On Yom Kippur Minha’s Haftarah, in the synagogue (this year also in yards and balconies all over) it is customary to read a short, somewhat odd story, only 48 verses long, of which the protagonist is one prophet called Jonah. In the beginning of Jonah’s story, he is ordered by God to speak to the […]

If there was a Jewish years hit parade, 1948 would have undoubtedly made it to the top. 2000 years of yearning and hopes, poems and prayers, persecutions, golden ages, then the horrifying epilogue of the holocaust have passed – then on one crucial moment on 5 Iyyar 1948, one short great man got on a […]

Rosh Hashanah is just around the corner and it’s time to send some virtual Shana Tova cards, the Jewish New Year greetings, to your loved ones, friends and family members, as it been done throughout history. We at Beit Hatfutsot have accumulated A dozen of historical greeting cards from different historical periods and all corners […]

Jewish-Polish history definitely had its tragic moment – but over centuries of strange co-existence there were moments of optimism too. Included stories of the Jews who were “Rulers of Poland”. Prominent historian Konstanty Gebert explores a collection of historical facts and myths. Abraham Prochownik After the gory but just death of Prince Popiel (9th century […]

“Though Rembrandt was not Jewish, we must consider him as “a Jew of honor”, for his love and empathy towards the Jews”, the national poet Bialik wrote in 1932, in a preface he contributed to the Jewish painter Leonid Pasternak’s book on the art of Rembrandt. Bialik also noted that “this gifted genius has miraculously […]

Flames and confusion wrap America in the past three weeks. Flames – the result of a hideous murder followed by bloody riots in which hundreds of years of black discrimination, anger, and hate exploded like bursting steam; and confusion – didn’t a black man ended two terms as one of the most popular American presidents, […]

In the early 1990s, when commercial t.v. was first introduced in Israel, we finally learnt why we celebrate Shavuot. Cool creative copywriters brain stormed in their fancy agencies and fabricated for us the following story: 4,000 years ago, while crossing the Sinai desert on their way to the promised land, the Children of Israel suffered […]

Born in 1825, the German scholar Ferdinand Lassalle was a bright economist, advocate of the “Iron Law of Wages”, who was highly accomplished: one of the founders of the modern political party concept, of the leaders of the German labor movement, and founder of the SPD, the Social Democrat party in Germany. One unfortunate personal […]

The Jewish community of Egypt flourished from the mid-19th century through the 1950s. Egypt’s increasing integration into international trade, particularly after the opening of the Suez Canal, attracted Jews from other parts of the world who settled in Egypt, manly in Cairo and Alexandria, alongside members of the veteran local Jewish community. Their arrival in […]

Hereby is an alternative narrative of the biblical story of the Exodus, based on historical and archaeological findings, as well as Egyptian anti Jewish literature regarding the origin of the Jewish nation and the character of Moses. This alternative story relies on Prof. Israel Knohl’s fascinating book How the Bible Was Born. The first author […]

Not only in these trying times, but in the 16th century, the Italian region was the site of a “fatal virus.” Catholic scholars knew the invader well. They “studied” it for 1,500 years, and knew how to identify it from more than two meters away. They heard the primal story for generations – from father […]

Itamar Kremer  A mysterious disease erupted in the mid-14th century called the Black Death. The disease, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, began in Mongolia and spread quickly to China. It spread to Europe following a battle between the Mongolians and the Genovese army on the Crimean Peninsula. Dead bodies were catapulted toward Italy, in […]

“The Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People” was a missionary Anglican organization founded in 1809 in London in order to encourage Jews to convert to Christianity. This mission had emissaries in 52 states and operated as a smooth, perfectly organized, restless propaganda machine. Hundreds of devoted emissaries worked for the organization, about 50% of them converted […]

It almost seems unreal today, but it was a weekly ritual in Israel, from 1968 up until the mid-1990s, long before cables, Netflix or even just multichannel television. Each Friday afternoon, for almost three decades, everyone gathered around the tribal fire of the “Arab film”, an inclusive folk Israeli term referring to films that mostly […]

