The Weekly News Nosh – May 10, 2026

This Jewish heritage news digest is this week’s NewsNosh (The Weekly News Nosh) from L’Dor V’Dor Foundation—a curated set of links for anyone interested in Jewish family history, Jewish history, and Jewish heritage. This week’s NewsNosh Jewish heritage news digest includes Pale of Settlement research, Holocaust memory, Jewish Paris, synagogue heritage, and more.

Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

This week’s news links:

1. Living Jewish In The Pale of Settlement. Are your ancestors from the Pale of Settlement? Do you know how they lived or what hardships they endured? In case you missed this program in the past, I will be giving a presentation next Sunday, May 17^th at 10:00 Pacific, 12:00 Central and 1:00 Eastern time via Zoom for the Jewish Genealogy Society of Orange County, California. You must register to join. Here are the specifics of what I will be talking about: https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main/topic/119221907
2. MyHeritage Family Infographics. Turn a loved one’s life story into a beautiful work of art, generated automatically from your family tree and photos. Read more from their blog: MyHeritage – MyHeritage
3. The Free NARA Genealogy Cheat Sheet. Free Online Genealogy Resources at the National Archives. A Quick Reference for Researchers at Every Skill Level. Discover more here: CHEAT SHEET The Free NARA Genealogy Cheat Sheet
4. Ancient Connections: Where Archaeology Meets Your Ancestors. Ancient Connections, a report found on FamilyTreeDNA’s Discover platform for both Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), can be used in multiple ways to enhance your genealogy and unlock secrets. Today, there are more than 12,960 Y-DNA Ancient Connections in Discover, along with more than 25,310 mitochondrial Ancient Connections, and that number increases weekly. Read more from DNA Explained: Ancient Connections: Where Archaeology Meets Your Ancestors | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
5. Nine miles of archives: NYC Jewish history documents come to life in CUNY trove. City University of New York public system’s material includes Yiddish jokes, posters for champion boxers, and student newspapers discussing same issues as today. Read the story from The Times of Israel: 9 miles of archives: NYC Jewish history documents come to life in CUNY trove | The Times of Israel
6. AI Holocaust content is booming. Is it all ‘slop’ — or a solution for fading firsthand memory? Educators, ethicists and Jewish leaders are debating the question as content mills slop on. Read more from JTA: AI Holocaust content is booming. Is it all ‘slop’ — or a solution for fading firsthand memory? – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
7. Her body has been unidentified for decades. Her Ashkenazi DNA may explain why. European Jewish genetics pose challenges for investigators trying to identify remains. Read the story from The Forward: Jewish DNA complicates identification of body found in Arizona – The Forward
8. What Is Lag B’Omer? Lag B’Omer marks the date of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s death. So why is it such a celebration? Read why from Aish: What Is Lag B’Omer? | Aish
9. The Last Twins: The Man Who Saved 80 Boys from Mengele. At Auschwitz, a 29-year-old Hungarian Jew named Erno “Zvi” Spiegel risked his life daily to protect boys from Josef Mengele. His story is finally being told. Read his story from Aish: The Last Twins: The Man Who Saved 80 Boys from Mengele | Aish
10. The recent renovation of the former Kaukaska synagogue in Krynki, Poland nominated for an award. The synagogue, listed as a monument, dates from around 1850 — and owes its name to skins from the Caucasus imported by merchants for local tanneries. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2026/05/05/poland-update-krynki-synagogue/
11. Czech Republic: Archaeologists have uncovered the foundations of Brno’s monumental Great Synagogue. The Great Synagogue was built in 1853-55 and torched by the Nazis in March 17-18, 1939. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2026/05/06/czech-republic-brno-archaeology/
12. New documentary captures the lively history of Yiddish theater in America. The film opens with a superb Yiddish vaudeville number performed by the widely mourned Bruce Adler. The film, Immigrant Songs: Yiddish Theater and the American Jewish Experience, is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Read more from The Forward: New documentary captures the lively history of Yiddish theater in America – The Forward
13. In Max and Richard Fleischer, was father like son? A Film Forum retrospective of the cartoonist and his journeyman heir brings innovation to light. Here is a hint if you remember him: Boop Oop a Doop! Read the story from The Forward: In Max and Richard Fleischer, was father like son? – The Forward
14. A tree of hope: Anne Frank sapling planted at Wagner honors past, inspires future. The white chestnut sapling, descended from the tree that gave Anne Frank solace during her years in hiding, was planted on Staten Island as a symbol of hope and resilience for New Yorkers. Read the story: A tree of hope: Anne Frank sapling planted at Wagner honors past, inspires future – silive.com
