December 03, 2008

Unspeakable Acts, But We Must Speak Out

Tuesday night I attended a memorial service at Chabad of Stamford for Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg and other victims of terror in Mumbai. Hundreds of people packed the sanctuary to hear Fairfield County rabbis, Stamford Mayor Dannell Malloy and others speak.

The terrorists committed unspeakable acts, and my sense is they did so with glee and delight at the opportunity to have Jews in their claws. The blood-drenched walls of the Chabad House, the tears of the Holtzbergs' two-year old son, Moshe, the funeral on the Mount of Olives all testify to "Kiddush Hashem" -- the sanctification of God's Name through martyrdom.

At the memorial, the speakers addressed a great Jewish question: How do you speak about, and against, unspeakable acts? The rabbis combined grief with a Jewish version of Joe Hill's dictum: "Don't Mourn -- Organize!"

Continue reading "Unspeakable Acts, But We Must Speak Out"

Van | 12/03/08 at 05:06 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 10, 2008

Madre de Dios, the Principal is a JEW!!

I'm surprised the Feb. 8 NY Times story "In Bronx School, Culture Shock, Then Revival," didn't get more blog comment. The story was about a Chabadnik becoming principal (the 7th in two years) at a junior high in the Bronx. Reporter Elissa Gootman laid the ethnic anxieties on thick and heavy from the beginning. The story practically writes itself:

Teachers, parents and students at the school, which is mostly Hispanic and black, were equally taken aback by the sight of their new leader: A member of the Chabad-Lubavitch sect of Hasidic Judaism with a beard, a black hat and a velvet yarmulke.

“The talk was, ‘You’re not going to believe who’s running the show,’ ” said Lisa DeBonis, now an assistant principal. . .

Mr. Waronker, 39, a former public school teacher, was in the first graduating class of the New York City Leadership Academy, which Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg created in 2003 to groom promising principal candidates. Considered one of the stars, he was among the last to get a job, as school officials deemed him “not a fit” in a city where the tensions between blacks and Hasidic Jews that erupted in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in 1991 are not forgotten.

Think about that "not forgotten." What is that supposed to mean? Who's not forgetting, and what are the implications of memory? That blacks and Hasidic Jews are in a state of eternal warfare?

The story really gets priceless when Gootman interviews a parent:

In fact, one parent, Angie Vazquez, 37, acknowledged that her upbringing had led her to wonder: “Wow, we’re going to have a Jewish person, what’s going to happen? Are the kids going to have to pay for lunch?”

Let's deconstruct what's going on here.

Continue reading "Madre de Dios, the Principal is a JEW!!"

Van | 02/10/08 at 02:27 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 03, 2008

Dallas Cowboy Vet Now Running the Rebbe's Playbook

Let me continue my Dallas Cowboys skein with a most surprising story: Alan Veingrad, an offensive lineman on the 1993 Cowboys' Super Bowl winning team, is now a Chabadnik. The NY Jewish Week tells his tale here. Veingrad retired from football after the Super Bowl season and began seeking to a fill a spiritual void. An Orthodox cousin invited him to a Shabbat dinner, then Torah classes. One thing led to another:

Slowly, he started attending classes and Shabbat meals under Chabad aegis. “I wanted to feel all the time the inspiration I felt on Friday nights,” he says. After a trip to Israel four years ago, when he started wearing a kipah and tzitzit, he and his wife and three children decided to commit themselves to an observant life. Their kitchen was kashered, the children were enrolled in Jewish day schools. Alan became Shlomo, the Hebrew name he had received at birth. “I never looked back,” Veingrad says.

The next logical step would be for these good people to park their Mitzvamobile outside Texas Stadium on Sunday game days for a kosher tailgate party.

Van | 02/03/08 at 10:37 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

July 26, 2007

Sprucing Up the Tomb of the Prophet Nahum

Gateway Pundit has a great report on renovations in Iraq of the Tomb of the Prophet Nahum, at the Al Qush Synagogue, complete with photos. It could be a wonderful tourist site, so start packing that sunscreen. You can go straight to the tomb's website (!) at http://www.tombofnahum.com/

Van | 07/26/07 at 06:47 AM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

July 16, 2007

Topical humor in the Middle East

UPDATE: Per Dan's critique, I made the first joke more politically correct.

