News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
A Happy, Healthy, and Peaceful New Year Greetings to All… Phil Goldfarb
- Living in the United Kingdom? Anyone with Jewish ancestry urged to sign up for BRCA test as deadline looms. The BRCA gene mutation greatly increases the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. People with at least one Jewish grandparent are being urged to sign up for the NHS BRCA testing program as the deadline for registration approaches. Read more from The Jewish Chronicle: Anyone with Jewish ancestry urged to sign up for BRCA test as deadline looms – The Jewish Chronicle – The Jewish Chronicle
- Ukraine Research Division Adds 100,075 Historical Records to Database in September. 100,075 historical records (birth, marriage, death, census) from 1811-1920.Towns included: Feodosiya (Crimea), Nikolaev, Odessa, Romni, Snitkov, Ladizhin, Zlotopol, Smela, Dimer, Makarov, Bishev and more. Monthly details: http://tinyurl.com/ywk456pn Complete database: https://tinyurl.com/5sdtzu5z(all records since 2022)
- Rubio, Netanyahu reopen ancient Pilgrimage Road in Jerusalem. The Pilgrimage Road, a broad stone route used during the Second Temple period, connected the Pool of Siloam in the City of David, where pilgrims purified themselves in ritual baths, to Judaism’s holiest site, the Temple Mount. Read the story from JNS: Rubio, Netanyahu reopen ancient Pilgrimage Road in Jerusalem – JNS.org
- Rare proof of Galilee’s forgotten 4th-century Jewish Revolt revealed in hidden coin hoard. 22 bronze coins found secreted in Huqoq near the Sea of Galilee show Jews used subterranean hideaways during the little-known Gallus Revolt of 351 CE. Read more from The Times of Israel: Rare proof of Galilee’s forgotten 4th-century Jewish Revolt revealed in hidden coin hoard | The Times of Israel
- The Lost Shtetl Museum In Lithuania Now Open. Dedicated to Preserving the Memory of The Shtetls. Through photographs, town maps, written records, and video testimonies in which descendants of Šeduva’s Jews share stories of their families’ lives, the museum’s exhibitions recreate the world of the shtetl. See more: Lost Shtetl Museum | jewish history museum lithuania
- After years of war, world’s oldest synagogue paintings are revealed as intact in Damascus. For the first time in decades, Jews set eyes on the 1,700-year-old Dura Europos synagogue paintings this week. Read more from The Forward: After years of war, world’s oldest synagogue paintings are revealed as intact in Damascus – The Forward
- 15th-century Lisbon Mahzor reunited at Israel’s National Library. A rare prayer book created in Portugal in the years leading up to the expulsion of Jews in 1496 has been reunited at the National Library of Israel, which hailed the acquisition as “an act of cultural preservation and historical rectification”. Portuguese manuscript containing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers had been split into three parts. Read more from Jewish News UK: 15th-century Lisbon Mahzor reunited at Israel’s National Library – Jewish News
- A trip to Ostwall, the Nazi underground city: the secret labyrinth under the Polish countryside. Under peaceful meadows and forests, a colossal Nazi complex defies oblivion and fascinates tourists and experts with its history, curiosities and secrets. Read the story: A Journey to Ostwall, the Nazi Underground City: The Secret Labyrinth Under the Polish Countryside – Periodista Digital
- Indian Businessman Quietly Saved Jews from the Holocaust. Kundanlal Gupta invented fake companies in order to issue exit visas to Austrian Jews. Read his story from Aish: Indian Businessman Quietly Saved Jews from the Holocaust | Aish
- Yad Vashem plans to open Holocaust education center in Germany. The announcement followed a meeting between Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. Read more from JNS: Yad Vashem plans to open Holocaust education center in Germany – JNS.org
- How a Yiddish acting troupe fooled the Tsarist government. In 1883, the Russian government banned stage performances in Yiddish — just one element of its wider antisemitic policies. But this prohibition wasn’t publicized. Each local Russian “nachalnik” (administrator or police chief) was free to interpret the rule however he wanted. Read the story from The Forward: How a Yiddish acting troupe fooled the Tsarist government – The Forward
- It was the wildest scheme in American Jewish history. 200 years later, should it be remembered as a failure? In the two centuries since the founding of Ararat — a self-governing Jewish colony in New York — much has changed and much has stayed the same. Read the story from The Forward: The wildest scheme in American Jewish history, 200 years later – The Forward
- NYC’s Temple Emanu-El celebrates its 180th birthday with an exhibit on Jews of the Gilded Age. “Emanu-El at 180” features an object recovered from the wreck of the Titanic, as well as photos, letters, Jewish books and more. Read the story from JTA: NYC’s Temple Emanu-El celebrates its 180th birthday with an exhibit on Jews of the Gilded Age – New York Jewish Week