15. France reckons with Nazi-looted art in a new Paris museum gallery. A new gallery at a Paris museum is confronting France’s legacy of Nazi-looted art by permanently displaying stolen masterpieces — including their marked and stamped backsides tracing how they were taken from Jewish owners. Read more from the AP: France reckons with Nazi-looted art in a new exhibit in Paris | AP News
16. As new Holocaust memorial stone laid in Berlin, relative says plaque serves as substitute for grave. Project initiator Gunter Demnig installed the first plaque in the German capital three decades ago. By now, one can find more than 11,000 of his memorial stones all over the city. But Demnig’s decentralized Holocaust memorial goes much further than that — the artist and his teams of supporters have laid 126,000 stones in Germany and 31 other countries across Europe. Read the story from The Times of Israel: As new Holocaust memorial stone laid in Berlin, relative says plaque serves as substitute for grave | The Times of Israel
17. Brussels cathedral installs plaques apologizing for medieval antisemitic persecution depicted in stained glass. “They must not be erased, because they are part of history, but they must be accompanied by explanation,” the city’s chief rabbi said about the windows. Read more from The Forward: Brussels cathedral installs plaques apologizing for medieval antisemitic persecution depicted in stained glass – The Forward
18. Who Was Josephus? The Controversial Backstory of the Famed Historian. When Yosef ben Matityahu, a great warrior, defected to the Romans and became Josephus Flavius. Read his story from Aish: Who Was Josephus? The Controversial Backstory of the Famed Historian | Aish
19. Tracing Jewish Paris, from Herzl to the Holocaust. An LSJS educational trip explored the French capital through synagogues, museums, Holocaust memory and modern Jewish life. Paris is often viewed through its landmarks – the Louvre, grand boulevards, cafés and palaces – but for a group visiting the city recently, the focus was on the Jewish history running through them. Read the story from Jewish News UK: Tracing Jewish Paris, from Herzl to the Holocaust – Jewish News
20. Jewish History weekend brings medieval London back to life. Jewish Square Mile launches festival to explore lives of the Jewish community that settled in the capital by 1068 until their expulsion two centuries later. Read the story, again from Jewish News UK: Jewish History weekend brings medieval London back to life – Jewish News
21. A Jewish farmer broke ground on a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield. His neighbors showed up to help. Nik Jakobs, a cattle farmer in rural Illinois, is building a new synagogue and Holocaust museum using sacred objects rescued from shuttered congregations across America. Read his story from The Forward: Farmer builds synagogue and Holocaust museum in cornfield – The Forward
22. How young people once used Yiddish personal ads to find a partner. While a shadkhn, or matchmaker, continued to bring most Jewish couples together in the old country, by 1908, a fascinating innovation had taken root in the big cities of Warsaw and Vilna: the newspaper marriage ad. Called “Lands-shadkhn” (“Land Matchmaker”), it included dozens of paid advertisements by young people embracing these novel  “matchmakers.” Read the story from The Forward: How young people once used Yiddish personal ads to find a partner – The Forward
23. Michael Jackson biopic revives legend of Jewish music mogul who battled MTV’s ‘color barrier.’ Walter Yetnikoff, played by Mike Myers, appears in a pivotal scene in “Michael.” Read his story from JTA: Michael Jackson biopic revives legend of Jewish music mogul who battled MTV’s ‘color barrier’ – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
24. What the private equity takeover means for the bagel industry. Investment terms have majority shares in several bagel shops and are hungry for more. Read the story from The Forward: What the private equity takeover means for bagels – The Forward
25. A Jewish Expressionist artist’s life, preserved in a brownstone. The Ben-Zion House, located in Chelsea in Manhattan, is anything but a mausoleum. Instead, it feels like a living sanctuary — one that not only celebrates the Jewish artist’s life and work, but continues to inspire the writers, poets, architects, musicians and painters who pass through its rooms. Read his story from The Forward: A little-known Jewish Expressionist’s life preserved in a brownstone – The Forward

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About The Weekly News Nosh

The Weekly News Nosh (NewsNosh) is the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation’s weekly Jewish heritage news digest—a curated set of links for anyone interested in Jewish family history, Jewish history, and Jewish heritage. NewsNosh is published on Sundays and shared on our website and social media platforms. “A Family Without The Understanding Of Their Past History, Foundation And Ethnicity Is Like A Tree Without Roots.” Subscribe to receive NewsNosh every Sunday, directly in your inbox. Browse past issues of our Jewish heritage news digest in the NewsNosh archive.