Tagged Eastern European Jews

VIENNA (JTA) — “Neither ox nor donkey can block the path to socialism,” the East German leader Erich Honecker boldly declared on Aug. 14, 1989. Less than three months later, on Nov. 9, the Berlin Wall would fall. Newsweek’s then-Berlin bureau chief Michael Meyer called 1989 the year that… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) —  Breaking the fast has its own set of traditions. Ashkenazim usually break the fast with something salty, like herring, because they believe fish restores salt lost by the body while fasting. Herring also was the cheapest fish in Eastern Europe, where the custom originated. Egg and… Read more »