Jewish history

Could you hold a lost piece of Western Wall history? Jerusalem museum seeks rare photos

A new exhibition hopes to uncover rare Western Wall photographs tucked away in attics, basements, and family albums.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
‘Tower of David,’ taken by A.O. Freedman, c. 1920.
The four finalists for the 2026 Sami Rohr Prize are, from left, Shaul Kelner, Amir Tibon, Jordan Salama and Laura Hobson Faure.

Sami Rohr Prize 2026 shortlist highlights family survival and Jewish history

The annual award — which alternates each year between works of fiction and nonfiction and which honors emerging Jewish writers — is considered one of the most prominent awards in Jewish literature.

|ByLISA KEYS/JTA
Rare medieval Sefardi Torah scroll from the late 13th or early 14th century on display at ANU, Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.

Rare medieval Sefardi Torah scroll goes on display at ANU - Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv

The rare medieval scroll is a unique example of Jewish history, displaying distinctive letter forms and decorative markings that were not merely aesthetic but also reflected ancient traditions.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
Zohran Mamdani &Stanislas de Clermont-Tonnerre.

Zohran Mamdani just offered New York's Jews a 234-year-old bargain - comment

In the winter of 1789, a French aristocrat named Stanislas de Clermont-Tonnerre stood in the National Assembly and argued that Jews should be made citizens.

|ByZVIKA KLEIN

A new exhibit honors writer Lore Segal, a child survivor and lifelong skeptic of easy truths

The title of a new exhibit mounted by the Leo Baeck Institute in New York: “And That’s True Too: The Life and Work of Lore Segal,” will be available on April 15.

JANUARY 27, 2026ByANDREW SILOW-CARROLL/JTA
Actress Toni Kalem, who appeared in “The Sopranos,” reads an excerpt from “Other People’s Houses" at the opening of an exhibit of the life and work of writer Lore Segal, Jan. 22, 2026.

This week in Jewish history: Nobel prize winners, biochemists, and the Baba Sali

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

JANUARY 17, 2026BySTEVEN DRUCKER
Baba Baruch, heir of Baba Sali, speaks to prime minister Yitzhak Shamir during traditional ceremonies in Netivot, 1988.

The high price of not listening: What Pharaoh teaches us about power and humility

Pharaoh ignored every warning until his nation collapsed. His mistake isn’t ancient, it’s painfully familiar today.

JANUARY 17, 2026ByMOSHE TARAGIN
Statue of a mans head wearing headphones.

One degree of separation: How Jews connect through trauma, unite in hope - opinion

By every rational measure, such repeated traumas should have left the Jews scattered, fragmented, and broken. But as our story goes, that’s not what happened.

DECEMBER 29, 2025ByANAT WEISSMAN
A memorial ceremony at the Nova festival marking two years since the October 7 massacre when Hamas terrorists infiltrated southern Israel, murdering more than 1200 people. October 07, 2025.

Zionism didn’t start in Europe, and Ethiopian Jews can prove it - opinion

For more than 2,500 years, Ethiopian Jewish leaders preserved Jewish law, ritual, and identity in one of the most isolated Jewish communities on Earth.

DECEMBER 27, 2025BySHMUEL LEGESSE
ETHIOPIAN JEWS take part in a prayer of the Sigd holiday on the Armon Hanatziv Promenade overlooking Jerusalem, in November 2025.

Vayigash after October 7: Tears, envy, and consolation pedagogy - opinion

What Joseph teaches Israeli society today

DECEMBER 26, 2025ByZEHAVIT GROSS
Rembrandt - Joseph Accused by Potiphar's Wife

Hanukkah: The Maccabees weren’t symbols; they were fighters - opinion

The Maccabees prevailed because they refused erasure – militarily, culturally, and spiritually. Contemporary Jewish survival requires the same multi-front refusal.

DECEMBER 21, 2025ByTODD L. PITTINSKY
The Maccabees receive their father's blessing, 1873.

The Great Inversion: When Israel became the Diaspora's shield - opinion

It is no longer the Diaspora nurturing and protecting tenuous Israel. Now it is the reverse.

DECEMBER 20, 2025ByDOUGLAS ALTABEF
An illustrative image of a Star of David.

This week in Jewish history: Yearning for Zion

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

DECEMBER 20, 2025BySTEVEN DRUCKER
PORTRAIT OF Jewish poet Naftali Herz Imber, from The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1920.

Prophet Zechariah: Not by might nor power, but by spirit

These words are a declaration of faith and a clear-cut explanation of Jewish survival.

DECEMBER 19, 2025ByMICHAEL FREUND
Mourners accompany the body of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was murdered during the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, on December 14.