News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- MyHeritage Introduces Ethnicity Estimate v2.5. The new model follows two years of extensive research and fine-tuning by the MyHeritage Science Team. It also provides higher resolution results compared to the previous model and nearly doubles the number of ethnicities identified by MyHeritage, from 42 to 79. Some features include A. Distinguishes between 15 different Jewish ethnicities. B. More detailed results, for example: Scandinavian ethnicity is now broken down to Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish. C. Identifies 24 percentage-based European ethnicities. D. Quite a few of the new percentage-based ethnicities, such as Armenian, are unique to MyHeritage and not identified by other tests. View their video: Introducing MyHeritage DNA Ethnicity Estimate v2.5
- MyHeritage Releases Exclusive Israel Marriages and Divorces Record Collection. The Israel, Marriages and Divorces collection contains 428,426 records from 1919 onward, and was sourced from the Israel State Archives. Marriage and divorce records are among the most critical documents for genealogical research. Read more from their blog: MyHeritage Releases Exclusive Israel Marriages and Divorces Record Collection – MyHeritage Blog
- Roman-era boundary stone hints at a political tiff described in the Jerusalem Talmud. Unearthed in Upper Galilee, 3rd century CE artifact might prove rumored tensions between Emperor Diocletian and local population; also mentions two hitherto unknown Golan villages. Read the story from The Times of Israel: Roman-era boundary stone hints at a political tiff described in the Jerusalem Talmud | The Times of Israel
- Fraud, forgery and sedition: 1,900-year-old papyrus records Roman trial against Jews. New research on the longest Greek papyrus from the Judean Desert ever discovered offers unprecedented insights into life in the Land of Israel in Bar Kochba era. Read the story from The Times of Israel: Fraud, forgery and sedition: 1,900-year-old papyrus records Roman trial against Jews | The Times of Israel
- Was an ancient European ring found in Israel used as a wedding band depicting the Temple? Unearthed at Huqoq, the artifact may represent the missing link between 1,300-year-old Merovingian rings and popular medieval Jewish nuptial bands, new research shows. Read the story and see the ring from The Times of Israel: Was an ancient European ring found in Israel used as a wedding band depicting the Temple? | The Times of Israel
- 80 Years After Auschwitz Liberation, ‘The Investigation’ Bears Witness to Nazi Atrocities. R.P. Kahl’s feature, based on Holocaust testimonies and courtroom transcripts, premieres in Israel on Monday and across all media in Germany. Read more about the movie from The Hollywood Reporter: 80 Years After Auschwitz: ‘The Investigation’ Film on Nazi Atrocities
- New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage is using AI for Holocaust education. Educational center unveils exhibit called ‘Survivor Stories’ that uses artificial intelligence to facilitate dialogue between survivors and visitors. Holocaust educators have sought to preserve memories of the genocide for decades, as survivors grow old and their ranks thin. The museum’s new project, called “Survivor Stories,” will give visitors the ability to ask survivors questions in a conversational format, providing the museum with another tool for education once survivors are gone. Read more from The Times of Israel: New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage is using AI for Holocaust education | The Times of Israel
- Descendants retrace Holocaust survivors’ treacherous, covert journey to pre-state Israel. Children of Jews who secretly traveled to the Jewish homeland with the ‘Bricha’ movement, some of whom were born along the way, revisit the long route and uncover buried histories. This sporadic yet large-scale movement that came to be known as the Bricha, or Escape, brought more than 100,000 Jews to the Jewish homeland. Read their story from The Times of Israel: Descendants retrace Holocaust survivors’ treacherous, covert journey to pre-state Israel | The Times of Israel
- Resistance: They Fought Back…Now Streaming from PBS. People have a myth stuck in their heads that during the Holocaust, Jews went to their deaths “like sheep to the slaughter.” But this is where the real story begins. Jews did not go as sheep to the slaughter. They fought back. Watch now: Resistance: They Fought Back | PBS
- Jews of Iran: A Modern History. Iranian Jewry under the Islamic Republic of Iran. Jews began settling in Iran about 2,700 years ago. Throughout their history, the Iranian Jews have coped with significant challenges, especially during the Safavid era (1501-1736) and under the Qajar rulers (1796-1925). Read more from My Jewish Learning: Jews of Iran: A Modern History | My Jewish Learning
- The only Jew in Oświęcim, Poland, can see Auschwitz from her bedroom window. Hila Weisz-Gut’s grandmother survived Auschwitz. In 2023, Weisz-Gut moved to the town where the concentration camp is located. Read her story from The Forward: The only Jew in Oświęcim, Poland, can see Auschwitz from her bedroom window – The Forward
