- NEWS & COMMENTARY
Oklahoma tornado: How you can help
Jewish groups are joining the effort to help those displaced by the tornado in suburban Oklahoma City.
A prayer for Oklahoma
Lord our God, we stood before You just a week ago to receive the Ten Statements of Your Torah. We stood, as though with our ancestors, and listened to the Torah reader chant descriptions of the smoking mountain, the thunderous…
Chabad center taking in Oklahomans displaced by deadly tornado
A Chabad center in Oklahoma City opened its building as a shelter for those displaced by a deadly tornado.
- HOLLYWOOD
Justin Timberlake and Coen brothers answer Jewish questions at Cannes
Using his preternatural smoothness, Justin Timberlake saved the Coen brothers from some serious awkwardness at a Cannes press conference for their folk singer film “Inside Llewyn Davis” on Sunday. “Jewish…
Sean Penn lobbies for Charedi man imprisoned in Bolivia
Actor Sean Penn urged a congressional hearing to pressure Bolivia to release a haredi Orthodox father of five under house arrest in the country.
Mel Brooks’ top 10 Jewy Jewish scenes [VIDEO]
Monday night marks the national premier broadcast of the American Masters installment on Mel Brooks. To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a collection of Brooks’ best Jewish clips.
- LIFE & CULTURE
Sarah Silverman sings about staying home in ‘Perfect Night’
For your listening pleasure, “Perfect Night,” in which Sarah Silverman recounts the benefits of skipping the club for the couch. Because this is a Silverman production you can expect references…
Maccabi Tel Aviv back on top but coach future uncertain
Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have reasserted their dominance of Israeli soccer but media reports on Tuesday suggested they might have to continue their revival without coach Oscar Garcia.
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
- BLOGS
State 194: A Documentary About Palestine
Opening this weekend at Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 is a very hot-button new documentary called State 194, which follows the recent history of Palestine. Many will approach this film with…
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
What would my Israeli grandmother think?
When I hear about the latest events in Israel – the air strikes on weapons facilities in Syria, the flare-ups over women donning prayer shawls at the Western Wall –…
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Jewish groups ask Kerry to fight anti-Semitism in Hungary
A dozen Jewish organizations sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressing their concern over the rise of anti-Semitism in Hungary.
“A German Life – Against All Odds, Change is Possible” by Bernd Wollschlaeger – Book Recommendation
Dutch bounty hunters preyed on Jews during Holocaust, study shows
Dozens of Dutchmen preyed on Jews for cash during the Holocaust, according to a new study.
What happened at Belzec
In the summer of 1993, my father and I visited the site of the extermination camp of Belzec in eastern Poland, where my grandparents were among half a million Jews murdered by the Nazis in 1942.
How the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum changed my life
My daughter, Ilana, then a young college student, asked if she could go with me to the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, on April 22, 1993 (the date was tied to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising’s 50th anniversary). I said: “I will be leaving very early.” She responded: “I’ll be up.”
Holocaust survivor: Gloria Ungar
"Sorry, children. I’m not going to jeopardize my life for your father’s money.” The Christian forester smuggling three Jewish children across the border from Poland to Slovakia had stopped abruptly, wished them luck and told them to keep walking. But Gloria Ungar — then Gitta Nagel — gripped his arm, promising that her father would make him very rich if he continued. She, her younger brother Nathan and her cousin were wending their way through a pitch-black forest. “It was terrifying,” Gloria recalled; she knew they wouldn’t make it alone. Her cousin had broken her ankle, and Nathan was crying that he couldn’t walk anymore. Plus the Germans were scanning the forest with floodlights, siccing attack dogs and then shooting whenever they saw a shadow. The children threw themselves against trees whenever the floodlights came near.
Vienna Philharmonic acknowledges honoring Nazi war criminal
The famed Vienna Philharmonic has acknowledged that many of its musicians were Nazi party members during Hitler's rule and that its director may have delivered a prestigious orchestra award to a Nazi war criminal two decades after the end of World War Two.
Germany should award pensions to ghetto survivors, Jewish body says
Germany's main Jewish body is calling on the German government and parliament to step in on behalf of survivors of World War II ghettoes who have not yet received a German pension for their work.
