Tag: Jewish history
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...
First-ever certificate of Jewish ancestry connects descendants of forced converts to stolen past
Millions of descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, whose ancestors were forcibly converted from the 14th Century onwards, can now apply for a Certificate of Sephardic Ancestry, it was announced Monday.
The initiative was launched...
In his latest documentary, Ken Burns puts America under the microscope
Ken Burns can’t recall ever learning about the Holocaust in school.
America’s most decorated documentarian, who boasts epic films like “Baseball,” “The Civil War,” “Jazz” and “The Roosevelts,” was asked by the United States Holocaust...
When Christians blow the shofar, it’s a wake-up call for Jews
They were blowing the shofar, but it wasn’t Rosh Hashanah.
On Jan. 5, 2021, the sound of the ram’s horn echoed in the streets of Washington, D.C., as participants in the Jericho March circled the...
Extremely rare Judean quarter-shekel coin repatriated to Israel from the US
An extremely rare Judean quarter-shekel coin, minted by Jewish rebels fighting the Roman empire some 2,000 years ago, was returned to the State of Israel in an official ceremony in New York on Monday,...
Romance, intrigue, pragmatism, activism: For A.B. Yehoshua, Israel encompassed all
When it comes to novelist A.B. Yehoshua, who died on June 14 at the age of 85, it’s difficult to separate his romances from his political activism. Despite his extreme views on Jewish identity, the...
Rare finds online: Haggadot connect Jews to Passover and family history
Veteran Haggadah collector Ariel Winer was delighted when he learned that Israel’s National Library (NLI) is making some of the world’s most important and exquisite Haggadot available for download at no cost. “They should have done...
Yale Strom’s Search for Jewish Music throughout Eastern Europe
In retrospect, ethnomusicologist Yale Strom probably owes a thank you to the local klezmer band members who turned down his request to play violin with them. That rejection prompted him to decide to form...
The Farhud pogrom: From Iraq to Israel
Rioters stormed the streets, lit synagogues on fire, looted and destroyed Jewish homes and stabbed a Jew in the back. No, it wasn’t 1938 in Germany or 1929 in Hebron. These riots were instigated...
April 19, 1943: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began
On April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. By May 16, 1943, the Germans had crushed the uprising and left...