News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- Were you impacted by DNA-tracking company 23andMe’s 2023 data breach? You Can File a Claim for Part of 23andMe’s $30 Million Data Breach Settlement Right Now. Read more from EOGN: Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter – You Can File a Claim for Part of 23andMe’s $30 Million Data Breach Settlement Right Now
- How Far Back Can You Go With DNA? There are a few different types of DNA tests available to the average person, and many different companies offering testing. How do you know which type of test you should do, and what you can realistically expect to learn from your results? An excellent and easy to understand overview of using DNA. Read the story: How Far Back Can You Go With DNA? – Who are You Made Of?
- NARA’s two databases ease searches of its collection of 1.7 million most valuable immigration files.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) eases the searching with two databases that are not known to a lot of people researching in the former Russian Empire. NARA’s databases can be searched for people born as early as 1869 to as late as 1924 and came from any country. Read and search here: NARA’s two databases ease searches of its collection of 1.7 million most valuable immigration files – Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family
- Have You Ever Visited the Arolsen Archives? The Arolsen Archives have the largest collection of information on Nazi victims, including documents on concentration camps, forced labor and displaced persons. There are three ways of accessing the archive: search the online archive, send them an inquiry or visit in person. For more information go to: Online archive on Nazi persecution – Arolsen Archives
- Dutch-led Suriname team digitizes 100,000 documents to preserve Jewish history in the Caribbean. The archived documents show how Suriname was a hub of Jewish life for the Americas. The British who colonized the region gave Jews political and religious autonomy when they first moved to Suriname in 1639 to manage tobacco and sugar cane plantations. Read more from AP News: Dutch-led Suriname team digitizes 100,000 documents to preserve Jewish history in the Caribbean | AP News
- Ancient Israelites were more worldly than their insular Judean cousins, study shows. Using statistical methods from field of ecological biodiversity, Israeli scholars analyze 1,000 First Temple period (950–586 BCE) names and find that the northern state was likely more ‘cosmopolitan.’ Read the story from The Times of Israel: Ancient Israelites were more worldly than their insular Judean cousins, study shows | The Times of Israel
- 2,000-year-old road linking ancient mikveh to Temple Mount unearthed in Jerusalem. Archaeologists say the Pilgrimage Road, buried for centuries beneath Jerusalem, may have been walked by Jesus. Read more from Jewish News UK: 2,000-year-old road linking ancient mikveh to Temple Mount unearthed in Jerusalem – Jewish News
- Archaeologists launch new excavation in West Bank at capital of ancient Israel. Sebastia – known in Hebrew by its biblical name, “Shomron” – is thought to have been the capital of the northern Israelite kingdom in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Sebastia’s archaeological site features remains from several periods, from the Iron Age (1200 – 586 BCE) to modern times. Its overlapping layers of history date back nearly 3,000 years, from biblical kings to Roman conquerors, Crusaders, and Ottomans. Read more from The Times of Israel: Archaeologists launch new excavation in West Bank at capital of ancient Israel | The Times of Israel
- A visit to the ancient Roman-era villa Torlonia Jewish catacombs in Rome. The multi-level catacombs lie under the grounds of the villa Torlonia on Rome’s via Nomentana. They are one of six Jewish catacombs complexes in Rome — some no longer exist and only the villa Torlonia and the Vigna Randanini catacombs on the Appian Way are accessible today. Read the story and see the pictures from Jewish Heritage Europe: Italy: A visit to the ancient Roman-era villa Torlonia Jewish catacombs in Rome – Jewish Heritage Europe
- Who really led the Bar Kochba revolt? New research sheds light on rebellion’s enigmas. Recent paper suggests Jewish veterans from the Roman army may have initially led the 2nd-century Jewish war against the Romans, one of the events connected with Lag B’Omer. Read more from The Times of Israel: Who really led the Bar Kochba revolt? New research sheds light on rebellion’s enigmas | The Times of Israel
- The Cairo Geniza: How a Dusty Attic Changed Jewish History Forever. A thousand years of daily life, debate, and devotion, preserved in a forgotten storeroom in Cairo is reshaping Jewish history. In 1896, in a forgotten storeroom above the ancient Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Jewish history changed forever. Read the story from Aish: The Cairo Geniza: How a Dusty Attic Changed Jewish History Forever | Aish
- Museum opens at former Czech factory where Oskar Schindler saved 1,200 Jews. A dilapidated industrial site in the Czech Republic where German businessman Oskar Schindler saved 1,200 Jews during World War II is coming back to life. The site, a former textile factory in the town of Brněnec, was stolen by the Nazis from its Jewish owners in 1938 and turned into a concentration camp. Now, it welcomed the first visitors to the Museum of Survivors, dedicated to the Holocaust and the history of Jews in this part of Europe. Read the story from the Times of Israel: Museum opens at former Czech factory where Oskar Schindler saved 1,200 Jews | The Times of Israel
- Nazi material seized by Argentina in World War II found in top court’s basement. Postcards, photographs and propaganda material that arrived on Japanese ship in 1941 sparked concerns among authorities that the items could affect Argentina’s wartime neutrality. Read more from The Times of Israel: Nazi material seized by Argentina in World War II found in top court’s basement | The Times of Israel
- How a little-known Japanese American battalion freed Jews from a Nazi death march. They were Japanese American soldiers, part of a storied military unit that faced down prejudice and suspicion to fight Adolf Hitler’s armies in Europe. From the Washington Post: How Japanese American soldiers freed Jews from a Nazi death march in WWII – The Washington Post
- How one Jewish woman fought the Nazis — and helped found a new Italian republic. 80 years ago, Teresa Mattei fought with the resistance and went on to help write Italy’s constitution. Read her story from The Forward: How Teresa Mattei fought the Nazis and changed Italy – The Forward
- 75 years ago, Israel gained independence. How did the media cover it? Newspapers around the world understood the significance of the moment, with many giving Israel front-page play. See some of the front pages from The Forward: How the media covered Israel’s independence day – The Forward
- For first time since Henry VIII created role, a Jew will lead Hebrew studies at Cambridge. Yeshiva University’s Aaron Koller will be the first Jewish Regius Professor of Hebrew. Since 1540, a prestigious chain of scholars has held the title of the Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge. But not one of these scholars of Hebrew and Semitic studies was Jewish — until this year. Read more from Jewish News UK: For first time since Henry VIII created role, a Jew will lead Hebrew studies at Cambridge – Jewish News
- Israel Museum Jerusalem: Guarding the past, shaping the future. The Israel Museum opened in 1965 with a bold vision: to create an encyclopedic institution able to serve as a vibrant cultural hub for a young nation. Designed to contain the multifaceted nature of human civilization, the museum was conceived as a living entity that engages with Israel’s evolving identity and the world at large. Read the story from The Jerusalem Post: How the Israel Museum in Jerusalem guards our past, shapes our future – The Jerusalem Post
- Biblical Drama ‘The Faithful’ Greenlit at Fox. The limited series, set for spring 2026, will tell the stories of several women who play important roles in the Old Testament. The Faithful will center on the stories of five women — Sarah and Hagar, Rebekah, and Leah and Rachel. Read more from The Hollywood Reporter: Fox Orders Biblical Drama ‘The Faithful’ for 2025-26 Season
###
About The Weekly News Nosh
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.