News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- Reclaim The Records Wins The New York State Death Index, 1880-2017. After years of litigation, the New York State Court of Appeals has just handed Reclaim The Records a resounding win ordering the state Department of Health (DOH) to turn over numerous fields of information of 10 million records, the first-ever FULL and FREE release of the New York State Death Index for the years 1880 through 2017! Read more about this from their website: Reclaim The Records: Public Data for Public Use – Reclaim The Records
- Newspapers.com announces the addition of 212 new papers to their archives. These papers come from Illinois, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Canada. Read more from their blog: New Papers from Seven States & Canada! – The official blog of Newspapers.com. NOTE: Please note that there are TWO levels of Newspapers.com subscriptions. One in addition to your Ancestry.com account is NOT as complete as a separate Newspapers.com account!
- Fold3 starts to add US, Korean War Era Draft Registration Cards, 1948-1959. This collection contains military draft cards submitted to the Selective Service System between 1948 and 1959. Young men were required to submit a draft card when they became eligible for military service between ages 18 to 26, but the existence of a draft card doesn’t necessarily mean that your ancestor was drafted into military service. Currently they have 2,816,302 records and it is 13% complete. These newly digitized records contain 5.5 million images. Read more from their blog and see what States are available now: US, Korean War Era Draft Registration Cards, 1948-1959 – Fold3
- IGRA Releases over 49,712 New Records in May. The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) search engine currently features 3,590,799 records. IGRA has added three new databases and updated three others, adding over 49,712 new listings, many of them with images. With a variety of subjects, from immigration to military, from the Ottoman period to the Israel times after the British mandate, the following preview will give you a good idea about their latest additions. They invite you to find your family records in their search engine. https://genealogy.org.il/AID/
- MyHeritage and ScanCafe Partner to Digitize and Preserve Family Memories. This new collaboration combines the power of two giants in the fields of media scanning and family history. ScanCafe enables consumers to easily digitize their physical media items. MyHeritage then safeguards their digital legacy and provides a starting point for exploring their entire family history. Read more about this collaboration: MyHeritage | ScanCafe
- Kaleidoscopic 1,600-year-old monastery mosaic on display for first time in the Negev. Roaring lions, gazelles fleeing wolves and a farmer wiping sweat from his forehead are among the scenes from Byzantine Israel depicted on the artifact. Read about it and see the mosaic from The Times of Israel: Kaleidoscopic 1,600-year-old monastery mosaic on display for first time in the Negev | The Times of Israel
- Resurrecting its past, Iraq’s tiny Jewish community restores a long-forgotten shrine. Ancient tomb of little-known Rabbi Isaac Gaon who died in 688, revered in the past as a holy site with healing and fertility powers, is repaired after decades of neglect. The Jewish community in Iraq was once one of the largest in the Middle East, but now it has dwindled to just dozens. Read more from The Times of Israel: Resurrecting its past, Iraq’s tiny Jewish community restores a long-forgotten shrine | The Times of Israel
- The Jewish artist who almost died exploring the Wild West. The Jewish-American community is deeply intertwined with the history of its country, often in ways that reflect the preoccupations of a given historical moment. Take, for instance, the fascinating story of Solomon Nunes Carvalho (1815-1897), a Jewish artist who recorded a revealing chapter of American expansionism in his 1857 book, Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the Far West. Read his story from The Forward: The Jewish artist of the Wild West – The Forward
- The most famous Jewish philanthropist you may have never heard of and the campaign to amplify his legacy with a national park. Julius Rosenwald was a revolutionary philanthropist, yet his name is not well known, in part because his foundation shut down soon after his death. Read more about Julius Rosenwald from e-Jewish Philanthropy: The most famous Jewish philanthropist you may have never heard of and the campaign to amplify his legacy with a national park – eJewishPhilanthropy and Wikipedia: Julius Rosenwald – Wikipedia
- Construction on the Memorial Monument on the site of the Jewish cemetery in Brest (Brest-Litovsk) is nearing completion. The monument, made up of hundreds of fragments of gravestones, is set for inauguration on July 28. Around 26,000 Jews lived in Brest before the Holocaust. Read and see the pictures from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2025/05/26/belarus-update-brest-monument-2/
- In WWII’s only all-female concentration camp, community was the key to survival. Despite camp officials’ attempts to foster animosity between the different nationalities at Ravensbrück – which included French, Polish, German and Czech prisoners — the women ignored these differences to help each other survive the forced labor, medical torture, and generally brutal conditions that they were subjected to, whether through lying, providing hiding spots, or sneaking goods to one another. Read the story from The Forward: In Ravensbrück, community was the key to survival – The Forward
- New bill aims to make it easier for survivors, heirs to recover Nazi-looted art. The artwork wrongfully ripped from Jewish hands during the Holocaust bears witness to a chapter in history when evil persisted. To date, more than 100,000 works of art have yet to be returned. Read more from JNS: New bill aims to make it easier for survivors, heirs to recover Nazi-looted art – JNS.org
- Britain’s first Jewish Culture Month launched. “This will be more ‘joy’ and less ‘oy”, said Board of Deputies President. The month aims to highlight a range of Jewish cultural contributions to the UK, including comedy, food, music and literature. Read the story from The JC: Britain’s first Jewish Culture Month launched – The Jewish Chronicle – The Jewish Chronicle
- 700-year-old Bible that sold for millions goes on display: ‘This book is returning to the people of Israel. ‘After wandering between countries and continents for many years, the Shem Tov Bible – a rare copy of the bible written in the 14th century and bought at auction for $6.9 million – will arrive at the National Library in Jerusalem as part of a long-term loan. Read more from Y Net News: 700-year-old Bible that sold for millions goes on display: ‘This book is returning to
- The Jewish Museum in Frankfurt, Germany is currently mounting a major cultural-historical exhibition. The exhibit will focus on Jewish ideas and practices around death, dying, and mourning — including Jewish cemeteries. Read more from the Museum: In the Face of Death – Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt
- Six headstones of German WWI soldiers changes from crosses to Stars of David in French cemeteries. In recent weeks, Operation Levi changed the headstones of six German-Jewish World War I soldiers from Latin crosses to Stars of David at cemeteries in France. Read more from JNS: Six headstones of German WWI soldiers changes from crosses to Stars of David in French cemeteries – JNS.org
- Brandeis University and Hillel at Brandeis announce major initiative to strengthen Jewish life on campus. Renovation of former Kutz Hall underscores Brandeis’ historic mission and investment in the Jewish future. This project reinforces the university’s founding mission — to create a university where Jews could thrive, free of discrimination — by centering Jewish belonging. Read more: Brandeis University and Hillel at Brandeis announce major initiative to strengthen Jewish life on campus | Of Note | May | 2025 | Brandeis Stories | Brandeis University
- At event for 40th anniversary of Operation Moses, Israel’s Ethiopian Jews share pride and pain. As Israel recalls the 1985 covert mission that rescued 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from war and famine, the community extols its achievements, but racism still abounds. Read more from The Times of Israel: At event for 40th anniversary of Operation Moses, Israel’s Ethiopians share pride and pain | The Times of Israel
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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.