Jewish history

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• SOURCE: Haaretz
  2/18/20
  

  George Steiner: The Last Viennese Jew

  by Arie M. Dubnov

  The Holocaust was an impulsive rebellion by 'polytheistic instincts' against the 'noble tyranny' of Jewish monotheism, claimed Jewish American essayist and literary critic George Steiner, who passed away this month, aged 90.

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• SOURCE: Retropolis
  1/27/20
  

  The first transport of Jews to Auschwitz was 997 teenage girls. Few survived.

  Though Auschwitz was liberated on Jan. 27, 1945, most of the surviving girls weren’t there to see it.

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• 1/26/20
  

  BBC Whitewashes U.S. Refusal to Bomb Auschwitz

  by Rafael Medoff

  The new BBC documentary about the question of bombing Auschwitz deserves an award—for creative fiction. Through omissions, distortions, and “re-enactments” of conversations with imaginary dialogue inserted for effect, the BBC has made a shambles of the historical record concerning this important issue.

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• 1/14/20
  

  Annual Jewish Film Festival, Following New Wave of Anti-Semitism, Offers Hope and Inspiration

  by Bruce Chadwick

  Given the attacks on Jews all over the country, the Jewish Film Festival, one of the oldest in the United States, could not have come at a better time

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• 12/29/19
  

  Why Holocaust Education Is So Important Today

  by Claudia Moscovici

  The Never Again Education Act is an effort by a bipartisan group of US legislators in both the House and the Senate to promote Holocaust education.

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• 12/18/19
  

  Why FDR Turned Away Jewish Students

  by Rafael Medoff

  American immigration policy was governed by a strict quota system, based on national origins. But the law contained three major exceptions: clergy, professors, and students could be admitted outside the quota restrictions.

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• SOURCE: The Third Narrative Blog
  12/14/19
  

  Trump's Executive Order, Jewish Identity, and Free Speech

  The prevailing notion that Jews are basically followers of a religion does not adequately define most Jews, who are either not religious or only marginally so. 

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  12/15/19
  

  In Era of Hardening Identities, Trump Order on Jews Kindles Questions Old and New

  The president said he wanted to target anti-Semitic speech on campuses, but in the time of new nationalism, nothing is really that simple.

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  12/12/19
  

  Donald Trump is attacking both Jews and the left with one clean blow

  by Kate Aronoff

  Anti-Semitism and anti-leftism share a violent and intimate history that is being revived under Donald Trump.

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• SOURCE: Smithsonian Magazine Online
  11/26/19
  

  A Brief History of the Crock-Pot

  Eighty years after it was patented, the Crock-Pot remains a comforting presence in American kitchens.

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• 12/1/2019
  

  How did November become the Mizrahi Heritage Month? And what’s Mizrahi anyhow?

  by Lior Sternfeld and Arie M. Dubnov

  The Mizrahi heritage month is not a local, grassroots initiative that emerged in response to experiences of discrimination or marginalization. Instead, it is a transatlantic importation of recent attempts by the Israeli government to commemorate the forced expulsion of Jews from the Arab and Muslim world in the wake of the establishment of Israel.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  11/8/19
  

  The Forgotten Mass Destruction of Jewish Homes During 'Kristallnacht'

  Attacks on Jewish homes have often been a neglected aspect of "the Night of Broken Glass", until now.

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• 11/10/19
  

  The History Behind a Recently Defaced French Holocaust Memorial

  by Norman JW Goda

  The memorial plaque at 12 rue Sainte-Catherine in the central part of town contained the names of the 86 Jews arrested at that address on 9 February 1943. It was the largest single roundup of Jews in the city. On the plaque, black paint was used to cross out their names. 

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  11/5/19
  

  Teenage Rescuer, Now 92, Meets Family She Saved From Nazis

  Melpomeni Dina was reunited with the two surviving members and 40 descendants of the Jewish family she and her sisters helped escape occupied Greece during World War II.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  9/24/19
  

  A Slain Jewish Girl’s Diary of Life Under the Soviets and the Nazis

  At a moment when basic agreement over simple truths has become a political battleground and history a weapon, the publication of the book, “Renia’s Diary,” offers a reminder of the power of bearing witness.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  9/12/19
  

  Russ & Daughters History Goes on Display in New York

  “Russ & Daughters: An Appetizing Story,” from the American Jewish Historical Society, offers a taste of New York’s rich food and cultural history.

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• 8/28/19
  

  The Rabbi, the Telegram, and the Holocaust

  by Rafael Medoff

  Seventy-seven years ago today, a telegram bearing a horrifying and unforgettable message reached America’s foremost Jewish leader. It revealed the first comprehensive details about the systematic mass murder that would come to be known as the Holocaust

• 
• SOURCE: Tikkun
  8/6/2019
  

  Today’s Christian-Jewish Zionist Alliance Imperils American Jewry

  by Jim Sleeper

  Jews’ long-standing security in the United States has relied on a hard-won consensus now being undermined by an unholy alliance.

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• 8/4/19
  

  FDR's Token Jewish Refugee Shelter

  by Rafael Medoff

  Granting temporary refuge was a way of addressing the life-and-death crisis that Europe’s Jews faced, without incurring the wrath of those who opposed permanent immigration.

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• 7/17/19
  

  The Truth About the Holocaust and Holocaust Education

  by Ira Bedzow and Stacy Gallin

  A high school principal was removed from his position after refusing to admit that the Holocaust was a “factual, historical event.” This is not only unacceptable, it is irresponsible. One does not need to be a professional historian to know that the Holocaust occurred.