Last year, Claudia De Benedetti was launching her book in a ceremony held in Casale Monferrato in Piemonte district, Italy. Her book is fascinating research on the history of her family, one of the renowned aristocratic families in Italy. While delivering her moving speech, she still did not imagine that the real thrill was yet […]

“David Falik has been killed by the bullet of Totu and so will die all the country’s enemies, by innumerable bullets which will be fired against the filthy beasts. Totu is a martyr and a hero. Gentlemen of the jury, he must be set free.” (From the closing argument of the leading attorney for the […]

Once upon a time there was a man – says the Talmud – whose wife died in labor. The man was so poor that he didn’t have the money to hire a wet nurse for the new baby. And then a miracle happened. According to the Talmud, the man grew breasts bursting with milk. Rabbi […]

December 10, 1966 – 53 years ago. The clock ticks past 16:00, as the crowd waits in Stockholm’s opulent concert hall for the Nobel Prize winners. The honored guests are waiting anxiously for four stars. Three will herald the end of Shabbat. The fourth is the shining star of Hebrew literature, Shai Agnon. Soon after […]

Winter 1759. Some 2000 Jews – men, women, and children – gathered in the central square in front of Lvov, Poland’s cathedral. All but the wailing infants were mum. The frigid bone-penetrating cold was beginning to claim victims. The occasional sound of a body hitting the ground was heard. Elisha Shor – of the famous […]

“Essen with the Best: A Night to Celebrate All Things Food” – Museum of the Jewish people at Beit Hatfutsot’s Annual Gala took place the evening of December 2 2019 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom and honored our dear friend Joan Nathan. It was an evening to remember featuring the best and the brightest in the […]

La Amante, el Comisario y el Químico: Tres Personajes Judíos del Lado Errado de la Historia MARGHERITA SARFATTI Amante de Mussolini “Hay dos mujeres que me aman locamente, pero yo no las amo. Una es bastante simple, pero ella tiene un alma noble y generosa. La otra es hermosa, pero tiene una naturaleza astuta y […]

“Essen with the Best: A Night to Celebrate All Things Food,” which will take place the evening of December 2 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom and honor our dear friend Joan Nathan. It will be an evening to remember featuring the best and the brightest in the world of Jewish food. Joan will curate a delicious […]

Historical research indicates that there were Jews in ancient Ethiopia, but their unknown origin and history has inspired many varying theories. The debate among researchers focuses mainly on the quality of the ethnic affiliation between those ancient Jews and the Jews who were first documented in the 9th-Century writings of Eldad HaDani and in Ethiopian […]

That Gaza is a hotbed of fundamentalist religion is nothing new. Throughout history, the city has attracted zealous believers, inflamed with high-voltage messianism and a burning passion to save humanity from its earthly suffering. From the time of Samson – who uprooted the gates of the Philistine city in a fit of sacred rage – […]

While Isaiah Berlin was on his deathbed, Oxford University dean Roy Jenkins asked if he wanted the traditional memorial service in London’s iconic Westminster Abbey afforded to the kingdom’s celebrated figures. Berlin barked, “Hell no. I’m gonna have it in the Hampstead Synagogue.” The British Isle’s best and brightest gathered in the Orthodox Hampstead Synagogue […]

During the second season of Israel’s “Master Chef,” contenders were asked to cook a meal for someone close to their heart. One of them, Emanuel Rosenzweig, dedicated his meal to his grandfather Franz Rosenzweig, the renowned philosopher whom he sadly never had the privilege to meet. The studio fell silent. The judges – whose menus […]

By: Itamar Kremer What would you say is the most Jewish food? Well, this is a tough one. For some, there is nothing on earth like grandma Genia’s Gefilte Fish, for others, it’s grandpa Ezra’s Kibbeh, yet others will swear by aunt Margalit’s Kubaneh, whereas if you ask Israeli young kids, they will probably rule […]

Itamar Kremer On February 11, 1954, IDF spokesman released a brief laconic message: “21 years old private Nathan Elbaz sacrificed his life in order to prevent a catastrophic loss of lives of his friends, while a grenade exploded. The deceased soldier has no address, and no relatives to announce his death to”. However, Nathan Elbaz […]

