Jewish Discoveries

26/01/2022

Today at 3:00 PM (ET), see these remarkable photos of survivors and hear their stories. Registration link below. Also on Facebook, TOLI - The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights

19/01/2022

For International Holocaust Remembrance Day, here is a unique virtual event - an exhibit of survivors by world-renowned photographers. Details and registration link below.

03/10/2021

Join us on October 6 at 5:00 PM ET when Professor Timothy Snyder, the renowned historian and Holocaust scholar, will be interviewed by Arthur Berger, TOLI board member, former USHMM senior official.

Timothy Snyder is Levin Professor of History at Yale University. He is the author of many books including, most recently, "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning" and "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century." Through the lens of history he raises concerns about contemporary extremism and the rise of authoritarian leaders.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-bve_tHNTl-CHjvHAaOIVg

As Fall gets underway, we will be adding more virtual events to our schedule, so check back here or sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date: https://www.toli.us/newsletter/

12/08/2021

https://www.jta.org/2021/08/09/global/this-rabbi-is-tweeting-his-unusual-3-week-jewish-heritage-road-trip-through-turkey

Mendy and Chaim Chitrik from Istanbul are on a mission to raise awareness to the oft-overlooked richness and deep roots of Jewish life in Asia Minor.

14/07/2021

The Western Galilee in Israel offers some fascinating cultural and culinary gems for the visitor. The article by journalist Larry Luxner provides insights on Jewish-Arab cooperation in developing tourism programs in the region.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/galilee-ngo-uses-tourism-to-repair-frayed-arab-jewish-ties/

From the blog of Larry Luxner at The Times of Israel

05/04/2021

In Porto, the northern city on the Portuguese coast, a vibrant Jewish community is growing. This article in Haaretz tells why.

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30/03/2021

https://www.timesofisrael.com/central-asian-mountain-jews-try-to-preserve-centuries-old-passover-traditions/

No pickles, no shankbone, no cemetery visits during the holidays for the 1,000-year-old community, once based in Krasnaiya Sloboda on the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains

16/03/2021

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/israel-finds-2000-yr-old-biblical-manuscripts-662148

6,000-year-old child skeleton found together with world's oldest woven basket in Judean Desert cave • First discovery of this kind since Dead Sea Scrolls.

29/01/2021

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-cloths-with-royal-purple-dye-found-in-israel-dated-to-king-davids-time/

3 scraps from 1,000 BCE, earliest such finds in region, point to Edomite kingdom described in Bible; vibrant and lasting 'royal' dye, mark of the elite, comes from murex sea snails

27/01/2021

Holocaust Remembrance Day

30/12/2020

The proud Jews you’ll find here show how Judaism endures even in the unlikeliest of places and what Jewish living looks like in rural America.

19/12/2020

Israel and Morocco announced “normalization” of ties this week. A timely opportunity to revisit with the Moroccan Jewish community and its ancient heritage. Click on the video for a fascinating tour. Photos by Richard Nowitz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1aHR8JOtAA

Jewish Discoveries visits Morocco, finding a small community sharing 2400 year heritage.From the arid highlands to the royal cities, Rabat, Casablanca, Fes,...

19/12/2020

A visit to Herodion, the ancient hilltop palace in the Judean desert(15 km from Jerusalem) and tomb of Herod the Great. With the inimitable historian, writerand archeology expert Yadin Roman and so knowledgeable a guide, Marion Forster Bleiberg, it was a great way to get out safely. The site has undergone major excavation in recent years and popularized by exhibition, “Herod” at the Israel Museum.

16/12/2020

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/few-people-remain-in-indias-jew-town-but-traditions-landmarks-remain-652264

Once a vibrant community of approximately 3,000 at its peak in the 1950s, only a handful of elderly Jews remain here now in a city of some 677,000.

13/12/2020

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-oil-lamp-workshop-now-at-israel-museum-shows-the-way-we-once-lit/

Rare assemblage of lamp molds, kiln and unused oil lamps found under rubble from Tiberias earthquake of 1033 sheds light on craftsmanship in early Islamic period

09/12/2020

https://www.timesofisrael.com/rare-second-temple-menorah-drawing-from-biblical-maccabean-site-brought-to-light/

Hitherto unpublished 2,000-year-old engraved menorah, forgotten in archives for 40 years, shores up hypothesis that ancient Michmas was a priestly settlement, study says

06/12/2020

https://www.timesofisrael.com/work-history-and-dialogue-keep-jews-muslims-happy-together-in-sunny-marseille/

France's diverse second city is home to the 3rd-largest Jewish population in Europe and 250,000 Muslims. Community president Michel Cohen Tenoudji says relations couldn't be better

01/12/2020

A worthy program for Giving Tuesday. Please support!

TOLI provides the kind of Holocaust education and human rights education that empowers teachers to have tough conversations with their students. They learn to challenge their students to be upstanders as opposed to bystanders and in that way change their communities and the world.