Two Middle East jokes for your enjoyment . . .

A fleeing al Qaeda guerrilla, desperate for water, was plodding through the Iraqi desert when he saw something far off in the distance. Hoping to find water, he walked toward the object, only to find a little old Jewish man at a small stand selling neckties. The Arab terrorist asked, "Do you have water?"

Continue reading "Topical humor in the Middle East"

Judith | 07/16/07 at 02:08 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 11, 2007

The Old Jewish Quarter of Nineveh/Mosul

A blog friend emailed me this story, in which the Rabbi of the 101st Airborne Division describes his inquries into the existence of the old Jewish section of Mosul/Nineveh:

As I entered light came through the half-open roof, and I could just make out writing engraved on the walls. It was Hebrew. It was then that I knew had stumbled into the ancient synagogue of the city of Mosul-Nineveh. My heart broke as I climbed over the garbage piles that filled the room where, for hundreds of years, the prayers of Jews had reached the heavens. I realized I was probably the first Jew to enter this holy place in over 50 years. Over three-and-a half meters of garbage filled the main sanctuary, and what appeared to be the women’s section. I could barely make it out because of the filth, but there was Hebrew writing on the walls.

A lovely story about discovering traces of the past community. Read the whole thing.

Alcibiades | 02/11/07 at 11:39 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 29, 2007

Cinnamon Stillwell on Indians: Interview with David Yeagley at BadEagle.com

In my post-9/11 political travels on the right, I've often gravitated towards others I see as minority Republicans and/or conservatives in their respective environments. In my own case, it's being right-of-center in San Francisco and a politically conservative Jewish woman. But whether it be Jewish, Black, Asian or Hispanic Republicans or even French Neocons, we all have in common communities that typically lean leftward or are at least predominantly Democrat.

On this note, I made the acquaintance some time ago of self-described American Indian patriot David Yeagley. Both of us have written for Frontpagemag.com and David's articles on conservativism and the Indian community, not to mention some liberals' attempts to erase Indian mascots and names from the American landscape (in the name of political correctness), really got my attention. He is the only Indian writer I have run across espousing such political viewponts and his website, BadEagle.com, and its extensive forums, have become a regular destination.

Continue reading "Cinnamon Stillwell on Indians: Interview with David Yeagley at BadEagle.com"

Cinnamon | 01/29/07 at 11:14 PM | 5 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 22, 2007

Yemenite Jews flee their homes following threats by extremists

Some 45 Jews of Sa'ada county in Yemen left their homes after being threatened by radical Muslims, the Saudi daily Al Wattan reported on Monday.

According to the report, the extremists told the Jews to leave their homes within ten days, after which time they will be exposed to abductions and looting.

I hadn't realized that there were any Jews still living in Yemen, but apparently there are a few hundred still, who are made to pay special dhimmi taxes to the government for protection.

Continue reading "Yemenite Jews flee their homes following threats by extremists"

Alcibiades | 01/22/07 at 12:18 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

December 30, 2006

Are the Pathans Descended from the Tribe of Ephraim?

A new study suggests a genetic link exists between the Pathans and the Jews, a connection rumored for many years.

According to Aafreedi's study, which was published as an e-book, about 650 out of the 1,500 members of the Afridi Pathan clan in Malihabad, India, may possess genetic material shared by nearly 40 percent of Jews worldwide. If confirmed, the findings would support the clan's connection to the tribe of Ephraim, Aafreedi said. A related Indian Pathan group numbering some 800 people was not tested for the project.

Although he performed the research for his doctoral studies at Lucknow University, the main motivation for Aafreedi's research was personal.

"My uncle told me when I was a child about our connection to the Israelites," he said.

He has been deeply interested in his ancestry ever since, especially in "the fact that the tribe is identified with Israel."

..."Historically, there were Persian writers who wrote about the connection between the Pathans and the people of Israel," said [Michael] Freund. "When the British arrived in the area there were missionaries who wrote about it as well. There is quite a good deal of historical evidence to support this assertion."

