Soon after Rabbi Moti Grumach moved to Kyoto, Japan, about three years ago to serve as an emissary there for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, he realized that a local craft dovetailed neatly with Jewish traditions. Warosoku, or candles made from the fruit of the haze tree — or Japanese sumac, sometimes called the wax tree — […]
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Built in 1913, Royallieu military barracks, which extended over 20 hectares, was transformed into an internment camp for 1944 to 1941 political prisoners Part of the former camp Royallieu (3 buildings on 24) was preserved to become the Memorial internment and deportation. About 50 000 people, men, and women (political prisoners, resistance fighters, Jews, foreigners) […]
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This new digital resource takes the form of a freely available interactive website, which maps stories, histories, and recollections of the Jewish community who once lived in the Cheetham Hill, Strangeways, and Hightown areas of North Manchester. The Memory Map of Jewish Manchester aims to create a lasting document of the living memory of […]
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Once, on my travels in the US, I encountered a young lady who had recently emigrated from Kenya. I recognized her origins by her distinctive accent. When I mentioned that I, too, was African, she looked at me aghast, not believing that someone of European appearance with a neo-British accent could have been born and […]
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Tangier is a mixture of North Africa, Spain, Portugal, and France. it is the ideal melting pot and has a rich Jewish history. This beautiful city, only 35 minutes from Spain by hydrofoil or two hours by normal ferry boat service, is a multicultural society, predominantly Muslim, but with small Christian and Jewish communities who […]
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Standing on the bimah of the Great Synagogue of Slonim in what is now Belarus is a profound and moving experience; the ghosts swirl, someone in our group is crying. The Nazis set out not just to annihilate the Jewish people, but also destroy their culture, consigning their very existence to oblivion. In places like […]
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Evidence has emerged of a second Japanese diplomat who provided visas to European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, raising the prospect that further undiscovered heroes are waiting to be recognized. Saburo Nei — who served as Imperial Japan’s consul-general in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok during World War II — issued transit visas for […]
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A last-ditch effort in the Caribbean saves the life of Israeli seafarer stranded by the coronavirus It was eerily reminiscent of the route that Jews-turned-pirates fleeing Spain and Portugal in the 17th century would take. Making their way across the North Atlantic, these legendary swashbuckling Jewish pirates once roamed the Caribbean from Curaçao to Jamaica. […]
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Unfortunately, flights to Israel will probably be canceled for the foreseeable future. This means your Israel trip, the one you’ve been planning for some time now, just went down the drain. Hard to find a silver lining, unless you decide to take it easy and create a new virtual itinerary that lets you experience the […]
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As May is Jewish American Heritage Month, we’re shedding some light on the incredible history of Israel. This can be an eye-opening lesson any day of the week — especially with the kids cooped up at home, running low on history and geography lesson plans. Any future world traveler or self-proclaimed wanderer will be intrigued […]
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