The world needs Holocaust and human rights education. The world needs TOLI. Donate Today! https://bit.ly/32i68Lc

01/12/2020

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-rock-etchings-on-remote-negev-plateau-evoke-the-bible-draw-new-interest/?fbclid=IwAR2u__XarrxNNrEdJ3TGL3kr-GgTYa9CsOWAFgP2FWDnTQnmeid5SZ8WMVo

As Mount Karkom attracts increasing visitors, archaeologists try to protect a prehistoric art-filled site that a top researcher claims is Mount Sinai, complete with 'burning bush'

30/11/2020

When George Washington announced the first national Thanksgiving in 1789, he called for all Americans to gather in their houses of worship, and to thank God for Independence. A group of Jewish New Yorkers heeded that call and gathered at Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese synag...

25/11/2020

Site of the burning bush?
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-rock-etchings-on-remote-negev-plateau-evoke-the-bible-draw-new-interest/

As Mount Karkom attracts increasing visitors, archaeologists try to protect a prehistoric art-filled site that a top researcher claims is Mount Sinai, complete with 'burning bush'

08/11/2020

https://www.thedailybeast.com/rare-gem-discovery-in-jerusalem-has-two-mysteries?ref=home

Why was a Jewish person wearing a ring with a Greek god? And how on Earth was it made?

13/10/2020

A welcome, if long overdue action, by Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg says his thinking has evolved after increase in antisemitic violence

27/09/2020

23/09/2020

Housed in a restored synagogue, the museum is a symbol of Azerbaijan’s efforts to preserve what’s left of its shrinking, isolated Jewish community.

22/09/2020

NY's Olga Lengyel Institute reacts to disturbing new research about lack of once common Holocaust facts, highlighting its new 'How High School Students See the Holocaust' exhibit

17/09/2020

A rabbi’s 3000-mile Turkish odyssey, in the name of kashrut

https://forward.com/news/world/454465/a-rabbis-3000-mile-turkish-odyssey-in-the-name-of-kashrut/?utm_source=PostUp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Afternoon%20Newsletter%20(Sunday%20RSS)&utm_maildate=09/16/2020

“Judaism was born in Turkey,” Rabbi Chitrik explained. “Here is where the destiny of the Jewish people was first drawn.”

13/09/2020

Paul Simon

Paul Simon

This day in 1965, Simon & Garfunkel’s electric version of "The Sound of Silence" was released with overdubbed drums and electric instrumentation, added by producer Tom Wilson. The remixed version was released as a 7” single (backed with "We’ve Got A Groovy Thing Going’”) and reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the hit we all know today.

10/09/2020

Davidic dynasty symbol found in Jerusalem: Once in a lifetime discovery

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/davidic-dynasty-symbol-found-in-jerusalem-once-in-a-lifetime-discovery-640929

They did not expect to find anything this special when they began digging near what is now the Armon Hanatziv Promenade

07/09/2020

In Erbil, Iraq’s few remaining Jews cling to a fading heritage

https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-erbil-iraqs-few-remaining-jews-cling-to-a-fading-heritage/

Some 400 families of Jewish descent still live in Iraqi Kurdistan, once home to a thriving community; some now practice their faith in secret, while others have converted to Islam

30/08/2020

3,200-year-old fort, site of epic battles in biblical era, found in south Israel

https://www.timesofisrael.com/3200-year-old-fort-site-of-epic-battles-in-biblical-era-found-in-south-israel/

Israel Antiquities Authority says remains of Egyptian citadel, built to repel Philistines while Israelites settled elsewhere in the country, will be opened to public free of charge

10/08/2020

Burnt remains from 586 BCE Jerusalem may hold key to protecting planet

https://www.timesofisrael.com/burnt-remains-of-586-bce-destruction-of-jerusalem-help-map-physics-holy-grail/

A new analysis of 1st Temple-era artifacts, magnetized when Babylonians torched the city, provides a way to chart the geomagnetic field - physics' Holy Grail - and maybe save Earth

03/08/2020

Face of God? Archaeologist claims to find 10th cent. BCE graven images of Yahweh

https://www.timesofisrael.com/face-of-god-archaeologist-claims-to-find-10th-cent-bce-graven-images-of-yahweh/

Hebrew U Prof. Yosef Garfinkel asserts small male figurines discovered at digs near Jerusalem are an image of the biblical God; other experts angrily dismiss theory

26/07/2020

Huge Kingdom of Judah government complex found near US Embassy in Jerusalem

https://www.timesofisrael.com/huge-kingdom-of-judah-government-complex-found-stones-throw-from-us-embassy/

Among the 2,700-year-old finds: 120 inscribed seal impressions on jars at storage facility holding food collected as taxes for kings Hezekiah, Menashe in First Temple times

05/07/2020

Jews of Rome, The Longest Diaspora

Now that Italy has reopened for tourism, it will be possible to visit Rome and its Jewish “Ghetto”. Today, it’s the hub of the oldest Jewish community in the Diaspora. For those who can’t travel and correctly keeping safe during Covid-19, here is a video we made a few years ago about the Jews of Rome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRR7W0scAZI