Continue reading "Are the Pathans Descended from the Tribe of Ephraim?"

Alcibiades | 12/30/06 at 11:46 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

October 27, 2006

Shabbat Music Friday: Back to Babylon

Back to Babylon: 2000 Years of Jewish Life in Iraq is a conference being held at Sephardic House in NYC the first weekend of November. It is inexpensive for a 4-day conference, so if you are in the NYC Metro area, and have an interest in Middle East Jewry, please consider attending at least one day. Among those presenting will be lawyer Carole Basri, who has advised Iraqi officials on legal matters under the auspices of the Coalition. Yair Dalal will perform. There will be a Shabbat dinner with Iraqi zmirot.

Since today is Shabbat Music Friday at Kesher Talk, I have a medley of Iraqi versions of Shabbat favorites for you, all from the Hibba music site:

Ki Eshmera Shabbat.
Tsur Mishelo.
Ashir Lael.

The photo is from a collection of classic Iraqi music of the 1920s:

Shbahoth is the Babylonian (Iraqi) Jewish term for songs of praise. This anthology presents for the first time on CD the greatest of the Iraqi Jewish singers accompanied by the finest instrumentalists in historical recordings from the 1920s. This reissue, in carefully remastered sound, echoes two millennia of tradition.

The Sephardic House posted a short history of Jews in Babylonia (now Iraq) as a PDF. Did you know that until the 1930s the population of Baghdad was one-fourth Jewish?

Continue reading "Shabbat Music Friday: Back to Babylon"

Judith | 10/27/06 at 05:17 PM | 0 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

October 13, 2006

A Rosh Hashanah musical encounter

This really belongs back with the Yamim Noraim posts but I just saw it yesterday.

Orthomom:

I was walking to shul this morning with the two youngest Orthokids and we stopped at an intersection to wait for the light to change. As we waited, a ginormous black Cadillac Escalade, all tricked out with shiny spinning rims, glides by, windows down, music blasting. The song? Matisyahu's "Youth". Let me tell you, I caught quite the look of bewilderment on second-to-youngest Orthokid's face.

The world's a strange, strange place, my friends.

Judith | 10/13/06 at 04:03 PM | 0 Comments | 5 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

The Original Kinky Jew Shakes Up Texas Gov Race

Singer/novelist/gadfly Kinky Friedman has come bolting out of his ranchito in the Texas Hill Country to cause a stir with his bid for Governor of Texas. Kinky's presence in the race is throwing a kink, so to speak, in the plans of other candidates in the race. Earlier this week, Democratic candidate Chris Bell called Kinky and asked him to drop out of the race. The Dallas Morning News reports,

Mr. Bell left a voice mail message on Mr. Friedman's personal cellphone Tuesday, asking for a meeting at the mystery writer and former bandleader's ranch near Kerrville, Mr. Friedman said.

Mr. Bell later confirmed he sought a meeting so he could try to talk Mr. Friedman into dropping out of the four-way race, which is in its home stretch. The election is Nov. 7.

"I had hoped to talk to Kinky privately, but now that it's been reported by the Dallas Morning News, I'm going to ask him publicly: Please join me in defeating [Republican incumbent] Rick Perry," Mr. Bell said in a statement his campaign issued late Tuesday.

Above is a gratuitous photo of your correspondent modeling the latest in Kinkywear.

Continue reading "The Original Kinky Jew Shakes Up Texas Gov Race"

Van | 10/13/06 at 02:47 PM | 4 Comments | 2 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

October 11, 2006

Hollywood Director David Zucker: Another 9/11 Republican

As a self-proclaimed 9/11 Republican who started an online discussion group for people like myself called the 9/11 Neocons (as in new conservatives), I've been following the various additions to our ranks with great interest. And Hollywood has been the source of more than one 9/11 "convert." Actors Ron Silver and James Woods and comedian Dennis Miller come to mind.

It's no coincidence that Jews figure prominently among the ranks of Hollywood (and otherwise) former lefties, as the rising anti-Semitism on the left continues to alienate the non-suicidal among us.

