December 30, 1066: The Granada Massacre
A Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in Granada, Spain on this date in 1066, crucified Joseph ibn Naghrela, the Jewish vizier to the Berber king, and massacred more than a thousand Jewish families....
50th anniversary of Leningrad trial sparks memories, educational initiatives
On Dec. 15, 1970, a small item appeared at the top of page three of The New York Times under the jarring headline, ‘Soviets Reported Trying 11, Mostly Jews, in Hijacking.’ Few could have predicted that...
Morocco to become first Arab nation to teach Jewish history, culture in schools
Trailblazing change, Morocco on Sunday announced that its schools will soon begin teaching Jewish history and culture as part of the official curriculum—a first in the region and in the North African country, where...
Hasmonean-era oil lamp found in Jerusalem
Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a candle-holder from the Hasmonean period in the City of David in Jerusalem.
The 2,000-year-old lantern, which has been preserved in its entirety, was discovered during excavations in the Old City...
Bar-Ilan University archaeologist: Rare, engraved menorah discovered on tomb façade could date back to...
In the 1980s, during a survey initiated by the Staff Office for Archaeology in Judea and Samaria, a graffito of a seven-branched menorah at the entrance to a tomb on the outskirts of the...
Human ashes from Nazi death camp laid to rest after 75 years
Daniel Bouknight never knew the secret his grandfather held onto for nearly 75 years.
A disabled U.S. Army veteran who served in the occupation of Germany during and after World War II, John J. Bouknight died...
The True History of the Dreidel
עס קומט באַלד דער יום־טובֿ חנוכּה און צוזאַמען מיט אים וועט מען ווידער רעדן פֿון דריידלעך. אַזוי ווי מיט אַ סך זאַכן אין דער ייִדישער געשיכטע, איז די מעשׂה וואָס אַלע קענען פֿון זייערע...
The Great Jewish Calendar Controversy
The Jewish calendar is lunisolar, New Moons start new months and periodically, seven times every nineteen years, the rabbis insert a thirty-day month, Adar I, keeping the lunar months and the seasons synchronized. The...
Archival collection of Hannah Senesh comes to National Library of Israel
In 1944, the Jewish, Hungarian-born paratrooper Hannah Senesh (Szenes) was parachuted into occupied Europe by the British in a desperate attempt to save Hungarian Jews from the Nazi death camps. Captured, tortured and executed...
November 30: Israel commemorates the expulsion of the Jews from Arab lands
On June 23, 2014 the Knesset adopted a law which designates November 30th as an annual, national day of commemoration for the 850,000 Jewish refugees who were displaced from Arab countries and Iran in the 20th...