Ceremony honors Jewish vet killed in World War II
For nearly 40 years, the Purple Heart medal sat locked in a box, left behind in a West Hollywood apartment building’s laundry room.
Warsaw Jews want to trade historic building for new offices
The Jewish community of Warsaw is advancing plans to demolish one of its historic ghetto-era buildings in favor of new offices.
Italian Holocaust victims remembered
The names of 8,000 Italian Jewish victims of the Holocaust were read aloud on Jan. 25 as part of four area events in honor of Italy’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Preserving Auschwitz?
For many, the everlasting power of Auschwitz is understood only by visiting the infamous death camp and walking the grounds where more than 1 million people were killed during the Holocaust.
The power of maps, in history and politics
On display in my office is a globe that captures a perilous moment in time — the world as it existed on very eve of World War II.
Top Egyptian official calls Holocaust a ‘myth’
A top Egyptian official close to President Mohamed Morsi called the Holocaust a myth.
ADL calls on conservatives to keep Nazi analogies out of gun debate
The Anti-Defamation League called on conservatives to keep Nazi analogies out of the gun control debate.
Abbas claims link between Nazis and Zionists
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told a Lebanese television station that the Nazis and Zionists worked in collaboration before World War II.
Hundreds of Jewish gravestones found in Greece
Police in northern Greece have recovered hundreds of headstones from Jewish graves destroyed during the Holocaust.
‘Fill the Void’ not on Oscar foreign language film shortlist
Excerpt from ‘The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery’ by Captain Witold Pilecki
So, I am to write down the driest of facts, which is what my friends want me to do.
The man who snuck into Auschwitz
Have you heard of Witold Pilecki? A new book, “The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery” (Aquila Polonica: 2012), documents, in his own words, Pilecki’s remarkable exploits, and I can’t think of a better gift to give yourself for Chanukah.
67 years later, Holocaust survivor reunites with rescuer
Even though 67 years had passed since they last saw each other, Wladyslawa Dudziak and Rozia Beiman reunited as if they hadn't missed a moment.
Jewish Resistance fighter Vladka Meed dies at 90
Vladka Meed, a Jewish Resistance fighter in World War II and a founder of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, has died.
Report: Wiesel, Obama not writing book
Elie Wiesel and President Obama are not writing a book together, as reported by an Israeli newspaper.
Jewish World War II veteran Mort Schecter named Veteran of the Year
As a tail gunner stationed on bombers during World War II, Mort Schecter frequently found himself a sitting duck.
Loyola marymount commemorates Kristallnacht
On the night of Nov. 9-10, 1938, brown-shirted storm troopers torched and looted hundreds of synagogues and destroyed 7,500 Jewish businesses throughout Germany and Austria in what is known as Kristallnacht, “the night of broken glass.”
U.S. response to a cry for help during World War II
A prosecutor by training and a historical novelist by avocation, Gregory J. Wallance has written books of historical fiction and historical nonfiction.
Honoring of Italian fascist angers local Jewish group
A new Italian women’s group has added its voice to protests over a publicly funded monument honoring the World War II-era fascist leader Rodolfo Graziani.
ADL slams Democrats invoking Holocaust analogies
The Anti-Defamation League decried three recent reported Nazi analogies used in political debate, all by Democrats.
Survivor: Edith Frankie
"Hey, you Jew. Open up the door.' It was 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning, just before Passover 1944, when two gendarmes in the village of Chiesd, Transylvania, banged on the door where 12-year-old Edith Izsak lived with her parents, three siblings and two young cousins.
Amsterdam tram company won’t punish conductor accused of anti-Semitism
Amsterdam's transport company, GVB, announced it would not punish an employee accused of making an anti-Semitic remark.
Antwerp mayor announces new monument naming city’s Shoah victims
The mayor of Antwerp announced plans to build a monument to commemorate every Antwerp Jew murdered in the Holocaust.