Now it seems comedy director David Zucker (who directed one of my all-time favorite comedies, "Airplane") has joined the fold.

Continue reading "Hollywood Director David Zucker: Another 9/11 Republican"

Cinnamon | 10/11/06 at 01:20 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

October 08, 2006

Pirates Oy Vey!

As a synthesis of two posts I've recently blogged, Scionology on Jewish ancestors, and The Knights of St. John, about Muslim pirates, Christian Knights and Jewish financiers in the sixteenth century Mediteranean, we now present you with this story, via YNET, about Jewish pirates in the Caribbean.

Jewish pirates were Sephardic. Once they were kicked out of Spain (in 1492), the more adventurous Jews went to the New World.

A ... famous Jewish pirate ... was Jean Lafitte, aka, the Corsair or the Buccaneer. His family fled from Spain for France in 1765 after his maternal grandfather was put to death for Judaism.

Along with his 'crew of a thousand men', Lafitte sometimes receives credit for...

Continue reading "Pirates Oy Vey!"

Alcibiades | 10/08/06 at 08:49 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

September 29, 2006

Get your Yom Kippur piñatas here!

While supplies last.

Asher Abrams | 09/29/06 at 09:34 PM | 1 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

September 28, 2006

¡Feliz Año Nuevo Para Nuestros Landsmaneros de México!

Here's a mental exercise. Think about the turbulence on the Southern Front, with millions of Mexicans entering the U.S. illegally in a bid for a better life, to hell with U.S. laws and border controls. Now, imagine the exact same . . . more »

Van | 09/28/06 at 03:20 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

September 26, 2006

Ashamnu, the Kinky Jews' Version

Our new pals at Kinky Jews have their distinctive take on the Days of Awe. This Saturday the group will have its "Ashamnu - Repent Thy Sins!" party in New Jersey. Meant for Jews under 40 (darn, I'm too old!), . . . more »

Van | 09/26/06 at 09:15 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

September 21, 2006

The Knights of St. John, Recantation

The other day I reported on an historical victory the Knight's of St. John had against the Ottoman's on September 11th, 1565 on the island of Malta. What I didn't know at that time, however, is that the Knights had . . . more »

Alcibiades | 09/21/06 at 01:08 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

August 28, 2006

Great News for the Jews: '24' Wins 5 Emmys!

Sunday was a great day to be a Member of the Tribe, as "24," the most Jewish show on TV, tick-ticked its way to five Emmys. The honors were for best: Drama Series Actor in a Drama Series (Kiefer Sutherland) . . . more »

Van | 08/28/06 at 10:24 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

August 25, 2006

Mission Impossible? Not to Murray Rothstein!

I learned something new from the New York Post in its coverage of the firing of Tom Cruise by Viacom (which owns Paramount Pictures) chairman Sumner Redstone. The paper gave the two combatants' real names. I knew that Cruise was . . . more »

Van | 08/25/06 at 10:02 AM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

August 15, 2006

Canada's Amazing Jewish "Triplets"

The next generation of adorable yingeles has arrived. A friend in Toronto alerted me to this story about one novel way to build a family fast. When Jodi Goldstein wheels her triple-stroller through her north Toronto neighbourhood, she gets double . . . more »

Van | 08/15/06 at 09:39 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

July 06, 2006

The Frisco Kid online

The promo video for the new Jewish Life TV Network starts off with an interview with the writer of "The Frisco Kid." Then you can watch the whole movie! (via Canonist) . . . more »

Judith | 07/06/06 at 08:29 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

June 21, 2006

Yiddishkeit in Bentonville

"Jews in Odd Places" used to be Howard's specialty until he gave up the blog, and we haven't done a post on that topic in a long time. But I think this qualifies: Wal-Mart has transformed small towns across America, . . . more »

Judith | 06/21/06 at 01:41 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

May 22, 2006

Farewell, Caracas: When They Come For Us, We'll Be Gone

If Venezuelan strongman/madman Hugo Chavez dreams of a judenrein Venezuela, he may get his wish. Alex Beech writes on her blog that the number of Jews in the country has shrunk from 20,000 to 13,000, and that Jewish officials are . . . more »

Van | 05/22/06 at 03:44 PM | 3 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

May 17, 2006

Scary Jews!

