By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Some forty years ago a member of the congregation in London I then served told me that as he and his wife were getting old and had no children, they wanted to leave the little money they had to a good cause in Israel. I brought them in touch with
Rabbi Robert Samuels led Leo Baeck Center in Haifa Read More »
Middle East, Obituaries & memorials
By Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — It was early December 1939, just before Chanukah, in Kaunas, Lithuania. The Nazis had yet to occupy the City. Eleven-year old Zalke Genkind wanted to go to the movies, a Laurel and Hardy slapstick comedy, one of his favorites. His parents had refused to give him the money
Chiune Sugihara rescued Jews at cost of his own career Read More »
International, Jewish History
Jewish upbringing helped celebrated deaf actress break barriers to success Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin said the best thing to do for people “who have special needs is to communicate with them.” Marlee Matlin and actor Henry Winkler, a longtime friend and mentor, at the Walk of Fame Ceremony honoring Matlin in Hollywood, May 6, 2009;
‘Healing the world’ is Marlee Matlin’s matter Read More »
Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
BERLIN (WJC) –Germany’s Foreign Office and the Centrum Judaicum Berlin held an event in the German capital in honor of José Arturo Castellanos Contreras, El Salvador’s consul-general in Geneva who during World War II helped to save tens of thousands of Jews from Central Europe from Nazi persecution. Felix Klein, special representative of the Foreign
El Salvador’s Castellanos honored by Germany Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle EastI Can’t Wait By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — “And when you come to the land, you will plant all types of fruit trees. For three years the fruit will be prohibited; in the fourth year it will be sanctified to praise G-d, and in the fifth year and from then on you may
Weekly Torah Portion: Kedoshim Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — This week we read parashat K’doshim. K’doshim means: “holiness.” K’doshim contains laws and instructions to follow if we desire to be holy and Godly human beings. K’doshim contains a verse that, at first glance, does not make sense: “You shall each revere his mother and his father,
Why honoring parents and observing Shabbat are linked Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Toby Klein Greenwald EFRAT, Israel — My in-laws got married in a forest in Slovakia during the Holocaust in 1942. They gave birth to a little boy, and about six months before the war was over, went into hiding in a storeroom beneath the home of a non-Jewish woman in a nearby village. Since
Closing circles in the forest Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Toby Klein Greenwald
Over 20 feet wide, the mural hanging from the ceiling of Burlington, Vermont’s Ohavi Zedek Synagogue is a survivor in multiple senses. Painted by a Lithuanian immigrant in 1910, it is a rare example of the wall paintings that once adorned the wooden synagogues of Eastern Europe that were destroyed in the Holocaust. “There is
Vermont Jews rescue ‘Lost Shul Mural’ Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, USA
A Scottish man was arrested after a video of him teaching his dog to make a Nazi salute and respond to the phrase “gas the Jews” sparked outrage among Jewish groups. Markus Meechan, 28, was detained on suspicion of committing a hate crime and spent a night in jail, the Daily Mail said Monday. The
Scottish man arrested for teaching dog a Nazi salute Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryThe decision by London new Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan, to attend a Holocaust commemoration event as his first public engagement was met with anger by some Twitter users, who responded with virulently anti-Israel comments and even Holocaust denial, Haaretz reported Monday. After the event, Khan tweeted, “So important to reflect, remember and educate about the
London Mayor targeted by anti-Semitism Read More »
International, Jewish History
Looking to distinguish itself from the rest of Iraq and deepen ties with the Kurdish diaspora, the autonomous region of Kurdistan is courting religious minorities, including Jews. Some 300,000 Jews are descended from refugees who fled the region after the establishment of Israel in 1948. Today, most of them live in Israel, though a small
Kurds urge Jews to return to Iraq Read More »
Jewish History, Middle EastA copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales once owned by Anne and Margot Frank, their names inscribed atop the title page, sold at auction Thursday for $62,500 (including the buyer’s premium). The New York City–based Swann Auction Galleries said that “the sale represents the first major offering of Anne Frank material at auction in over two
Where Anne Frank’s ‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales’ Will Go Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish HistoryIsrael’s population has risen to 8,522,000 according to figures published by the Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of Independence Day starting Wednesday evening. The population has grown more than tenfold since Israel was established in 1948 when the country had 806,000 residents. Since last Independence Day the population has grown by 2.2% and the Central
Israel’s population surpasses 8.5 million Read More »
Jewish History, Middle EastThe Pumpkin, an Israeli fort in south Lebanon, first entered Matti Friedman’s mind in the winter of 1997. It was the voice of the radio news announcer that imprinted it there, with the announcement, delivered on a wet Jerusalem day, that his friend, Mordechai, had been gravely wounded in combat with Hezbollah guerrillas. A week
From Lebanon, a sparkling, thoughtful war memoir Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East