Tag Archive for Jewish Culture

| February 26, 2019
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President Sisi: We’ll build Synagogues, should Jews return to Egypt

The Egyptian President promised a US delegation that Egypt has committed itself to clean up the ancient Bassatine Cemetery in Cairo, that dates back to the 9th century and believed to be the 2nd-oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. In December, Sisi also announced a multimillion-dollar project to restore Jewish heritage sites in Egypt.

By HERB KEINON

 

If Jews are interested in establishing a Jewish community in Egypt, the government will build synagogues and other communal institutions, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told a US delegation during a two-hour meeting last week.

The delegation was made up of the Anwar Sadat Congressional Gold Medal Commission that advocated the granting of the US Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to the slain Egyptian president who made peace with Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| April 2, 2018
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Israel’s museum’s on Jewish humor opens – So funny, you’re gonna plotz

Beit Hatfutsot Museum of the Jewish People opens a new exhibit, “Let There Be Laughter,” hosting the Marx Brothers, Jerry Seinfeld, Woody Allen, Wise Men of Chelm among scores of Jewish comedians presented at the Tel Aviv exhibit.

By Maya Cohen

 

A new exhibit at the Beit Hatfutsot Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv explores Jewish humor throughout history and across the world.

A new exhibit at the Beit Hatfutsot Museum focuses on Jewish humor – Screenshot: The Beit Hatfutsot Museum of the Jewish People

The “Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World” exhibit, which launched over the weekend, includes film clips, stand-up performances, collectors’ items, posters, photographs and more. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags:
| February 22, 2017
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The Vatican and Rome’s Jewish community host Menorah exhibition

 

The artifacts depicting Judaism’s sacred seven branched candelabra used in the Temple in Jerusalem, are being loaned by nearly 20 museums around the world, including Paris’ Louvre & London’s National Gallery.

By AFP

 

The Vatican and Rome’s Jewish community on Monday presented an ambitious exhibition on the menorah which will bring together 130 works featuring the iconic Jewish candelabrum, an ancient symbol of the faith.

The show on the seven-candle Hebrew lamp will run simultaneously from May 15 to July 23 at the Vatican museums and the synagogue complex in a city which once housed one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| October 16, 2016
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5 very Jewish moments in the life of Bob Dylan, born, Robert Zimmerman

 

view videoHere’s a look into a few great ‘Jewish moments’ of Bob Dylan, the 15th Jewish Laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature.

By Gabe Friedman

 

JTA – Maybe the times are a changin’? Bob Dylan became the first person considered primarily a musician to win the Nobel Prize in Literature when he was bestowed the prestigious honor on Thursday. The Bard — as he is known affectionately by fans, underscoring how he is often seen equally as a poet and musician — became the fifteenth Jew to win the literature prize, joining the ranks of Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Patrick Modiano. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News, Video's worth Viewing | Tags: , ,
| March 4, 2016
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Jewish community from Italian town of Biella uses world’s oldest Torah scroll

 

The Biella Torah, written 8 centuries ago and is still in use by a Jewish congregation in northern Italy, has been identified as the oldest Torah scroll in use.

By Shoshana Miskin

 

A synagogue in the Italian town of Biella stores what has been identified as the world’s oldest Torah scroll still currently in use.

Carbon-14 dating conducted by the Geo-chronology laboratory of the University of Illinois dated the scroll to around the year 1250 CE.

“This is exciting news that is of extraordinary importance for Italian Judaism,” said Dario Disegni, President of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Italy. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| December 9, 2015
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Jewish Pride: Photo Gallery of Hollywood Stars Brandishing Their Star of David

view videoWATCH trailer of Seth Rogan wearing a knitted sweater featuring a big Star of David in a new comedy, ‘The Night Before.’
•Kate Winslet is a brutal mafiosa who wears a Star of David in the thriller ‘Triple 9.’
• Christian Bale, Vin Diesel,  & even Miley Cyrus have also been photographed sporting the Jewish symbol, turning it into a ‘must’ Hollywood accessory.

By Amir Bogen

 

The Star of David is the ultimate Jewish symbol. It has followed our tribe through the ages, and ended up on the flag of the State of Israel. Every time we see it we feel a sense of belonging and familiarity. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| December 10, 2014
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Poland’s Constitutional Court overturns ban on kosher slaughter

 

Constitutional court’s decision in favor of an EJA-led petition against the ban, that would have been implemented in 2015, came just in time.

European Jewish Association director: ‘This is an important day for all European Jews.’

ByYnet

Poland’s constitutional court on Wednesday allowed the resumption of kosher slaughter in the country, ruling in favor of a petition to overturn a ban implemented last year.

Kosher slaughter will remain lawful in Poland. (Photo: EPA)

Kosher slaughter will remain lawful in Poland. – Photo: EPA

“Jewish communities all over Europe can sigh in relief,” said a statement by the European Jewish Association (EJA), which led the drive to reallow kosher slaughter in Poland. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| December 5, 2014
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Kuwaiti Man Discovers He’s ‘The Jewish Enemy’

Mumtaz Halawa a Kuwaiti Muslim in Canada, begins a dialogue with a Jewish man, was shocked to find out he was Jewish after years of being educated to hate Jews.

By i24news

 

He was born as a Muslim in Kuwait, never heard a good word said about Jews, and then suddenly, in the middle of his life, Mumtaz Halawa’s entire world turned over. He discovered that he was Jewish.

Orot

Orot “Mordechai Halawa”

After quite a difficult crisis, he immigrated to Israel and changed his name to Mordechai. Until this very day, he has yet to tell his father – a member of the al-Masri family from Nablus who lives in Jordan – about the change has gone through. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags:
| October 1, 2014
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RIP Rabbi Hyman Krustofski: The Simpsons make shiva call for Krusty’s father

For the show’s 26th season premiere, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, the blue-haired Krusty the Clown’s father, passed away on Sunday’s episode.