Not only did I learn that Arlen Spector was Jewish this week, which was bad enough. But now it turns out, that so is Moammar Qadaffi! Technically speaking. His mother was a Jew converted to Islam at age 9 and . . . more »

Alcibiades | 05/17/06 at 10:18 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 25, 2006

Where Do You Turn at Prayer Time In Space?

American Space Agency NASA is about to begin a series of consultations with rabbis as part of preparations for the stay of Jewish astronauts in its international space station. NASA is seeking to consult rabbis regarding the necessary arrangements and . . . more »

Alcibiades | 04/25/06 at 08:17 PM | 5 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 16, 2006

Pesach Day 5, Shavuot countdown: Day 4 of counting the Omer

All Pesach entries here. More on counting the omer here. Rabbi Simon Jacobson's meditation for this day of the Omer:Netzach of Chesed: Endurance in Lovingkindness. Is my love enduring? Does it withstand challenges and setbacks? Do I give and withhold . . . more »

Judith | 04/16/06 at 11:39 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 08, 2006

When Mad Messianists Meet

Ahmadinejad and the anti-Zionist sect Neturei Karta agree on one thing. To bring the Messiah - either the Jewish or Islamic version - you must first destroy the state of Israel. Which makes it perfectly natural for them to meet . . . more »

Alcibiades | 03/08/06 at 10:58 AM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 29, 2006

Translating the Hobbit Into Hebrew

Fascinating tale of how several Israeli prisoners of war in Egypt spent their time in prison in the early 1970s translating the Hobbit as a way to give themselves something to do. ...Of the two Hebrew translations of JRR . . . more »

Alcibiades | 01/29/06 at 10:32 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 12, 2006

Ranchito Morbido: My Little Bit of Jewish Texas

I grew up in a rented house on a dusty alley in Mission, Texas, about three blocks from the Missouri-Pacific tracks that divided the town into Hispanic and Anglo sections. My mother rented the house, which didn’t even have its . . . more »

Van | 01/12/06 at 11:40 AM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

December 03, 2005

Of Porkless Sabbaths

Fascinating article on the New Christians, the crypto Jews of Portugal. Who lasted with strong traditions until the present. And no pork on the Sabbath was, somewhat bizarrely, one of the traditions they kept. Was 20% of Portugal really Jewish . . . more »

Alcibiades | 12/03/05 at 05:31 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

November 09, 2005

You Win One, You Lose One

Israel has reached an immigration deal with Ethiopia on Falashmura, so that the entire community will be relocated by the end of 2007. At the same time, India is suddenly making trouble about the conversion and relocation of the Bnei' . . . more »

Alcibiades | 11/09/05 at 08:45 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

Who Knew Oksana Baiul Was Jewish?

Apparently she didn't either, until recently. Hat tip: Canonist . . . more »

Alcibiades | 11/09/05 at 04:32 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

October 21, 2005

First Female Airman Killed in Iraq Had Jewish Roots

Elizabeth Nicole Jacobson, 21, was providing convoy security in Iraq on Sept. 28 and was killed when her vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. . . . more »

Alcibiades | 10/21/05 at 12:54 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

October 09, 2005

An update on the conversion of the B'nai Menashe in India

Here's an exciting update [from two weeks ago] on the Conversion of 700 B'nai Menashe to Judaism. [sites needs registration] . . . more »

Alcibiades | 10/09/05 at 12:04 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

September 10, 2005

Mazel Tov - um, how do you say that in Chinese?

