The Weekly News Nosh – February 1, 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. In this Jewish heritage news digest, highlights include new research resources, Holocaust remembrance and testimony, and Jewish heritage preservation and community life around the world.

Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

This week’s news links:

1. MyHeritage Adds Spain, Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com. This collection contains 285,245,754 records found in newspapers from Spain. The records were extracted from the newspaper articles using advanced AI technology developed by MyHeritage. To search, go to: Spain, Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com – MyHeritage
2. Israel Genealogy Research Association’s Databases Release for January 2026. IGRA has added 10 new databases and updated 3 databases, adding over 57,175 new listings, many with images. A variety of subjects including from immigration to military, from the Ottoman period to the Israel times after the British mandate. This search engine currently features 3,868,682 records. To search, go to: The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) – The All Israel Database (AID)
3. International Holocaust Remembrance Day: From Numbers to Names. A name is never “just” a name. In Jewish life, we speak names aloud. We light a candle. We mark a yahrzeit. We carry memory forward—L’Dor V’Dor, from generation to generation. Read the story from the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation: International Holocaust Remembrance Day: From Numbers to Names – L’Dor V’Dor Foundation (LDVDF) International Holocaust Remembrance Day: Jewish Memory Please Note: you can also subscribe to receive the Weekly News Nosh along with JDays, The Worldwide Jewish Event Calendar, DOJR (Documentation of Jewish Records Worldwide) and JCat from the LDVDF via e-mail for free. Go to Subscribe – L’Dor V’Dor Foundation (LDVDF)
4. Find a Grave: 2025 Year in Review. 26,907 cemeteries were added in 2025 which makes the total of 611,225 cemeteries in Find a Grave worldwide. Read more from their blog: Cemeteries and 2025 Year in Review – Find a Grave News
5. It’s gotta be the genes: Israeli study finds genetics play key role in human longevity. Doctoral student at Weizmann Institute says researchers wanted to figure out how much genes and ‘everything else’ contribute to our lifespans, determining that latter ‘is around 50% of the pile.’ Read more from The Times of Israel: It’s gotta be the genes: Israeli study finds genetics play key role in human longevity | The Times of Israel
6. Smashed by ISIS, a 2,700-year-old carving may have been the earliest-known depiction of Jerusalem. New research suggests a long-overlooked bas-relief in King Sennacherib’s palace in modern-day Mosul, Iraq, destroyed with other priceless artifacts, showed the Temple Mount and Bible’s King Hezekiah. Read the story from The Times of Israel: Smashed by ISIS, a 2,700-year-old carving may have been the earliest-known depiction of Jerusalem | The Times of Israel
7. Czech Republic: Archaeologists will research the site of Brno’s destroyed Great Synagogue as part of a series of commemorative initiatives. The synagogue, which was built in 1853-1855 and torched by the Nazis in March 1939. Read the story from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2026/01/26/czech-republic-brno/
8. How yizkor books bring the sights, sounds, and even smells and tastes of lost Jewish shtetls back to life. After the Holocaust, survivors and emigres documented the ways of life characteristic of their fallen hometowns, although the yizkor book tradition goes back to medieval times. Read the story from The Forward: How yizkor books preserved the memories of lost Jewish shtetls – The Forward
9. For the first time since Hitler, a Hebrew publisher sets up shop in Germany. Altneuland Press aims to assert Hebrew as a global language once more. Read more from The Forward: For the first time since Hitler, a Hebrew publisher sets up shop in Germany – The Forward
10. Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History premieres taking viewers on an epic journey of the parallel and intersecting streams of Black and Jewish experience in the U.S. The four-part series, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., chronicles the complex relationship of the Black and Jewish communities — both uniquely close and uniquely fraught. Beginning on February 3 and you can also stream on the PBS app. Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History
11. On PBS’ ‘Finding Your Roots,’ Jewish actor Lizzy Caplan discovers her family’s unknown Holocaust story. See her story from The Forward: On PBS’ ‘Finding Your Roots,’ Jewish actor Lizzy Caplan discovers her family’s unknown Holocaust story – The Forward
