One photograph. That’s what Sarah Kagan left behind at the concentration camp in Klooga. But sometimes one picture is all you need to have closure on a painful chapter in a family’s history.
How the Inmates of a Concentration Camp Celebrated the Festival of Freedom
Despite the lack of food, the threat of deportation, and the difficult prison conditions, Jewish prisoners at the Gurs concentration camp in southern France insisted on celebrating Passover at any price. One of them wrote the Haggadah they read from by hand – from memory.
The Miraculous Rescue of the Jews of Zakynthos
Local leaders and residents of this Greek island risked their lives to defy the Nazi occupying authorities during the Holocaust. Their heroic efforts saved the lives of the entire Jewish community.
Who Is the Empty Chair at the Passover Seder Intended for?
Along with the ancient tradition of leaving an empty chair on the Seder Night for Elijah the Prophet, a modern Zionist tradition has developed in which we leave an empty chair for our loved ones who have not yet returned from captivity. In the 1970s-80s, these were the “Prisoners of Zion”. Today these are the hostages of October 7. “Let my people go,” Moses commanded Pharaoh in the name of God, and thousands of years later the same call is carried in Passover celebrations around the world, and with it we leave an empty chair and a glass of wine waiting for every single one of them to return
Let’s Raise a Glass for Miriam the Prophetess
What was Miriam the Prophetess’ part in the Exodus from Egypt? How does the Jewish Midrash explain her role in the journey from slavery to freedom and why do some set aside a sixth cup for her at the Passover Seder table?
Where Did Ben-Gurion’s Piano Disappear To?
When David and Paula Ben-Gurion moved to the Hapoalim (workers) neighborhood on the outskirts of the young city of Tel Aviv, it was clear that there would be a piano in the living room of their new home, even though they didn’t have the money to buy one. Documents in archives show how the family obtained the expensive piano, who played it, where it went after the house was donated to the state, and the story of how it was returned after many years. A story befitting a mystery novel…
A Woman as She Is: The Story of Rachel Katznelson-Shazar
She was a different sort of feminist Zionist leader, establishing an alternative female ideal in the pioneering era of the Zionist Second Aliyah. Alongside widespread social activity, she raised her special child, without shame or concealment, in an era when such a thing was highly unusual. She also found time to edit one of the first Hebrew-language women’s monthlies and win the Israel Prize. Despite this, she is still remembered and commemorated mostly as the “President’s wife.” The time has come to get to know this incredible woman in her own right.
The First Night of Captivity: Memories From the Fall of the Jewish Quarter
A text found at the National Library unearthed the story of Aharon Liron, a young soldier captured by the Arab Legion during the battle for Jerusalem’s Old City in 1948. Liron was able to document his experiences as he witnessed the fall of the Jewish Quarter.
“The Night of the Ducks”: An IDF Drill Gone Wrong
What had all the makings of an April Fools’ prank in 1959 was no joke.