A well deserved Mazel Tov all around. [Hat tip: Norm Geras] . . . more »

Alcibiades | 09/10/05 at 08:17 PM | 0 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

September 27, 2004

Jews in odd places: Scotland

A bitter row has broken out in Scotland's Jewish community after a pro-Israel group was accused of suggesting its opponents would not have been worthy of surviving the Holocaust. The Scottish Friends of Israel has clashed with an organisation called . . . more »

William | 09/27/04 at 01:50 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

September 08, 2004

Arrival Day Blogburst

I am remiss at not noting Arrival Day, September 7th. Yesterday was the 350th year since Jews landed at what was then called New Amsterdam, and Head Heeb Jonathan Edelstein has been blogging about this impending date for over . . . more »

Judith | 09/08/04 at 06:13 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

August 27, 2004

Jews in odd places: China

A once-thriving Jewish culture in Shanghai's Tilanqiao area is to be revived on the site of its former heyday. Almost 30,000 Jewish refugees settled in the area, around the northern Bund, during World War II, and set up schools, libraries, . . . more »

William | 08/27/04 at 10:45 AM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

June 30, 2004

Jews in odd places: China

And now in Israel. Well, Jewish converts that is: "For the first time, a descendant of the once-vibrant Jewish community of Kaifeng, China, has undergone conversion in Israel and formally returned to Judaism. This past Sunday, Jin Wen-Jing, an 18-year-old . . . more »

William | 06/30/04 at 01:22 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

June 21, 2004

Jews in odd places: Italy

Rabbi Vittorio Della Rocca was only 11 years old at the time, but he will never forget a historic Shabbat at Rome�s Great Synagogue 60 years ago this month. It was June 9, 1944 � just five days after . . . more »

William | 06/21/04 at 11:41 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

June 16, 2004

. . . yes I said yes I will Yes

Today is Bloomsday. In fact, today is the centenary of Bloomsday.The date is as well known to students of English literature as the beginning of the first world war is to military historians: June 16th 1904 is �Bloomsday�, the . . . more »

Judith | 06/16/04 at 05:56 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

May 18, 2004

Jews in odd places: India

The city of Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, is now home to a new Jewish educational center geared to the needs of the local community of Bnei Menashe, a group claiming descent from a lost . . . more »

William | 05/18/04 at 04:26 PM | 0 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

May 07, 2004

Jews in odd places

Czestochowa is known around the world as the site of the Jasna Gora monastery, a pilgrimage place for Poles and other Catholics who flock there to see a famous painting of the Black Madonna. Soon, residents also will be . . . more »

William | 05/07/04 at 08:08 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

May 06, 2004

Jews in odd places: South Africa

The [South African] Jewish community ... has gone through huge changes. One has been the accelerated emigration of Jews for English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, the United States and England. Emigration has reduced the size of the community from . . . more »

William | 05/06/04 at 08:11 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 28, 2004

Jews in odd places: Cuba

The Jewish Week finds Passover practiced in the socialist dictatorship: . . . more »

William | 04/28/04 at 09:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 21, 2004

Jews in odd places: Harlem

For the last 55 years, in his stall in East Harlem�s La Marqueta at 115th and Park, 87-year-old Bernard Lifschultz has sawed the ends off stacks of dried cod and tossed countless spiky fish tails into an orange plastic . . . more »

William | 04/21/04 at 08:56 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 20, 2004

Jews in odd places: South Africa

And they are experiencing the pitfalls of liberalism: . . . more »

William | 04/20/04 at 08:28 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 19, 2004

Jews in odd places: Norway

The Norwegian Arts Council has granted funding to the Jewish community and the Oslo City Museum to establish a Jewish Museum in Oslo. The museum should be open by 2005. "It is certainly timely and important for us to . . . more »

William | 04/19/04 at 08:14 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 12, 2004

Jews in odd places: Tunisia

The leader of the Tunisian Jewish community is an associate of the country�s autocratic leader and sometimes prefers a Friday-night drink rather than a Sabbath meal. Roger Bismuth is the modern-day version of the shtadlan, a Hebrew term given . . . more »

William | 04/12/04 at 08:51 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 11, 2004

Jews in odd places: Tunisia

This weekend, the island of Djerba will mark the second anniversary of an al-Qaeda terrorist bombing of an ancient synagogue that rocked this normally quiet resort. . . . more »

William | 04/11/04 at 09:02 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

April 08, 2004

Jews in odd places: Russia

Zaur Gilalov, a successful businessman and the head of the World Congress of Mountain Jews, was shot to death in Moscow at the beginning of March. He was killed in broad daylight by two unidentified gunmen not far from his . . . more »

