Edy Cohen grew up in Beirut, and witnessed first-hand the disintegration of Lebanese society, during a period of civil war and terrorist attacks. His family paid a heavy price and was left with no choice but to leave the country. Cohen’s personal testimony is part of the Sephardi Voices Collection, now housed at the National Library of Israel.
A 900-Year-Old Jewish-Iranian Manuscript and the Story It Tells
They were small, remote communities that preserved and passed on ancient Jewish traditions, while adding a distinctive local flavor. What were the unique features of Jewish manuscripts produced in Iran a thousand years ago, and how did one of them make its way to the National Library of Israel?
Your Travel Guide to Iran
Using a rare 1945 map preserved in the collections of the National Library of Israel, we have created a guide to Iran from another era, a journey through picturesque cities, sacred sites, and a geopolitical landscape seasoned with a dash of Iranian grandiosity.
Seven Torah Scrolls in the Mosque Wall
Forced conversions of Jews are often associated with the Middle Ages, yet the case of the “Anusim” (forced converts) of Mashhad in northern Iran occured in the 19th century. Some of them even made their way later to the Land of Israel. This is a story of secret identities put to the test and a community that defied the odds to survive.
Remembering Clinton Bailey, Friend of Ben-Gurion and the Bedouin
The prolific researcher, who passed away on January 5, dedicated his life to building bridges between Jews and the Bedouin community
Yavnieli and the Yemenite Aliyah
With the birth of the State of Israel, over 850,000 Jews were forced to leave the Arab and Islamic world. In Yemen, however, this was not the first time a mass immigration to Israel had taken place. More than three decades earlier, with the help of a young man named Shmuel Yavnieli, over 1,500 Yemenite Jews started their own journey to the Land of Israel, and embarked on a voyage largely untold…
The Female Scholar Behind Iraq’s Independence
Gertrude Bell refused to heed the dictates of conservative British society. Instead, she toured Africa and Asia, becoming an important scholar and an adviser on the Middle East for the British Empire
The Mysterious Collector Who Founded Our Islamic Manuscript Collection
The collector Yohanan Ben David left his art collection to the Israel Museum and his manuscript collection to the National Library of Israel. The latter bequest formed the core of the Library’s Islamic manuscript collection. Despite his considerable stature in the art world, he is largely unfamiliar to the general public. Here we take a look at the life of this enigmatic collector.
Animals, Monsters and Far-Off Lands
What do mythological beasts and imaginary creatures have to do with the Mongol conquest?
The Family Trading Company That Became a Relief Network for the Jews of Yemen
In late 19th-century Yemen, Suleiman Habshush built a prosperous trading empire and harnessed its success to help needy members of the local Jewish community. Later, when his grandson inherited the firm, the family helped to bring the community to Israel
