Blog

While most of us remember the 1995 murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Jewish history’s earlier political assassinations may be less familiar. A politically-motivated murder in the biblical era and two during the British mandate still have consequences that are felt to this day. Gedaliah ben Ahikam Filled with massacres, rape and bloodlust, the Bible should probably come with a trigger warning. Adultery, rape, infidelity, genocide, incest and coldblooded assassinations unfold across the Bible’s pages, uninhibited and uncensored. And with no holds barred, Israel’s biblical leaders are depicted in all their sinful glory. Unfolding amongst this chaos and corruption are[…]

There is an open debate regarding Salvador Dali’s attitude towards Jews. Due to his initial sympathy to Hitler and his decision to live in Franco’s Spain. But in 1968, Dalí published a 25 print edition, in 250 copies, paid by the Shorewood Publishing and Israel Bonds to celebrate Israel’s 20th anniversary. Works that eventually extended the original commission and were rich with feeling, sensitivity and a dose of respect. The April 1968 issue of Hadassah Magazine, marking Israel’s anniversary of the State of Israel caught the excitement of Dali’s new work entitled “Aliyah, The Rebirth of Israel”. “An epic history[…]

“Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe’s beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald.” These were the opening words of “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel – a holocaust survivor, author, philosopher and intellectual. Sure, there were more charismatic orators such as Winston Churchill, Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler or Charles de Gaulle, and more famous speeches than his, such as “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King or the unforgettable last words by King Charles I before his[…]

Jewish success in the fashion industry is well documented – from generations of textile traders to modern day fashion icons like Donna Karran, Ralph Lauren and Isaac Mizrahi. But the story of Gabrielle Hanoka is somewhat different. The Parisian fashion legend out of Jewish Egypt. She was born in Alexandria and commerce was never foreign to her, as her father managed a tobacco factory. Like many young girls of the local elite she received a French styled education. She first visited Paris as a student at the age of 18, the year before her marriage to Raymond Aghion. Aghion was[…]

By Rachel Druck Simchat Torah is a holiday that celebrates the Torah and the Jewish people’s continuous connection to it. In honor of the holiday, below is the story of over 1,000 Torah scrolls that were saved from destruction. Walking through the new Synagogue Hall at Beit Hatfutsot, it is clear that while Jews throughout the world may have different customs and practices, the world of the synagogue can be a uniting force in Jewish life. However, there is one thing in particular that unites nearly 1,400 synagogues around the world: they are home to a Czech Torah Scroll. The story of how[…]

From the Thanksgiving connection, through your psychological analysis, recycling and how all of this has to do with Iraq – Here are Five less-known facts about the third Holiday of the Jewish calendar. The Iraqi-American connection In pre-independence North American colonies Jews would follow an old Iraqi custom of preparing fashioned birds out of hollow eggs in memory of departed family members. The custom probably reached North America as the first communities in the region were Sephardic. The Sukkah-Boat How about this for a romantic holiday – a sukkah boat in Venice! Guests can enjoy the canals under a canopy[…]

Jewish involvement in politics is well documented – and Jews have risen to the Prime-Ministerial rank in several prominent nations with significant communities.These include France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine (currently) and Hungary. But here are somewhat more surprising cases: Jews who became leaders of small nations. Some of which are very small communities.   Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics – Latvia Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics was a Latvian politician and diplomat who served as the first Foreign Minister of Latvia from its independence until 1924 and again from December of the same year until his death. He also served two terms as the Prime Minister[…]

The Trial of the Talmud On June 12th, 1242, dozens of wagons led by horses came across a main square in Paris, each loaded with thousands of volumes of the Babylonian Talmud. Crowds of people who already heard the rumors were filling the squares and streets, headed by an apostate Jew called Nicholas Donin, who most likely had a triumphant grin all over his face. Just minutes later, the wagons with their priceless contents, turned into huge columns of fire. Burning Talmud books was a common anti-Semitic practice in the middle ages. Mass acts of burning Jewish books took place[…]

“For hours the black-haired Jew boy, diabolic joy in his face, waits in ambush for the unsuspecting girl whom he defiles with his blood and thus robs her from her people … The end is not only the end of the freedom of the peoples oppressed by the Jew, but also the end of this parasite upon the nations. After the death of his victim, the vampire sooner or later dies too.” (from Mein Kampf) Much like the yellow badge, the ghettos, and the mass deportations Jews suffered, the metaphor of the Jewish vampire was not a Nazi invention. Hitler was[…]

“For hours the black-haired Jew boy, diabolic joy on his face, waits in ambush for the unsuspecting girl whom he defiles with his blood , thus robs her from her people … The end is not only the end of the freedom of the peoples oppressed by the Jew, but also the end of this parasite upon the nations. After the death of his victim, the vampire sooner or later dies too.” (from Mein Kampf) Much like the yellow badge, the ghettos, and the mass deportations Jews suffered, the metaphor of the Jewish vampire was not a Nazi invention. Hitler[…]