William | 04/08/04 at 08:46 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

Jews in odd places: Uganda

The Observer asks why the Jews of Ethiopia are being accepted into Israel, but the Jews of Uganda are not:Israel is now planning to fetch home some of the most scattered Jews, the Falasha tribesmen of Ethiopia, but for this . . . more »

William | 04/08/04 at 08:33 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 30, 2004

Ottoman era Jewish costume exhibit

Ottoman era Jewish costume exhibit in New York (March 31-May 7): According to a report from the Anadolu Agency, the exhibition, entitled, ''The Sephardim and The Turks: Living Together for 500 Centuries'' will be opened in New York's Center for . . . more »

William | 03/30/04 at 08:56 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 29, 2004

Jews of the Old West

HBO's new series, Deadwood, features a Jew. Sol Star (John Hawkes) is an Austrian Jewish entrepreneur who teams up with former Sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) to seek his fortune during the Gold Rush in the Black Hills of . . . more »

William | 03/29/04 at 07:36 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 18, 2004

Jews of odd backgrounds: Hindu-Jews

Some call them "HinJews." Others say they're "Om-Shalomers." But whatever they're called, young Jews of Hindu and Jewish parentage are coming of age, marking the emergence of a new cultural subset in an increasingly diverse American Jewish population. . . . more »

William | 03/18/04 at 08:55 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 17, 2004

Jews in odd places: Ireland

Hag Sameach! It's St. Patrick's Day. . . . more »

William | 03/17/04 at 03:26 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 15, 2004

Jews in odd places: Serbia

Serbian Jewish theater director Stefan Sablic has another hit on his hands, a deeply disturbing play set in the 1930s about a German Jewish immigrant in America and his former best friend, who becomes a Nazi. Sablic�s adaptation of . . . more »

William | 03/15/04 at 08:59 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 10, 2004

Jews in odd places: Russia

Like most Russians, Russian Jews don't get along so well. . . . more »

William | 03/10/04 at 12:39 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 08, 2004

Jews in odd places: France

According to Roger Cukierman, president of the CRIF umbrella organization of French Jews, France sucks for Jews. Jews in France are living �in a time of malaise,� Cukierman told more than 800 guests at the group�s annual dinner in . . . more »

William | 03/08/04 at 08:52 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 05, 2004

Jews in odd places: Iraq

Iraq used to be home to tons of Jews, but not anymore. In January, "Nightline" profiled the 20-odd remaining Jews in Baghdad. However, nowadays you can find tons of Iraqi Jews on another continent, seeking sanctuary in New York's . . . more »

William | 03/05/04 at 08:42 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 03, 2004

Jews in odd places: Europe

The growing number of Jewish communities throughout Europe will require young rabbis to be increasingly mobile and to tend to more than one community at one time, based on statements made at a recent rabbinical conference in Vienna. . . . more »

William | 03/03/04 at 08:59 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 02, 2004

Jews in odd places: Germany

Tzvi Sinensky, a young American Jew, thought he wouldn�t buy any German goods during his first visit to Germany last month. He did. Phillip Vedol thought the Germans he would meet there would be cold, formal. They weren�t. Zvi Schindel . . . more »

William | 03/02/04 at 08:42 AM | Categories: - Jews in odd places

March 01, 2004

Jews in odd places: Persia

Not the Iran of today, but the ancien regime of Persia in the 5th century, according to David Bernstein over at the Volokh Conspiracy. According to his examples, Israel was not the first sovereign Jewish entity after the fall . . . more »

William | 03/01/04 at 08:34 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 27, 2004

Jews in odd places: Uganda

Unlike the 18,000-odd remaining Ethiopian Jews, whom Israel recently promised to airlift to Tel Aviv, the Abayudaya of Uganda do not claim a lineage dating back to King David. They converted to Judaism less than a century ago. �It . . . more »

William | 02/27/04 at 08:57 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 25, 2004

Jews in odd places: France

On Tuesday Feb. 19, the Jewish community filled the Palais de Congress and Stars of David decorated the Champs Elysee, to greet Israeli President Moshe Katsav. Katsav was visiting France for only the second official visit by an Israeli . . . more »

