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


New digital archive gives global access to Israel’s archaeological treasures

The Israel Antiquities Authority has launched a new database holding over three million historically significant records.

An intricately decorated 1,700-year-old ceramic oil lamp adorned with symbols linked to the Jewish Temple and discovered on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives, displayed in Jerusalem on Dec. 26, 2024

Challenges of Holocaust education at generational crossroads with survivors dwindling - opinion

The Holocaust, an unprecedented event in human history, is often turned into a rhetorical tool to justify political positions, intensify public and international conflicts, and incite hatred.

THE WRITER speaks at an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day last January at the Ghetto Fighters’ House.

Remembering Rabbi Berel Wein: A beloved Jewish storyteller - opinion

Working side by side with Rabbi Wein to reimagine his book ‘Triumph of Survival’ - and the insights that stayed with me.

RABBI BEREL WEIN, z”l, director, The Destiny Foundation; with Ashley Lazarus, film director, Destiny Films.

What if there were no Jewish Diaspora? - opinion

Some claim that a strong Jewish Diaspora is an important adjunct to a Jewish state, since Diaspora Jews can lobby their governments.

ON A SYNAGOGUE in Victoria, British Columbia, slogans, earlier this month, include: ‘Jews are evil! Stop genocide, stop the Jews!’ Violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions have reached pandemic proportions, says the writer.

A nation and a story: Israel claims its destiny without shame - opinion

We must never shrink from our story. We are both a people and a faith, bound together across time, building a state grounded in both.

'Israel stands as a rare example of a nation unashamed of its identity as an ethnic state – a country with a story.'

Tuscany through Jewish eyes: A journey of history, beauty, and flavor

Our travels revealed not only Tuscany’s breathtaking landscapes and cultural treasures but also the history, resilience, creativity, and enduring identity of its Jewish communities. 

FLORENCE SYNAGOGUE

'Beyond Dispute': The limits of legitimate debate – a Jewish approach - review

Israeli peace negotiator and former ambassador to the UK suggests ways to have more productive conversations. 

PRO-PALESTINIAN protesters shout slogans in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens earlier this week during a declared ‘day of rage’ across the country, jeopardizing Israeli tourism to Greece. ‘Peace is made between enemies who are at least open to making peace with each other,’ the author writes.

Memory is our anchor in the unfolding saga of the Jewish people - opinion

Memory is essential – it deepens our experience and helps build our shared identity. In Israel, it is even more vital, reminding us that we are part of a larger, unfolding saga.

COLLECTIVE MEMORY: Lasting glue

Planting seeds of the Divine: a weekly Torah guide

Smith invites readers to start their “Inner Garden,” which includes planting and cultivating “forty-seven assorted seeds that correspond to forty-seven weekly Torah portions.

 ‘PUNISHMENT OF the Sons of Korach,’ fresco by Sandro Botticelli.

The classroom is still best frontline for Jews to be proud, informed, resilient - opinion

Jewish education is not an afterthought; it is our anchor.

AN ARTICLE dating back to September 1943, from ‘Haboker Leyeladim,’ a children’s Hebrew-language publication, is on display at the National Library of Israel.