By and Raffi Wineburg

 

JTA- For diehard Jewish fans of “The Simpsons,” a Mourner’s Kaddish will be in order at this weekend’s Yom Kippur services. Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, the father of the blue-haired Krusty the Clown (voiced by Jackie Mason, who won an Emmy in 1992 for the role), passed away on this Sunday’s episode, the show’s 26th season premiere.

Rabbi Krustofski

Rabbi Hyman Krustofski – From The Simpsons to the synagogue. Janet Leahy has helped her rabbi spruce up his speeches.

Continue Reading »
Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| August 31, 2014
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Do you have Jewish roots? – New ‘home’ genetics kits could identify Jewish past

New home genetic tests kit could deliver answers for those who feel an affinity for Jews and closeness to Israel.

 

Millions of people around the world may discover Jewish roots with the increasing availability of home genetics tests and concurrent growth in popularity of genealogical websites, according to a Jerusalem think tank.

Ethiopian Jews

Uri Perednik poses with Ethiopian Jews in Addis Ababa. – Photo: Courtesy

The Jewish People Policy Institute, an independent body founded by the Jewish Agency in 2002, focused on Jewish continuity that conducted research regarding this issue, announced on Wednesday that earlier this summer it had recommended to the government, as well as Diaspora communities that they work to connect with people discovering that they have Jewish ties. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , ,
| June 18, 2014
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NY Met reconsiders, cancels anti-Semitic broadcast Klinghoffer opera

Critics say the broadcast “The Death of Klinghoffer” glorifies murder & terrorists, centers on the death of an American Jew at the hands of Palestinian militants is an anti-Jewish and anti-Israel opera.

 

The New York Metropolitan Opera announced Tuesday that it had canceled plans to broadcast the opera “The Death of Klinghoffer,” following an outpouring of criticism that the opera glorifies murder and could fan global anti-Semitism.

While 69 year old disabled World War II Veteran Leon Klinghoffer sat in his wheelchair aboard the Achilles Lauro cruise ship on October 7, 1985, four Palestinian terrorists shot him in the head and threw him overboard as his wife watched in horror. Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer had been celebrating their wedding anniversary by taking this cruise.

While 69 year old disabled World War II Veteran Leon Klinghoffer sat in his wheelchair aboard the Achilles Lauro cruise ship on October 7, 1985, four Palestinian terrorists shot him in the head and threw him overboard as his wife watched in horror.

Continue Reading »
Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , ,
| June 15, 2014
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Discovery of Europe’s oldest mikvah revived Sicily’s ancient Jewish communities

The discovery of this mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) was as revealing as it was serendipitous for the Jews in Syracuse. Forgotten for too long, they are coming back home.

 

An attractive island in the Mediterranean, Sicily has been a hub of migration routes for millennia. Jews are thought to have been part of the patchwork at least as early as the 1st century, after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.

The ancient mikveh baths uncovered in Syracuse (Amalia Daniele di Bagni)

The ancient mikveh baths uncovered in Syracuse, possibly the oldest in Europe. – Photo: Amalia Daniele di Bagni

At the end of the 15th century, Spain, which ruled in Sicily, expelled the Jews from its entire domain.

Continue Reading »
Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| June 11, 2014
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Civil Marriage Bill Rejected in Israel’s Knesset

Civil marriage bill falls hard in landslide vote; Israel’s PM Binyamin Netanyahu attends to personally place his opposing vote.

By Hezki Ezra

 

The Knesset rejected Labor Mk Stav Shafir’s Civil Marriage bill Wednesday, which lost to a landslide vote of 19 for and 52 against.

Both Yesh Atid and Likud wholeheartedly rejected the civil marriage bill; surprisingly, even many members of Justice Minister Tzipi Livni’s left-leaning HaTnua party also abstained from voting. In addition, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself entered the voting hall to cast his opposing vote.

Shafir was reportedly shocked at the outcome, accusing several MKs and Ministers – specifically Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Culture Minister Limor Livnat (Likud), and Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) of reneging on promises to support the civil marriage bill. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 19, 2014
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Labor joins Likud MKs to allow Jews to pray on Temple Mount

 

Both Labor & Likud Knesset members join effort to push controversial legislation to open up Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount compound that’s currently permitted for Muslims only.

By Akiva Novik

 

Labor and Likud MKs have joined forces on a new bill that proposes to allow Jews to pray at the Temple Mount compound – for the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple, as Jews are currently barred from praying at the site.

Palestinians praying at Temple Mount (Photo: AFP)

Palestinians praying at Temple Mount – Photo: AFP

MK Miri Regev (Likud) and MK Hilik Bar (Labor) are expected to introduce the bill for discussion in the Knesset. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| April 20, 2014
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Will Bill & Hillary Clinton have Jewish grandchildren?

 

Looking at the responses generated by Chelsea Clinton’s announcement, it’s anybody’s guess.

By

 

 

Chelsea Clinton’s announcement Thursday afternoon that she and Jewish hubby Marc Mezvinsky are expecting their first child has set off a fairly predictable wave of reactions Jewish-wise, not unlike the interest their 2010 wedding generated.

File photo: Chelsea Clinton and her husband Marc Mezvinsky. February 9, 2011.

Chelsea Clinton and her husband Marc Mezvinsky. February 9, 2011.- Photo: AP

Interfaithfamily.com quickly seized the pregnancy as an “opportunity to share with ALL expecting parents” its various resources for new interfaith parents, including a booklet called “To Circumcise or Not: That is the Question.”

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, The Jewish Press chose this headline: “Chelsea Clinton Pregnant With Non-Jewish Child.”

Continue Reading »
Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , ,
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