Judith | 02/25/04 at 08:57 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 19, 2004

Jews in odd places: United Kingdom

A recent poll published in Britain's Jewish Chronicle newspaper found that almost 1/5th of Britons don't want a Jewish Prime Minister, and 1/7th believes the scale of the Holocaust is exaggerated. The poll comes as the Conservative Party gears . . . more »

William | 02/19/04 at 08:58 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 13, 2004

Jews in odd places: Italy

This fall, Annie Sacerdoti - the editor of Milan�s monthly Jewish magazine, Il Bollettino - published a new, revised and updated �Guide to Jewish Italy,� which combines tourist itineraries with an overview of contemporary Jewish life throughout the country, . . . more »

William | 02/13/04 at 08:56 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 11, 2004

Jews in odd places: Iraq

Prof. Sasson Somekh, a 70-year-old Israeli translator and researcher of Arabic literature, recently published his autobiography, "Baghdad Yesterday." The book recounts his childhood in Baghdad, where he lived until immigrating to Israel at age 17. "It began with the . . . more »

William | 02/11/04 at 09:05 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 08, 2004

Jews in odd places: Mexico

The late-January-early-February sold-out Jewish Film Festival in Mexico City is one of only a handful of Spanish-language Jewish film festivals in the world. �We are looking at this festival not as a Jewish event,� said Aron Margolis, director of . . . more »

William | 02/08/04 at 08:59 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 05, 2004

Jews in odd places: South Africa

Even as observers warn of a growing trend of anti-Semitism in Greece, a South African Jew is trying to build stronger ties between the Jewish and Greek communities in South Africa. Ronnie Mink, chairman of Yad Vashem in South . . . more »

William | 02/05/04 at 08:15 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 03, 2004

Jews in odd places: The Netherlands

The members of the Portuguese (i.e., Sephardi) nation in Amsterdam claimed that they lived - or at least aspired to live - according to the principal they called "bom judesmo" ("good and beautiful Judaism"). The Jew and his community were . . . more »

William | 02/03/04 at 08:55 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

February 02, 2004

Jews in odd places: London, England

Britain?s only Jewish radio station has gone live for its third stint on the air. While its current license only lasts for four weeks, those behind the station hope that ShalomFM will be a permanent fixture on the community-based . . . more »

William | 02/02/04 at 09:04 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 30, 2004

Jews in odd places: India

But they don't want to be there for long. There are nearly 5,000 people in Mizoram and the neighbouring state of Manipur who call themselves Jews, and 800 of them have already migrated to the Middle East. Most live . . . more »

William | 01/30/04 at 08:49 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 29, 2004

Jews in odd places: Mexico

Mexico City�s Hebraic University, the only government-accredited Jewish university in Latin America, is positioning itself to serve communities thousands of miles away through Internet-based courses, traveling seminars and other international initiatives. . . . more »

William | 01/29/04 at 09:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 28, 2004

Jews in odd places: South Africa

At a time when South Africa�s Jews are anxious over the future of the Jewish community, the religious body representing most Jews has taken a bold step by choosing a young man with little experience as chief rabbi. . . . more »

William | 01/28/04 at 09:03 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 22, 2004

Jews in odd places: Hong Kong

Jonathan Kesselman, maker of the Comedy Central film "The Hebrew Hammer," recently traveled to visit the Jews in Hong Kong for their annual Jewish film festival. (Link suggested by Rick Richman, whose Jewish Current Issues blog was recently added . . . more »

William | 01/22/04 at 08:57 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places

January 19, 2004

Jews in odd places: Czech Republic

Not only Jews, but porn! A fight over porn found on a school's computer server has broken the reigning Jewish leadership in Prague: . . . more »

William | 01/19/04 at 03:48 PM | Categories: - Jews in odd places

Jews in odd places: Ethiopia

But they want to get to Israel. As Israel takes steps to bring some 20,000 Falash Mura to Israel from Ethiopia, the Jewish state is looking to American Jewry to help pay the tab. The latest moves in the . . . more »

William | 01/19/04 at 08:08 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Jews in odd places