Survivor: Hedy Fingerman
The cattle car doors opened onto the Auschwitz platform and Hedy Markowitz, abruptly separated from her mother and younger brothers, was pushed along a walkway. She was first detained at a building where two Jewish prisoners shaved her head, and was then ushered into another building and ordered to undress. She took off the pink and blue plaid suit that her mother’s friend had sewn for her 16th birthday.
Australian court’s failure to extradite alleged ex-Nazi raises ire, questions
In a court ruling that is bringing new attention to Australia’s failure to prosecute alleged Nazi-era war criminals, the government will not surrender to Hungary the man believed to be the country’s last World War II war crimes suspect.
Suspected war criminal escapes extradition from Australia on legal technicality
Australia's highest court has ruled not to extradite suspected war criminal Charles Zentai to his native Hungary.
Survey finds young Frenchman unfamiliar with WWII Jewish roundup
Most young Frenchmen never heard of the World War II roundup of Paris Jews, a survey shows.
Israel salutes non-Jewish Poles for heroism and preserving Jewish memory
Israel in twin ceremonies honored non-Jewish Poles who rescued Jews during the Holocaust and those who have preserved Jewish memory since World War II.
Survivor: Edith More
Edith Klein and her mother lined up on the Auschwitz II-Birkenau roll-call field. It was September 1944, and they feared being transported to a different camp. “Let’s hide,” Edith’s mother suggested, and the two darted into an empty barracks. But soon, afraid they would be missed, they rejoined the roll-call lineup, only to be caught and dispatched to the crematorium, where they faced another selection.
Gino Bartali, Italian cycling legend, saved Jews during WWII [VIDEO]
Gino Bartali is best known as a cycling legend who holds the record for the longest time span between victories at the Tour de France – ten years – a feat made all the more impressive by the Tour’s status as one of most grueling endurance competitions in the world and the fact that Bartali was an old man (by cycling standards) when he made his comeback in 1948. Looking beyond the marvel of his athletic stamina, Bartali’s life provides a powerful lesson in how moral endurance can empower from within.
Holocaust survivor’s family must return artifact to Berlin museum
The family of a deceased Holocaust survivor must return to a German museum a 3,200-year-old artifact that he had brought with him to the United States, a New York state appellate court has ruled.
Anne Frank, in her family’s eyes
Anne Frank, the single most famous name among the six million victims of the Shoah, entered the realm of history and literature with the posthumous publication of her own diary and has been used — and, some would argue, abused — by others who have depicted her on the stage and screen, in novels and comic books. So much so that the flesh-and-blood Anne Frank has wholly disappeared under the accretion of myth and magical thinking.
Survivor: Jack Seror
Jack Seror didn’t know what to do. He was 25 and knew he had to leave Salonika; it wasn’t safe for Jews. And now a contact from the Greek resistance had come to fetch him. Jack stood with his parents in their living room, crying. They hugged, kissed and hugged some more. “We have to leave,” the contact said. Half of Jack wanted to stay with his parents; the other half wanted to escape. Finally, his father, with tears in his eyes, said, “Go. And remember, if you survive, to say Kaddish for us.”
Calif.‘s oldest female vet, 102, reaches out with compassion
This Memorial Day, World War II Veteran Bea Abrams Cohen will be attending ceremonies at Los Angeles National Cemetery, paying tribute to all the men and women who have died fighting while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Survivor: Julius Bendorf
The morning stillness was shattered in the German village of Ober-Ramstadt, as people started running through the streets, crying out that the synagogue was burning. Julius Bendorf, 23, could see the flames from his house. Later, around 1 p.m., a group of men broke into his father’s butcher shop at the front of the family’s house. The Nazis had already closed down the shop, as they had all Jewish businesses, but the intruders destroyed the counters, scales and other equipment. “These were men we knew really well, who bought meat from us,” Julius remembered. The men then entered the family’s living quarters, but Julius, his parents and brother had already escaped through the back door. The next day, the family returned to find their feather bedding shredded, their food tossed on the floor and the house in shambles. It was Kristallnacht, Nov. 9, 1938, and, as Julius said, “It all happened so fast.”
