Jews were in MENA before Muslims, Arabs – opinion
[ad_1] On August 3, Israeli-British historian Avi Shlaim appeared on The Big Picture, a podcast series hosted by Middle East Eye. Born in Baghdad in 1945, Shlaim’s family fled as refugees to Israel in 1951 when conditions for Jews in Iraq became intolerable. Throughout the discussion, Shlaim referred numerous times to his status as an […]
Owner of former nightclub in Poland discovers mikveh in basement
[ad_1] JTA — Before the Holocaust, the population of the town of Chmielnik, Poland, was around 80% Jewish. Sephardic Jews, having been expelled from Spain during the Inquisition, settled in Chmielnik and eventually built a synagogue in 1638. After the war, only four Jews remained. Today, the building houses a museum of the town’s Jewish […]
Mikvah discovered in basement of former strip club in Poland
[ad_1] (JTA) — Before the Holocaust, the population of the town of Chmielnik, Poland, was around 80% Jewish. Sephardic Jews, having been expelled from Spain during the Inquisition, settled in Chmielnik and eventually built a synagogue in 1638. After the war, only four Jews remained. Today, the building houses a museum of the town’s Jewish […]
The race to save Mosul’s last synagogue
[ad_1] MOSUL, Iraq — The graceful pointed arches and brickwork in muted earth tones — azure blue, burnt sienna and yellow ochre — evoke a long-ago Jewish past in the now nearly ruined Sassoon Synagogue in the old Jewish quarter of this northern Iraqi city. It is the only surviving synagogue in Mosul, which, prior […]
Sabich Is The Popular Middle Eastern Fried Eggplant Sandwich
[ad_1] Sabich is a cold sandwich because its fillings are made in advance. You’ll see street stalls with numerous Tupperware compartments filled with all the premade fix-ins. Fried eggplant offers a rich and earthy flavor with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The hard-boiled eggs come from a Shabbat stew called Hamin in which eggs braise for […]
How a rat infestation in ultra-Orthodox Bnei Brak could reawaken its democracy
[ad_1] Talking to Bnei Brak council member Yaakov Vider on a street corner in this largely ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, city near Tel Aviv was unexpectedly challenging: We were repeatedly interrupted by drivers and passersby who simply had to have a word with him. “Bravo, I’m praying for you,” they would say to the 40-year-old council […]
Academy of Motion Pictures mum on how Jews fit into new inclusion standards
[ad_1] The organization that awards the Oscars has refused to comment on whether Jews can count as an underrepresented group under its new inclusion standards that aim to boost diversity in Hollywood. Jews have long had a significant presence in the American entertainment industry, but the new standards raise questions about on-screen representation and the […]
In northern Israel, massive 3,800-year-old monument stuns and stumps archaeologists
[ad_1] The round knoll of Tel Shimron rises majestically some 70 meters (230 feet) above the Jezreel Valley — but that wasn’t high enough for the rulers of the ancient acropolis during the Middle Bronze Age, who some 3,800 years ago built a massive monument covering nearly the entire top of the hill. Today, archaeologists […]
The Israeli left’s new blood libel: ‘Jewish terrorism’
[ad_1] (August 16, 2023 / JNS) On Friday night, Aug. 4, the Israeli media reported that “Jewish terrorists” had entered the Palestinian village of Burqa in the Binyamin region and murdered a Palestinian in a deliberate act of terrorist murder. The claim was based on the Palestinian Authority’s propaganda organ the Wafa “news” service. The […]
How should Golda Meir be remembered? Deborah Lipstadt weighs in
[ad_1] It appears to be the summer of Golda. Just before “Golda,” a film about the former Israeli prime minister, heads to theaters, and a play titled “The First Lady” premieres at the Habima theater in Tel Aviv, a new biography of the legendary stateswoman is hitting shelves, as the world continues to grapple with […]