Tag: Jewish history
Hebrew’s journey: ‘King David and I could probably understand each other’
A recent article in National Geographic lays out the history of the Hebrew language, its ancient origins, modern revival and continued evolution.
Mirit Bessire, Hebrew-language program director at Johns Hopkins University, said that “King David and I could probably understand...
Holocaust survivors to rewrite recently discovered Torah scroll
The Survivor Torah Project, an effort to restore a Torah scroll hidden from the Nazis, has now reached Toronto, Canada.
The scroll was found recently after being hidden for 75 years, given for safekeeping by a...
Brown University project is digitizing 10,000 ancient Israel inscriptions
A 1,500 to 2,100-year-old Hebrew text from Jerusalem refers to “Shalom, mother of the synagogue.” And two burial niche inscriptions from Beit She’arim in the Galilee, both dated 250 to 350 C.E., refer in Greek to “Sara daughter...
Defying the Holocaust didn’t just mean uprising and revolt: Remembering Jews’ everyday resistance
Richard Glazar insisted that no one survived the Holocaust without help. To this Prague-born Jewish survivor, who endured Nazi imprisonment at Treblinka and Theresienstadt, plus years in hiding, it was impossible to persevere without others’...
Non-Jewish day-school students to compete in ‘JewQ’ knowledge championship
How many Jewish holiday foods can you name? In what city did King Solomon build the Beit Hamikdash, the Jewish Temple? What did Rabbi Akiva see that made him realize he could, at 40,...
Amendment to Oregon law adds teaching Jewish history in public schools
In a unanimous vote of the Oregon legislature, H.B. 2905 now adds Jews to the list of marginalized peoples, whose histories and contributions public schools must teach under state law.
The law, which state representatives passed in...
For Mel Brooks, world history (no joke!) repeats itself
Nearly 40 years after his “History of the World, Part I” debuted in 1981, Mel Brooks released “History of the World, Part II” on the eve of Purim, which began on March 6.
Brooks (he’ll...
Holocaust museums and memorials have work cut out for them attracting non-Jews
In a study published in the Journal of Travel Research last year, scholars from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that a visit to the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, which they dubbed “dark tourism,” made...
Golda Meir would agree with Netanyahu on this one
There are many issues worth having an argument over; then again, some are better left alone. For example, a debate about whether or not the actress who is hired to play Golda Meir in...
Israeli archaeologists say 2,200-year-old sling bullet possibly linked to Hanukkah story
Israeli researchers recently discovered a lead projectile dating from the Hellenistic period in the ancient palace at Yavne, an archaeological site in central Israel.
The 4.4 centimeter (1.7 inch) long projectile was designed to be...