Living with Holocaust ghosts
Ed Asner, aka Lou Grant, walked slowly to the front of the stage at the Museum of Tolerance on Sunday night, and in his familiar growl — this time with a Latvian accent — he softly spoke: “Thank you for the help that is not only material, but also moral. A person lives through hope, and I hope it will get better.”
Survivor: Jack Adelstein
“Raus, raus!” (Out, out!) Jack Adelstein — then Janek Eidelstein, 4 years old — was abruptly awakened by a dozen SS soldiers and Polish farmers. He was sleeping in a cave in a dense forest outside Krasnik, Poland, where he was hiding with his father, brother and an older sister.
Survivior: Julia Moshe
In early October 1943, a day or two after Rosh Hashanah, Julia Moshe — née Conti — was walking to her bookkeeping job at the Atlas Watch Co. in Volos, Greece, when she heard footsteps behind her. “Mademoiselle, don’t turn around your head,” a male voice warned. “Yesterday SS soldiers came to city hall asking for a list of the Jewish people.” Julia started trembling. She recalled her mother’s words, “If the Germans come here, it’s OK if they take us.” Julia gave notice at work and hurried home. “Please don’t say no,” she begged her mother. “We have to go from here.”
Three generations will march, witness, remember
As the Germans marched toward the tiny French hamlet of Autrans, 10-year-old Eva Perlman (nee Gutmann) watched as an obviously frightened 17-year-old boy fled from a sawmill into the woods. The Germans shot him on sight.
It was 1942, and the boy wasn’t even Jewish, Perlman says.
Anne Frank baptized in Mormon proxy ritual
Anne Frank was baptized in a Mormon proxy ritual in another case of a Holocaust victim discovered to have been baptized posthumously this month.
Jan Karski honored in Poland for WWII resistance work
The Polish Senate has posthumously honored World War II hero Jan Karski for his work in revealing details of the Nazi genocide taking place in Poland.
Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland on “In Darkness” [VIDEO]
Germany donates $13 million to Yad Vashem
The German government will donate $13 million to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel over the next 10 years.
Writer’s Guild to Honor ‘Extremely’ Talented Screenwriter Eric Roth
Opinion: When Holocaust analogies run amok
There was a time when no one living in Israel needed a reminder of what was at stake when the Jewish state was created in 1948 in the aftermath of World War II and the Nazi Holocaust. Israelis and Jews the world over knew that the survival of the Jewish people depended on the ability to have a home to return to after our near-ruinous encounter with European anti-Semitism.
Belmont Village honors World War II vets with photo exhibition
Belmont Village Senior Living’s Westwood center paid homage to the sacrifices of its Jewish World War II veterans on Nov. 9 with the opening of the permanent photo exhibition, “American Heroes: Portraits of Service,” featuring 37 portraits, mostly of Jewish veterans, accompanied by a brief biography or quote about the subject’s war experience.
Postcards From Hell: Nazi-era documents shed light on fate of families
After arriving by cattle car at Auschwitz, many Jews were handed postcards, with the uniform message thoughtfully prepared by the Nazis.
Survivor: Violet Raymond
Violet Raymond, then Ibolya Friedmann, and her new husband, George Singer, stood under a chuppah at Nagyfuvaros Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, on May 27, 1944. She was 17, and he was 19. Three days later, George was ordered to report to Bethlen Ter 2, a labor camp housed in another of Budapest’s 22 synagogues.
Kristallnacht without my father
This is the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, and the first one I will mark without my father. Kristallnacht is referred to as the “night of broken glass.” But it was much more. It was the beginning of the end of most of European Jewry. It was two days of Nazi government-sponsored riots on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, in Germany and Austria. Reported numbers vary, but about 270 synagogues were burned, 7,000 businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed, and 100 Jews were killed. Between 26,000 and 30,000 Jews were arrested and deported to concentration camps. My father was one of them. A 16-year-old boy living in Niederstetten, Germany, he was arrested on November 10 and sent to Dachau.
Schoenberg buys Einstein letter for Holocaust museum
Einstein letter sells for $14,000
A letter written by Albert Einstein to a Jewish New York businessman was sold at auction for nearly $14,000.
Einstein letter on refugees sold for $13,936
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