Jewish history

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.

Baba Baruch, heir of Baba Sali, speaks to prime minister Yitzhak Shamir during traditional ceremonies in Netivot, 1988.
Statue of a mans head wearing headphones.

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

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.

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

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

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


Consistent Torah education has earned today's Jews the stamina to survive - opinion

"I have followed the articles by Walter Bingham in The Jerusalem Report and marvel at what he has accomplished in life, despite the traumatic loss of his family during the Holocaust. Resilience!"

 BUCHENWALD SURVIVORS attempt to make aliyah, 1945. Arriving in Haifa, they were arrested by British forces.

‘The Brutalist,’ the epic new movie getting Oscar buzz, is built from the stories of postwar Jews

The Hungarian Jewish designer Marcel Breuer, educated at the Bauhaus school, was forced to renounce his Judaism while he lived in Germany.

Adrien Brody in "The Brutalist"

Can Netanyahu achieve a legacy of greatness? - opinion

Prime Minister Netanyahu can be remembered for more than being Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. If he takes bold steps to improve Israel’s peace, sovereignty, and security.

 PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a news conference, last Monday night. If he takes bold steps to improve Israel’s peace, sovereignty, and security, he can establish a legacy as Israel’s greatest and most courageous prime minister, the writer maintains.

Tel Dan Stele, oldest archaeological evidence of King David, comes to NY’s Jewish Museum

Before coming to the Jewish Museum, the stele was on display for nearly two months at a biblical archaeology museum in Oklahoma.

 The Tel Dan Stele on display at the Jewish Museum in New York.

Biden signs bill developing plan transferring Weitzman Museum to Smithsonian

The act establishes a body that will examine whether the Philadelphia Museum, known as the Weitzman, can join the Smithsonian Institution.

 U.S. President Joe Biden reacts after signing a proclamation designating November 17 as "International Conservation Day", during his tour at the Museu da Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, November 17, 2024.

Polish police took initiative in Jewish killings, new book explores

Polish police murdered Jews during the Holocaust with gusto and even without Nazi orders, according to new resesarch.

 A group of Nazi police in Otfinów, Poland, 1943.

On a mission to Auschwitz, I found hope amid the ashes - opinion

I visited Krakow again to work on Jewish-Polish reconciliation and yet again in 2022, in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when the shadow of war once again loomed over Europe.

 The author, right, and Dumisani Washington, CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, lay a wreath in memory of the Jewish victims at Birkenau, Nov. 26, 2024.

This week in Jewish history: UN votes in favor of Israel, first kibbutz founded

A highly abridged version of the daily Dust & Stars.

 DEGANIA ALEF in 2008. The second child born on the kibbutz was to become Israeli general and politician Moshe Dayan.

Graphic novel tells emotional tale of Jews in 1930s aimed at modern audience

Judessey is a fast-moving and attention-grabbing tale, not without moments of real emotion, told in a series of vivid hand-drawn pictures, embellished with speech bubbles.

 NAZI LEADER Adolf Hitler inspects troops at Prague Castle in 1939.

Celebrating Aliyah: Stories, flavors, and music from new Olim

ANU – Museum of the Jewish People honors Aliyah Day with a “Human Library” exhibit, immigrant fair, and special events.

 THE ANU MUSEUM of the Jewish People invites the general public to the event, ‘We Are Israelis,’ as part of which the museum launches a new tour, ‘Between Dream and Fulfillment.’ Pictured is a photo on display by Leni Sonnenfeld from 1950.