- In Moldova, Jewish life is fueled by descendants of those who fled — and new refugees from Ukraine. Israel and Moldova have recently strengthened their ties. Read the story from JTA: In Moldova, Jewish life is fueled by descendants of those who fled — and new refugees from Ukraine – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
- The Rise, Decline, and Revival of Ladino. Ladino bound Sephardic families and traditions for centuries. Nearly lost to history, it’s now finding unexpected revival through teens and global efforts. Read more from Aish: The Rise, Decline, and Revival of Ladino | Aish
- A visitors’ center is under construction at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Mainz, Germany whose oldest gravestones date from the 11th century. The cemetery dates from the early 11th century, one of the oldest in Europe. It includes around 1,700 gravestones, mostly from the 17th-19th centuries. Read the story from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2025/09/18/germany-mainz-old-jewish-cemetery/
- Ukraine: A rare wooden synagogue will be transferred from the village of Velyki Komiaty to Uzhhorod, where it will form part of the open-air Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Life. It will also be used for religious purposes. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2025/09/19/ukraine-skansen/
- An Italian holiday, but Jewish: Tracing the footsteps of ancient Jews in Rome, Florence and Tuscany. Today, Rome is home to some 16 synagogues. Read the story from The Jewish Chronicle: An Italian holiday, but Jewish: Tracing the footsteps of ancient Jews in Rome, Florence and Tuscany – The Jewish Chronicle – The Jewish Chronicle
- Nine Things You Didn’t Know About Rosh Hashanah. Impress your friends and family with these little-known facts about the Jewish New Year. From My Jewish Learning: 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Rosh Hashanah | My Jewish Learning
- 10 Things the Shofar Symbolizes. Here’s how the shofar sounds were interpreted in a classic text more than 1,000 years ago. Read the story from My Jewish Learning: 10 Things the Shofar Symbolizes | My Jewish Learning
- House passes bill to identify Jewish US troops buried under incorrect religious markers. The legislation will allow families of fallen Jewish American servicemembers “to know that their loved one’s military service, life and religious heritage are properly honored,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Read the story from JNS: House passes bill to identify Jewish US troops buried under incorrect religious markers – JNS.org
- At YIVO, an unfinished Yiddish dictionary gets the last word — as opera. To mark its centenary, YIVO stages a work about the competing visions for a monumental, and aborted, reference work about the language of Eastern Europe’s Jews. Read the story from JTA: At YIVO, an unfinished Yiddish dictionary gets the last word — as opera – New York Jewish Week
- Behind the curtain: The astonishing art adorning our arks. The artists who shape the heart of synagogues around the world. Every shul around the world, no matter its shape, size, or denomination, has something in common. The holy ark – Aron Kodesh, which contains the Torah scrolls, is at the front of the room, a focal point. And covering that ark will be a curtain – a parochet. Read more from Jewish News UK: Behind the curtain: The astonishing art adorning our arks – Jewish News
- Humanitarian Elie Wiesel Is Honored with a Stamp. The U.S. Postal Service honors Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) with the 18th stamp of its Distinguished Americans series. Wiesel was a survivor of Nazi concentration camps whose life and writing on the Holocaust are a testament to moral courage and the resilience of the human spirit. Read more from USPS: Humanitarian Elie Wiesel Is Honored with a Stamp – Newsroom – About.usps.com
- Israel’s population hits 10.148 million. About 7.75 million Israeli residents are Jewish (78.5%), and 2.13 million are Arabs (21.5%). The annual survey, carried out this year during wartime, found that a whopping 91% of Israelis are satisfied with their lives—including 92% of Jews and 86% of Arabs. Read more from JNS: Israel’s population hits 10.148 million – JNS.org
- How the descendant of a notorious Jewish pirate became a swashbuckling rock ’n’ roll legend. Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera unexpectedly discovered that his family history included a direct connection on his mother’s side to Moses Cohen Henriques, a 17th century Dutch pirate of Portuguese Sephardic Jewish origin. Henriques’ raids on Spanish ships in the Caribbean reportedly earned him the equivalent of over a billion dollars in today’s currency, before he settled in Jamaica and helped establish the island nation’s first Jewish community. Read his story from The Forward: How Roxy Music is connected to a Jewish pirate of the Caribbean – The Forward
- All the Big Jewish Winners at the 2025 Emmy Awards. There were at least 25 celebrities nominated who either identify as Jewish or have Jewish ancestry! (And that is not even including very Jewish-heavy writing staffs or the more technical categories.) Read the story from Hey Alma: All the Big Jewish Winners at the 2025 Emmy Awards – Hey Alma
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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.