Hundreds of trucks per day, an unknown number of people, and “officialdom” pass within touching distance of the Lion as they enter and leave Gaza. [Jerry Klinger]

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International, Israel, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Halloween Costumes Also Serve Well During Purim

Jewish Mom hack: If you do not celebrate “Halloween,” think of Purim. Costumes at certain places and online go on sale and can be used in the late Winter/Spring of Purim. In 2026 (can you believe we are even mentioning 2026?), Purim lands on Monday, March 2. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

A Prayer for Those Who Suddenly are in Danger of Starving

We come before you in not just grief but fear of what tomorrow may bring.  Empty cabinets, growls of hunger, howls of children, undernourishment of families, the indignity and degradation of millions of Americans who’ve had the bread snatched out of their bellies in the midst of a nation of unmatched plenty. [Rabbi Mike Rothbaum]

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Hamburg Group Publishes Book About Jewish Lives Before Nazis Took Over

Approximately two years ago I was contacted by the Institute for the History of the German Jews, based in Hamburg which, together with the Association for Culture and Media, was embarking on a project to commemorate the Jewish families which had  once lived in Hamburg. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Germany, Claims Conference Budget Nearly $1B for Holocaust Survivors

More than 100,000 survivors, with an average age of 88, receive this assistance through the Claims Conference, funded by Germany, and provided by Jewish social service agencies in the United States and around the world and the National Health Service in Israel. [Press Release]

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Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Press Release, USA

Actress Julianna Margulies Stars at JFS Inaugural Joan Jacobs Signature Brunch

The eight-day program they launched in 2022 with her encouragement involved college students sharing true Holocaust stories with pupils in middle school and high school.  Culminating the program for each cohort is transportation and a tour of the Holocaust Museum. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Revisiting Orthodox Scholars’ Views of the Holocaust Three Decades Later

Gathering luminaries of Orthodox thought—Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits, Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka, and others—the volume confronts the Shoah’s theological and halakhic rupture without claiming resolution. Its 363 pages, organized thematically around theodicy, extreme halakhic decision-making, survivor memory, and Jewish continuity, model sustained rabbinic dialogue rather than dogmatic closure. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

‘Kotsuji’s Gift’ Tells of a Japanese Man’s Fight to Save Jewish Lives

Setsuzo Kotsuji, a Japanese scholar, university professor, and Japanese government official, … helped save thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi and Japanese persecution. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors

‘Secondary Antisemitism’ Blames Jews for Making Others Feel Guilty about the Holocaust

Before the creation of the State of Israel, Jews were accused of not having their own land, of being strangers, rootless, parasites, and living only at the expense of other countries and peoples. After the creation of the State of Israel, they are accused of having a home of their own. And although this home is located on land that, according to the Bible, belongs to the Jewish people, they are called “colonizers,” “occupiers,” and “oppressors.” [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, International, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors