Long Before Balfour
Two Famous Declarations Almost two and a half millennia separate the two famous declarations that restored the exiled Jewish people to its homeland of Zion – the Cyrus Declaration of 538 BCE and the Balfour...
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Damned If You Do
Weary and Drained Germany’s surrender to the Allied forces in May 1945 marked the official end of World War II. Soldiers returned home, and Europe set about rebuilding itself. Germany was divided into zones controlled...
Eilat’s Treasures
We Prefer it Open Traversing the rickety road from the Israeli port of Eilat to its Egyptian equivalent in Taba, past thousands of imported cars lined up in spectacular order, glinting in Eilat’s glaring sun,...
The Pledge on the Mountain
An Uphill Procession Etthiopia, on the eve of 29 Heshvan. From widely scattered villages, Jews flock to the foot of a designated mountain. Purified by bathing in the nearby river, after seven days of abstinence...
Egypt’s Jewish Molière
The Great 19th Century Egyptian history has certainly had its glory, but it seems almost ironic that Egyptians should term the period from the late 18th century until World War I “The Great 19th Century.”...
The Pilgrims’ Progress
First Century Pilgrimage It is difficult for us to imagine how the Biblical command of Aliya LeRegel, or pilgrimage, impacted on the lives of Jews some two thousand years ago. When we picture Pesach, we...
Faith Under Fire
Three Soldiers The first was in the armored corps. His tank took a direct hit, and he alone survived, burnt from head to toe. In the long months he lay in a hospital bed, he...
The Saga of a Budapest Family Sukka
Up Against the Wall Walking into the first exhibit hall of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, just across from the ferry...
Heroes on the Walls of Haifa
The First Crusade In 1071, the Byzantine Empire was dealt a crippling blow when a tribe of Mongolians conquered Anatolia, today a popular tourist destination in Turkey. The Seljuks, as they were called, had left...
Red Rose of Petra
Petra, the mysterious capital located in Jordan, is without a doubt the jewel in the Nabatean crown. Named for the red rock out of which it was carved (petrae is Latin for “rock”), the city...
Lost in Eilat
Red Sea Port Traversing the rickety road from the Israeli port of Eilat to its Egyptian equivalent in Taba, past thousands of imported cars lined up in spectacular order, glinting in Eilat’s glaring sun, it’s...
