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“Hey, Jerry!” – Remembering Jerry Lewis
The Jewish-American comedian directed and acted in numerous films starring zany characters. A century after his birth, fans and scholars recall the performer whose manic energy, inventive filmmaking, and decades of philanthropy left an indelible mark on popular culture.
Lives Lost: The Works of the October 7 Fallen
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David’s Light Still Shines
“To be able to have coffee whenever we want” – that was how David Meir, of blessed memory, defined economic independence. He worked to help those around him gain financial literacy. David grew up in the community of Kochav HaShachar, founded by his parents, and served in the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit. On October 7, he was among the first to reach the Gaza border communities and was killed in battle at Kibbutz Be’eri. A special edition of the book “The Psychology of Money” has now been released in his memory.
A Musical Gift Left Behind: Remembering Guy Illouz
Guy Illouz, 26, was carving a career in the music business. Hamas terrorists shot Illouz at the Nova festival and kidnapped him to Gaza. Illouz died there of his wounds.
Remembering Yonatan Richter
Yonatan (Shafik) Richter was an exceptional person. He lived a life full of practical achievements as well as great spiritual awareness, the kind of life that can serve as an inspiration to us all. He was a family man with a thriving career who also sought greater meaning and hoped to share his insights with others. On October 7 2023, he volunteered as a mental health supporter at the Nova festival, where his life was cut short.
Hannah Kritzman: The Storyteller of Kibbutz Be’eri
At age 15, Hannah Kritzman ran away from home to Kibbutz Be’eri, where she became a beloved preschool teacher and founded the local children’s library. 73 years later, on October 7, after spending hours hiding with her caregiver in her safe room, Hannah was shot by a Hamas terrorist, just as the two were being rescued. The memoir she completed shortly before her death offers us a glimpse of what a wonderful woman she was.
Jewish Communities
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The “Women’s Cheder” of Eastern Europe
In Europe in the early 20th century, when the new school year would come around, there was barely anywhere for women, especially Jewish women, to go and study. What happened when Eastern European authorities tried to prevent Jewish girls from receiving an education?
Leo Frank, 1915: The Case America Still Reckons With
More than a century after the lynching of a Jewish-American man in Georgia, rising antisemitism makes the tragedy’s warning painfully clear.
The Secret Chord: Leonard Cohen Composes “Hallelujah”
He only began writing songs seriously at the age of 30, and started singing a few years later. A proud Jew who spent time living in a Buddhist monastery in California, he used poetry and music to express both the holiest and the darkest parts of the human soul. His most famous song, whose story we tell here, is likely one you know, even if you’ve never heard Leonard Cohen sing it in his own voice.
Better Together: Colombia’s Macabi Games Tell the Story of a Community
The National Macabi Games, or Macabeada, are held annually in Colombia, with Jewish athletes attending from across the country and even elsewhere. This event is about much more than sport, however. The games are a celebration of Jewish life, community, friendship and love.
Life on the Border: A Tribute to the Communities of the Gaza Border Region
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The Lovers’ Garden of Kibbutz Nir Oz
A 50-year-old news article illuminates the deep bond between Oded and Yocheved Lifshitz from Nir Oz, who nurtured not only their love but also a unique and remarkable garden in their kibbutz. Both were abducted from their home on October 7, and now Yocheved waits for her beloved Oded’s return.
When the Farhud Came to Be’eri: October 7 and the Legacy of an Iraqi Pogrom
“We made Aliyah from Iraq to Israel so that Arabs wouldn’t be able to enter Jewish homes and murder us,” said Kibbutz Be’eri members who survived the pogrom known as the Farhud. In Be’eri, founded in part by Iraqi immigrants, there is a monument to the victims of the Farhud, suffered by the Jews of Iraq over 80 years ago. They couldn’t know that years later, their children and grandchildren would face a similar horror – but this time, in the Jewish state.
Nir Oz Will Blossom Again: The Story of a Legendary Kibbutz Gardener
In the early days, members of Kibbutz Nir Oz suffered from terrible sandstorms that made it difficult to move, see and even eat. Ran Pauker, the kibbutz’s legendary landscaper, was called to solve the problem, and along the way, Nir Oz became a green, ecological gem. When asked about the future of the kibbutz that suffered a fatal blow on October 7 – he says the vegetation will be restored within a year, as for the community: “We’ll have to wait and see”
We Shall Return: The Spirit of Kibbutz Nirim Will Prevail
“We shall return” – these were the words printed in Hebrew on t-shirts made by the survivors of Kibbutz Nirim. These words embody a history of heroism, pioneering, culture and Zionism which should serve as a model for all of us. Kibbutz Nirim, founded in 1946, faced a desperate battle for its very existence just two years afterwards. It survived then and survives now thanks to the unique spirit of its members.
