by Erica Lyons To explain to my children what Chanukah was like for me as a young girl, I find I am just as inclined to recount what it wasn’t as I am to describe what it was. Growing up in northern New Jersey in the Cohen household, driving through the wealthier neighborhoods (those which my parents reminded me still blocked the sale of homes to Jews through the 1960s) to see the elaborate Christmas displays through our car windows was always part of the winter season. My brothers and I watched Charlie Brown’s Christmas and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In school we had “holiday” parties where we ate gingerbread cookies off of red and green plates, sucked on candy canes and sang Jingle Bells. My family set aside a day to go into New York City to line up with the crowds to see the … Continue Reading
Spotlight: Do Jews from the FSU in Germany Volunteer?
by Julia Itin The whole concept of volunteer work among the numerous Jews from FSU living in Germany today seems to be a nonexistent. But only at first glance. During Limmud Day Berlin, we interviewed participants only to discover that volunteerism does exist as part of the post-Soviet Jewish experience in Germany - but it faces many challenges. Stand up, all Victims of Oppression! Involvement in politically motivated groups such as subbotniks, mandatory days of volunteer work, unions, as well as the Komsomol, the Communist Union of Youth carried with it a strong social component. Under communism, people volunteered not necessarily because they felt they were "building the country’s future," but because these committments gave them "social capital," a feeling of being responsible for … Continue Reading
Light One Candle
With all the Chanukah videos floating around the web, we think this is a good time to bring an old favorite back. Written by Peter Yarrow, “Light One Candle” was first presented as part of the 1982 Peter, Paul and Mary Hanukkah / Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall with the N.Y. Choral Society. Later, performances throughout the U.S., Europe and particularly Israel, brought a new and universal meaning to the song. “Light One Candle” was written, and is sung, for Jews and non-Jews alike. The flame is an historical reminder of an ethical imperative. It burns as a burden, demanding sacrifice and struggle. But it also lights the possibility, the privilege and promise of a better world. We must not let the light go out. This recording from a 1988 concert was released in … Continue Reading
Jewish Jamaica, Then and Now
by Paul Foer JointMedia News Service The many Cohens and Levys in the Jamaican phone books may not be practicing Jews, though they most likely recognize that they may be descendants of Sephardic Jews who settled there after fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. The story begins in 1502 with the fourth and final voyage of Christopher Columbus, likely the son of Converso Jews, who shipwrecked on what came to be known as the Jewel of the Caribbean. (Columbus first visited Jamaica on his second voyage, in 1494.). Spanish monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand granted the island to Columbus and his descendants, and there were many Conversos in Jamaica during Spanish rule, living relatively free of the clutches of the Inquisition. The British occupied Jamaica in 1655, and more Jews arrived and settled in … Continue Reading
One Thousand Jewish Students and Young Professionals Partied Like a Jew in Brussels
At last week’s International football game hosted in Wembley Stadium, England, in a surprise twist, beat Spain - a feat that has not occurred for the last fifteen years. Rarely does the underdog defeat the standing champion, but when that happens, there is a moment of magic felt by all those in attendance. Alex, an avid England fan, tried to explain how momentous the feeling was and was only able to compare it to the event that he attended over the weekend in Brussels. As a Jew living in a small town in Ukraine he is often asked why support England? “To me it is an obvious choice”, he says. “Growing up in Ukraine I have always felt a strong Jewish pride, despite the difficulties that we face with the rise of assimilation and anti-Semitism that have been plaguing Europe. England in this … Continue Reading
Jewish Argentina
[The fall meeting of the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency for Israel opens today in Buenos Aires. In addition to on-the-ground coverage, eJewish Philanthropy, through a series of posts, will be taking a look at not only Jewish life in Argentina, but through-out Latin America. To begin, here's some background.] History of the Jews of Argentina The history of the Jews of Argentina goes back to the days of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, when Jews fleeing persecution settled in what is now Argentina. Many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata were Jewish, but an organized Jewish community developed only after Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1810. At that time, Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe began to settle in … Continue Reading
An Interview with a Key Limmud Activist
In a series of interviews with Limmud activists around the world, here we celebrate a key activist involved in prioritising the grassroots volunteerism of Limmud Netherlands. Meet Emma Sevitt, President, Limmud Netherlands: What did you want to achieve when you started Limmud Netherlands? I didn't start Limmud Netherlands, or Limmoed as we call it over here. The concept had been brought to the Netherlands years before we began it as a volunteer organization, run through a long standing Jewish organization. What we did was transform it into a volunteer based event. However, when the small group of us "started" Limmud, our goal was to create an event that was attractive to all types of Jewish communities in Holland. The community has a history of being very disparate, and our hope was that … Continue Reading
Jewish Services Expand in Sub-Saharan Africa
by Karen Schwartz In 1991, Rabbi Shlomo and Miriam Bentolila arrived in the former Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of the Congo - to direct what is today Chabad-Lubavitch of Central Africa. Headquarters for Jewish communities ranging from 100 to 1,000 strong across a wide swath of the continent, the operation now serves approximately 12 African countries, and over the past 20 years, its footprint and role in the region has grown to better serve the individual needs of Israeli expatriates, European businessmen and women, American travellers, and locally-born Jews. “What we’ve become today, after years of work, is a Jewish address for Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said. The High Holidays, which began with the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah, has been no exception. Groups of … Continue Reading
Bnei Menashe of Northeast India Celebrate Rosh Hashana
Children from the Bnei Menashe community prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashana in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. The Bnei Menashe are descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel who were exiled by the Assyrian empire more than 27 centuries ago. Several months ago, an Israeli government committee approved in principle a request made by the Shavei Israel organization to bring on aliyah the 7,200 Bnei Menashe still in India. photo courtesy Yochanan Phaltual … Continue Reading
New Reports Highlight Renewal of Jewish Life in Hungary, Poland
The renewal of Jewish life in Hungary and Poland comes under scrutiny in two reports published by the U.K. based Institute for Jewish Policy Research. The research, conducted by local experts on behalf of JPR and funded by the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe, was designed to assess the development of Jewish communities in East-Central Europe since the collapse of communism, as well as the challenges they face going forward. Research in Hungary reveals a community re-invigorated over the last 20 years, but nevertheless facing the challenge of low engagement in communal life: only 10 per cent of the Jewish population is affiliated to any Jewish organization. The report calls for: the restructuring of the Hungarian Jewish communal infrastructure to ensure that decisions on issues … Continue Reading
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