Judaism

An 1864 photo of General Ulysses S. Grant

Why Union General Ulysses S. Grant Issued an Order to Expel Jews From Certain Confederate States During the Civil War

An attempt to cut down on the illegal cotton trade, Grant’s decision, announced on this day in 1862, was immensely controversial and hounded him for years

Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island

The Little-Known Story Behind the Oldest Surviving Synagogue in America

Through revolution and war, Touro Synagogue, which opened in Newport, Rhode Island, on this day in 1763, has long been a beacon for religious tolerance on the coast of New England

The amulet contains an image of King Solomon and a Greek inscription that reads, "Our Lord defeated evil."

Rare 1,600-Year-Old Pendant Discovered in Turkey Depicts King Solomon Defeating the Devil

The fifth-century artifact was found in the ruins of a structure that may have been connected to the military. Historians think it was used as a protective amulet

This marble tablet weighs 115 pounds and measures two feet tall.

An Ancient Tablet Inscribed With Nine of the Ten Commandments From the Book of Exodus Is for Sale

The marble slab, which dates to between 300 and 500 C.E., is the oldest-known stone tablet inscribed with the Commandments. Nobody recognized its significance until decades after its discovery

Leo Reuss rehearses with celebrated stage actress Christl Mardayn in 1937. Reuss’ bleached hair and beard were remnants of his false identity as a farmer.

When the Nazis Seized Power, This Jewish Actor Took on the Role of His Life

After he was forced off the German stage in 1934 by antisemitic hecklers, Leo Reuss found a daring way to hide in plain sight

A woman enters the secret annex at the Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam. The new exhibition in New York will be the first full-scale replica.

Walk Through a Full-Scale Replica of the Secret Annex Where Anne Frank's Family Took Shelter During the Holocaust

Featuring more than 100 original artifacts, a new immersive exhibition in New York City will explore the young Jewish diarist's life and legacy

The 700-year-old text is in “exceptionally fine condition,” according to Sotheby’s.

Hebrew Bible From Medieval Spain Could Sell for $7 Million

After years of painstaking work, Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon finished the illustrated manuscript in 1312

A grand jury tasked with investigating the riots argued that the violence outside Peekskill “was basically neither antisemitic nor anti-Negro in character.”

The Peekskill Riots Revealed the Racism and Antisemitism Hidden Beneath the Surface of the Anti-Communist Movement

In the summer of 1949, World War II veterans protested a pair of concerts held by Paul Robeson, a Black singer and civil rights activist who expressed support for communist causes

Self portrait, Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, 1917

A New Exhibition in Amsterdam Explores the Holocaust Through Looted Objects

"Looted" examines how the Nazis systematically plundered Jewish cultural items during World War II

In "Lady in the Lake," Natalie Portman plays a fictional journalist who investigates a pair of mysterious deaths. The cases are inspired by the real-life disappearances of Esther Lebowitz and Shirley Lee Parker.

The Real Story Behind the Baltimore Deaths That Inspired 'Lady in the Lake'

A new mini-series offers a fictionalized take on two unrelated 1969 cases: the mysterious disappearance of bartender Shirley Lee Parker and the murder of 11-year-old Esther Lebowitz

Baskind was buried under a Star of David with full military honors at the Normandy American Cemetery in France this week.

A Jewish Soldier Found in a German Mass Grave Has Been Reburied in an American Cemetery

Nathan Baskind received a Jewish burial exactly 80 years after his death in World War II

On May 21, 1924, Nathan Leopold Jr. (left) and Richard Loeb (right) murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Leopold later described the pair's motive as “a sort of pure love of excitement, or the imaginary love of thrills, doing something different.”

Why Leopold and Loeb Committed Cold-Blooded Murder in the 'Crime of the Century'

A century ago, two Chicago teenagers killed an acquaintance named Bobby Franks for the thrill of it. The case captivated the nation and continues to fascinate the public today

Lali (played by Jonah Hauer-King) and Gita (Anna Próchniak) in "The Tattooist of Auschwitz," a new mini-series based on Heather Morris' 2018 novel of the same name

'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' Demonstrates the Limits of Holocaust Fiction

A new mini-series dramatizes the best-selling 2018 novel that sparked debate over the line between history and memory

In 1866, Joseph A. Joel, a Jewish private in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, wrote a detailed account of an 1862 Passover Seder.

How Jewish Soldiers Celebrated Passover in the Midst of the Civil War

A group of Union men from Ohio held a makeshift Seder in the western Virginia woods in 1862

Readers were first introduced to Superman in June 1938.

The First Issue of Superman Just Became the Most Valuable Comic Book in the World

An original copy of 1938's "Action Comics No. 1" sold for a record-breaking $6 million at auction

Art historian Federica Gigante examines the device at the Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi-Erizzo in Verona, Italy.

Long Overlooked, This 11th-Century Astronomical Device Documents Scientific Exchange Among Muslims, Jews and Christians

The astrolabe features Hebrew and Latin inscriptions added by different owners over time

The museum is located inside a former teacher's college that played a vital role in the Dutch resistance.

With New Holocaust Museum, the Netherlands Reckons With Its Past

The venue, which opens this week, memorializes the Dutch Jews who suffered at the hands of the Nazis

Mohammed (seated at left) with Franklin D. Roosevelt (center) and Winston Churchill (right) at a 1943 war conference near Casablanca

The Moroccan Sultan Who Protected His Country's Jews During World War II

Mohammed V defied the collaborationist Vichy regime, saving Morocco's 250,000 Jews from deportation to Nazi death camps

Orly Weintraub Gilad has her grandfather's Auschwitz number, A-12599, tattooed on her arm.

Why Descendants of Holocaust Survivors Are Replicating Auschwitz Tattoos

Those who choose to put the numbers on their bodies hope the act will spark conversation about the Holocaust and pay tribute to loved ones who survived

David Wisnia in his U.S. Army uniform after being “adopted” by troops of the 101st Airborne Division in 1945

The Couple Who Fell in Love in a Nazi Death Camp

A new book chronicles the unlikely connection between Helen Spitzer and David Wisnia, both of whom survived Auschwitz

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