- New Auschwitz research center to bring music to notorious Nazi’s reclaimed home. Once a ‘paradise’ occupied by commandant Rudolf Höss, the center will now host research, education, professional training, policy advocacy, and art. The house, once a luxurious “paradise” where the longest-serving commandant of Auschwitz lived from 1940 to 1944, is being converted into a research center fighting against antisemitism and extremism and operated by the non-profit organization Counter Extremism Project (CEP. Read more from Times of Israel: New Auschwitz research center to bring music to notorious Nazi’s reclaimed home | The Times of Israel
- “Make America Your Country as Well as Your Home” – Yiddish guides for prospective U.S. citizens. The article describes a booklet entitled “How to Take Out Your First Papers.” First published as “an easy book in plain English for the coming citizen,” it was republished in a combination of English and Yiddish in the early 1920s. Read the article from The Yiddish Book Center: Make America Your Country as Well as Your Home | Yiddish Book Center
- Laser scans document the elaborate murals in three synagogues in the Bucovina region of western Ukraine. It is now possible to access or view many synagogues and even some Jewish cemeteries online via various digital platforms. Some are detailed digital reconstructions of synagogues that were destroyed during World War II. Some are digitalized constructions of existing buildings, which can be “toured” online. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: Ukraine: Laser scans document the elaborate murals in three synagogues in the Bucovina region of western Ukraine – Jewish Heritage Europe Note: If you have not visited Synagogues 360, it is also a must: Synagogues360 |
- 17th Century Great Synagogue in Orla, Poland is shortlisted for Europa Nostra’s “Seven Most Endangered” List. The synagogue was built in the second quarter of the 17th century, but archaeological research has revealed that a small wooden synagogue had stood in the same place earlier. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2025/01/30/poland-orla-shortlist/
- The Mighty Atom. How Joe Greenstein, a scrawny Polish Jew, became one of the greatest strongmen of the 20th century. His stage name was “The Mighty Atom”. He was just five feet four and weighed 145 pounds, but he was strong enough to pull 30-ton trucks and hold back an airplane with his hair, chew iron chains and coins in half, crush steel bars and drive nails through wood boards with his bare hands and flatten a bullet with his skull. Read his story from Aish: The Mighty Atom | Aish
- ‘Saturday Night,’ Now Streaming on Netflix, Is an Ode to Jewish Legends of TV Comedy. The film about the first episode of SNL features trailblazing Jewish creators from Milton Berle to Billy Crystal to comedy writer Rosie Shuster. Read more from Kveller: ‘Saturday Night,’ Now Streaming on Netflix, Is an Ode to Jewish Legends of TV Comedy – Kveller
- In ‘Midas Man,’ a new biopic of Jewish Beatles manager Brian Epstein, a synagogue sets the scene. Epstein, sometimes referred to as the “Fifth Beatle,” came from an Orthodox family in Liverpool. Read more from JTA: In ‘Midas Man,’ a new biopic of Jewish Beatles manager Brian Epstein, a synagogue sets the scene – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
- New York City names street ‘Yad Vashem Way’ amid rampant antisemitism. Block named after Israel’s Holocaust museum and memorial at ceremony attended by local and Israeli officials: ‘This is a reminder, a memory.’ Read more from The Times of Israel: New York City names street ‘Yad Vashem Way’ amid rampant antisemitism | The Times of Israel
- 7 Things You Should Know About Hebrew. The Jewish people’s traditional language has a storied past. Hebrew is the language of the Bible, Jewish prayer and — since the early 20th century — a modern language spoken in Israel. Read seven important things to know about this storied language from My Jewish Learning: 7 Things You Should Know About Hebrew | My Jewish Learning
- Early man ate carbs and processed food 780,000 years ago, northern Israel site shows. Analysis of basalt tools from the Hula Valley shows that Stone Age humans gathered, extracted and crushed starches from acorns, cereals, legumes and aquatic plants. Read more from The Times of Israel: Early man ate carbs and processed food 780,000 years ago, northern Israel site shows | The Times of Israel
- Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan reunite at Katz’s Deli for Super Bowl ad. The ‘When Harry Met Sally’ couple reconvene at the iconic Lower East Side deli for a commercial of Hellman’s mayonnaise. Read more from Jewish News. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan reunite at Katz’s Deli for Super Bowl ad – Jewish News
- Groundhog Day: Meet the Jews of Punxsutawney, Pa. In anticipation of Tuesday’s observance of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pa., it should be remembered that a Jewish coal mine operator added pizzazz to the festivities. Read the story from The Forward: Groundhog Day: Meet the Jews of Punxsutawney, Pa. – The Forward
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The Weekly News Nosh contains news about Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History and Jewish Culture. The Nosh is published on Sundays and distributed by the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation on its 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 future announcements.