12. Why We Must Remember the Holocaust. We remember the Holocaust to honor the victims, confront human evil, and learn how faith and dignity endured in the darkest times. Read the story from Aish: Why We Must Remember the Holocaust | Aish
13. Holocaust-era songs composed in Nazi ghettos published for first time in English. Translated from Yiddish, the historic collection documents experiences of Jews attempting to survive Nazi persecution. Read more from Jewish News UK: Holocaust-era songs composed in Nazi ghettos published for first time in English – Jewish News
14. A Holocaust survivor born in a concentration camp shares her story. At 81, Ilana Kantorowicz Shalem is among the youngest Holocaust survivors. She survived only because she was born on March 19, 1945, 30 days before the camp was liberated by the British and when the Nazi leadership was in disarray as the war was ending. Read her story from the AP News: One of the youngest Holocaust survivors tells her story | AP News
15. Adolf Hitler’s Art Still Sells, as ‘Industry’ Just Reminded Us. Adolf Hitler’s Art Still Sells, as ‘Industry’ Just Reminded Us. Read the story and see the painting from Art News: A Watercolor by Adolf Hitler Guest Stars in HBO’s ‘Industry’
16. Auschwitz-Birkenau. Located in the Polish town of Oswiecim, 37 miles west of Cracow, one sixth of all Jews murdered by the Nazis were gassed at Auschwitz. Read the history and story of the largest Nazi extermination camp. From My Jewish Learning: Auschwitz-Birkenau | My Jewish Learning
17. Grandson of Auschwitz commandant: “My grandfather was greatest mass murderer in history.” It was only when Hoss was in the 7th grade that he discovered who his grandfather was, which changed the way he saw himself. Read his story from The Jerusalem Post: Auschwitz commandant’s grandson on Holocaust responsibility | The Jerusalem Post
18. A millennial rabbi built a synagogue where others have closed. Her maverick ideas are becoming a model. An urban synagogue in South Philadelphia is growing fast by defying expectations — and has become a closely watched experiment in American Jewish life. Read the story from The Forward: How an innovative synagogue is reimagining Jewish belonging – The Forward
19. For fleeing Jews, Venezuela was a golden land — now in exile, they watch their homeland’s unrest with trepidation. Though Venezuela was once home to a community of 25,000 Jews, its Jewish population has fallen to 5,000. Read more from The Forward: For fleeing Jews, Venezuela was a golden land — not anymore – The Forward
20. The Jews of Argentina. The largest Jewish community in Latin America has struggled through the economic and political upheavals of the 20th century. Read more from My Jewish Learning: The Jews of Argentina | My Jewish Learning
21. A language course is reviving Moroccan Jewish culture and bridging Middle East divides. One academic’s determination to teach Darija, the Moroccan Arabic dialect, has allowed diaspora Moroccan Jews to connect with their ancestors and their neighbors. Read more from Religion News: A language course is reviving Moroccan Jewish culture and bridging Middle East divides
22. A Museum of Jewish Culture is being developed in Bardejov, Slovakia. Organizers are reaching out to residents and descendants for objects to include. It will be located in the recently restored Beit Midrash in the historic Jewish quarter — the Jewish Suburbium. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2026/01/29/slovakia-bardejov-museum/
23. Yad Vashem nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. A Norwegian parliamentarian has nominated Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center for the Nobel Peace Prize. Read the story from JNS: Yad Vashem nominated for Nobel Peace Prize – JNS.org
24. All the Big Jewish Nominees at the 2026 Oscars. Could this be the year Timothee Chalamet finally reigns supreme at the Academy Awards?! The Award ceremony will be on Sunday, March 15^th. Read about the nominees from Hey Alma: All the Big Jewish Nominees at the 2026 Oscars – Hey Alma
25. Northern Noshes…Canadian Jewish Community Cookbooks. Northern Noshes is a new website that   Kaye Prince-Hollenberg built to index, collect, curate, and describe Canadian Jewish community cookbooks. The earliest known Canadian Jewish community cookbook is The Economical Cookbook created by the Ottawa Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1915. Check out her website: Northern Noshes

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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.