The Man Who’s Been Documenting the People of Ofakim Since October 7
Nadav Mishali founded the cinematheque in the southern Israeli city of Ofakim. His personal story is bound up with that of the city itself and its brave and exceptional residents. Mishali has now taken on an even bigger mission – to document the stories of hardship and heroism that took place in Ofakim on Saturday, October 7, 2023
Jerusalem
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The Abu Ghosh Clan: Guardians of the Road to Jerusalem
On a courageous choice that shaped the fate of a family and a village just outside the Israeli capital
The Stories of Jerusalem’s Jewish Slum Neighborhoods
Jackals, mold, rot and cave-ins. Neighborhoods suffering from overcrowding, neglect, filth, poverty and a lack of basic sanitation. Moshe David Gaon, secretary of Jerusalem’s Sephardi Community Council, toured the city’s poorest Jewish neighborhoods during the British Mandate period. He documented his observations in reports that were recently discovered in his archive, now housed at the National Library.
Who Was Judah Touro?
Touro’s philanthropy left its mark on Jewish life around the globe, yet, almost paradoxically, few today are familiar with his name.
When “Jerusalem Day” Was a Day of Mourning
Before the Old City of Jerusalem was liberated in the Six-Day War – and even before the founding of the State of Israel – there were already a number of forgotten attempts by individuals, organizations, and official institutions to establish a “Jerusalem Day.” How was Israel’s capital commemorated before the Six-Day War? The answer is, at times, surprising.
History of Israel
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Yehuda Amichai, U2 and the Pope Ask for “Wildpeace”
It was written in Israel during a lull between wars, and it scorns official ceremonies and treaties with their “heavy stamps” and exalted promises. So how did Yehuda Amichai’s Hebrew poem “Wildpeace” become a rallying cry for world leaders, popes and rock stars?
From Nazi Germany to October 7: A Family’s Story of Survival, Resilience and Memory
The Heilbronners were a Jewish-German family who fled their home in Stuttgart following the Nazis’ rise to power. They arrived in the Land of Israel in the 1930s, with one of their sons later settling in Kibbutz Be’eri. A family diary, which documented the pre-war era in Germany, narrowly avoided destruction on October 7, 2023, as it was brought to the National Library shortly before.
Natan Sharansky’s Meal of Gratitude: 40 Years of Freedom
Sharansky was freed from Soviet captivity in February of 1986. Jewish unity helped to bring about his release — and he says it remains key today. In this interview, Sharansky reflects on his own family’s practice of marking the occasion, which may hold a lesson for many of us.
How a British Officer Shaped Israel’s Defense Forces
Captain Orde Wingate was an elite soldier and a non-Jewish Zionist visionary who, in Mandatory Palestine, established one of the world’s first modern counterterrorism units. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with Jewish comrades, he successfully confronted the violent riots that had shaken the country and developed a doctrine of warfare that has been adopted across the globe. It was even used to counter the Hamas attack on October 7. Now, Wingate’s personal collection of documents from his time in the Land of Israel has arrived at the National Library of Israel.
Yom Kippur
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From Portugal, to Aleppo, to Jerusalem
Created on the eve of a community’s destruction, the Lisbon Mahzor survived the horrors of persecution and expulsion, and then wandered the world as one of the few surviving treasures of a rare religious and artistic tradition. At some point along the war, its three volumes were separated. Only recently, thanks to the efforts of the National Library of Israel, have all three been reunited in Jerusalem, and now they have even been joyfully rejoined in digital form.
My White Dress: Why Do Jews Wear White on Holidays?
During the holiday season, most of us will likely arrive at synagogue or at the family meal dressed in white, praying that no red wine or beet juice gets sprayed on our dresses and shirts. In fact, some Jewish men will be showing up at synagogue wearing a striking white robe – an introduction to the “kittel”.
The Mystery of the Jewish Soldier Who Fell on Yom Kippur, 1944
Two prayer books with some oddly intriguing labels have revealed a fascinating story involving an American Jewish soldier killed during a failed WWII operation. This story begins in Manhattan, 81 years ago. It ends at the National Library of Israel…
Flogging as Atonement? An Often-Overlooked Yom Kippur Custom
How a little-known Yom Kippur ritual became a weapon in the hands of antisemites
