NEW YORK (JTA) — Lithuania’s 800-year-old connection to its Jewish population broke down in 1941, when the Nazis invaded the country and murdered nearly all of its 200,000 Jews – often with the complicity of local Lithuanians. This month, 70 years on, Lithuania finally passed historic compensation legislation to… Read more »
Posts By Jigsaw Digital
Marking 25 years, March of the Living uniting survivors with liberators in Poland
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NEW YORK (JTA) — Bernhard Storch grew up in a Jewish family in Silesia, near Poland’s border with Germany. Like many Polish Jews, he moved quickly from town to town as the Nazis advanced in 1939, trying to avoid capture. Before long he was caught and sent to a… Read more »
Keeping Holocaust memory alive — and sacred
NEW YORK (JTA) — The destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE was the first great national tragedy in Jewish history. During the subsequent exile, four fast days commemorating the calamitous event were added to the Jewish calendar: the 10th day of the Hebrew month of… Read more »
Israel must overhaul education system
NEW YORK (JTA) — The teacher stands in front of the sparse classroom, its walls bare and paint peeling. “This school looks like a prison,” one of my fellow travelers whispers. Many of the children are huddled in coats; schools in this neighborhood do not have heat, and the… Read more »
Priceless 14th-century Spanish Haggadah will be big draw at New York museum
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A fourteenth-century Jewish religious book, preserved by experts at The University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library, hand delivered to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it will be on exhibit through Sept. 30. The masterpiece from Catalonian Spain will feature in a special installation called… Read more »
With election months away, bids among Dems for top House committee spots already underway
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Amid the election season tumult, behind-the-scenes campaigns are also underway for who will be the next top Democrats on two key congressional committees — with Jewish lawmakers in the running for both leadership slots. Two veteran congresswomen, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.),… Read more »
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2012 has a Jewish tune
(Cleveland Jewish News) — Michael Belkin knows plenty about the music industry; he was born and raised in it. More than 40 years ago, his father Mike and his uncle Jules founded Belkin Productions, which helped launch the careers of such artists as Johnny Carson, Tiny Tim, Janis Joplin,… Read more »
YOM HASHOAH FEATURE: Monument honors helpers of Czech Jewish family that hid in woods from Nazis
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TRSICE, Czech Republic (JTA) — Nearly 70 years after a Czech Jewish family sought refuge from the Nazis by retreating into a nearby forest and relying on non-Jewish locals for help, an American high school teacher has helped erect a permanent monument to their memory. Last week, several dozen… Read more »
Scion of Azrieli family goes from opera to cantor, and back
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NEW YORK (JTA) — When Sharon Azrieli-Perez told her father — David Azrieli, one of Israel’s biggest real estate moguls — that she wanted to be an opera singer, he told her he’d pay for voice lessons only if she got into Juilliard. That was all the motivation she… Read more »
With Sacks retiring, British Jews mixed on relevancy of chief rabbi
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(JTA) — The search to replace Britain’s powerful longtime chief rabbi has gone international, but even as resumes are gathered and interviews conducted, some are questioning whether the position is still relevant and what it means today for the Anglo Jewish community. As chief rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks brought… Read more »
OBITUARY: Elan Steinberg described as ‘great activist’ and ‘irreplaceable loss to world Jewry’
(JTA) — Tributes and statements of profound respect and admiration are pouring in for Elan Steinberg, former executive director of the World Jewish Congress, who died April 6 of complications from lymphatic cancer. He was 59. “Elan’s premature death will leave a huge void in the Jewish world,” said… Read more »
Evangelical couple sees calling as welcoming ‘lone’ soldiers for Shabbat dinners
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Every Friday night, Scott and Theresa Johnson host Jewish Shabbat dinners for lone Israeli soldiers. The meal begins after sundown, preceded by the Kiddush blessing over the wine and singing of “Shalom Aleichem,” the traditional Hebrew song greeting the Sabbath. There’s one catch, however, made evident… Read more »
Jerusalem mall violence shines light on dark side of Israeli soccer
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JERUSALEM (JTA) — Sports fans aren’t the only people lately paying attention to Israeli soccer. A string of ugly incidents has caused Israelis to focus on the problems of violence and racism within the sport. In mid-March, thousands of Hapoel Tel Aviv fans rioted on the field after their… Read more »
Drake’s profanity-laced ‘re-Bar Mitzvah’ video filmed in Miami shul stirs controversy
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WASHINGTON (JTA) — Thanks to hip-hop superstar Drake’s latest music video, there are now far more eyes focusing on Temple Israel’s bimah than there are even during the High Holidays. And even though the song’s lyrics are decidedly more profane than sacred, the Reform synagogue’s president said he hoped… Read more »
ESSAY: Reflections from Mike Wallace
The following excerpt written by Mike Wallace is from “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl.” © 2005 Dr. Judea and Ruth Pearl. Wallace was senior correspondent on “60 Minutes” and was a reporter for CBS News for more than four decades. (JTA)… Read more »
Israeli female scientist Naama Geva-Zatorsky named Europe’s top young researcher
JERUSALEM (JTA) — She’s young, smart and aims to help treat life-threatening diseases. Naama Geva-Zatorsky, 34, is among a growing group of Israeli women scientists who are gaining recognition for their contributions to scientific research. The Weizmann Institute biologist was in Paris last month to accept the International UNESCO… Read more »
Survivors’ grandchildren feeling an obligation to share Holocaust memories
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(JTA) — Shira Sheps remembers walking through an exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan and stumbling upon her grandmother’s long-ago school reports alongside family photos and her great-grandparents’ wedding invitation. Sheps, 25, had known that her grandmother shortly after Kristallnacht had left Furth, Germany, at… Read more »
On Passover, celebrating the Exodus in the desert — in Moab, Utah
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MOAB, Utah (JTA) — How do you open the door for Elijah when your Seder is outdoors in the middle of the Utah desert? That was one of the challenges facing the 260 people who came from all parts of the country to participate in the fifth annual Adventure… Read more »
Obama administration is ready for Iran talks — but is Iran?
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Obama administration has its Iran ducks in a row: Tehran is coming to the table, Israel is sitting still, most of the world’s major oil buyers and sellers are on board with the sanctions effort, and Congress is in an agreeable mood. Ducks, though, have… Read more »
Meet Michael Ginsburg: On ‘Mad Men,’ Sterling Cooper gets a Jewish copywriter
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NEW YORK (JTA) — “Mad Men” is like the Jews — it gets a lot of attention for a show watched by less than 2 percent of the population. To kick off its fifth season, the 1960s period program, winner of four straight Emmys for best drama, has a new Jewish… Read more »