It happened in November 1919, almost one whole century ago. World War I was over, the Versailles treaty was signed in Europe, and the Russian civil war was raging, between the reds and the whites – supporters of the old Czarist regime. Jewish refugees from all across Europe, including those deported from Palestine by the […]

Growing up as a religious boy in Haifa during the 1990s, I used to argue with a secular boy my age, a sharp clever kid called Baruch, named so by his father, a Math Professor in the Technion, who was an enthusiastic fan of the greatest Jewish heretic ever – Baruch Spinoza. I can still […]

“Fart Proudly” (also titled “A Letter to a Royal Academy About Farting”, and in some cases “To the Royal Academy of Farting”) is an essay published in 1781 by Benjamin Franklin, who served as the American ambassador to France at the time, about the study of wind passing. Franklin published the essay as a response […]

Sobre el Orgullo y Otras Virtudes: El Movimiento Musar y El Día del Juicio Expiatorio “Fart Proudly” (“Tirarse un pedo orgullosamente”, también intitulado “Una carta a la Real Academia sobre el Pedo”, y en algunos casos “A la Real Academia del Pedo”), es un ensayo sobre el estudio del “viento humano”, publicado en 1781 por […]

Cliché has it that Election Day is a holiday for democracy. It’s the political moment in which citizens use their mandate to shape the economic, judicial, cultural, educational future and other aspects of the society in which they live to reflect their wishes. Israel’s 71 years of democracy are just a blink of the eye […]

Adi Akunis Club Med’s vacations have always appeared tailor-made for the global rich: Exotic locations in remote regions that offer an “all-inclusive holiday” in the original sense of that term. Food, recreation, sports, organized activities, rest, and good company. But long before this vacation concept was born, it was the idealistic brainchild of two Jews […]

The Alliance school network has been considered for years an educational empire. More than a million students have graduated from its hundreds of schools in dozens of countries around the world, since its founding in 1860. Much has been written about Alliance’s educational message. Its leaders’ proficiency in integrating the old and the new, tradition […]

The possibility of imitating winged creatures has always sparked the French imagination. The Montgolfier brothers were the first to fly a human-carrying hot air balloon, and Louis Blériot was the first inventor-adventurer to complete an international flight – from France to Britain in July 1909. Several months after Blériot crossed the La Manche (English) Channel, […]

In 1887, American-Jewish physicist Albert Abraham Michelson developed the interferometer, a remarkably precise system for measuring the speed of light rays. Two decades later, another Albert – Albert Einstein – used Michelson’s system to discover the theory of special relativity. It’s a fair bet that none of you have heard of Michelson. His portrait is unknown; his name has […]

These European Jewish boys fled the Nazis to America, leaving parents, siblings, friends and the beloved continent that stabbed them in the back behind. They did not imagine in their wildest dreams that they would return to the scene of the crime as soldiers in the Allied Forces’ special corps. No, this is not a […]

In 1926, Albert Einstein and his student Leo Szilard worked on the invention of a new refrigerator that did not rely on electricity or polluting gases. The new refrigerator did not catch on. But the sale of its patent to Swedish giant Electrolux earned Szilard the handsome sum that allowed him to devote his time […]

Like many Jews, Herschel Grynszpan and his uncle Abraham were glued to the radio on March 12, 1938 when Nazi militias marched into the streets of Vienna in what would come to be called the Anschluss, the Third Reich’s annexation of Austria. Herschel and his uncle listened with great trepidation to the Austrian chancellor’s obsequious […]

Bernard Baruch said that you don’t need to be a genius to succeed in investments. That you need only need to control the urges that make people make mistakes. You need impulse control, restraint, and a level head. It’s no wonder that the man who said that coined the term “the Cold War.” Bernard Baruch […]

The Gemara’s Bava Metzia Tractate features a well-known argument in the annals of ethics: Two people are walking in the desert. One holds a jar containing enough water for one of them. If they divide the water between them, both will die. If one of them drinks all the water, he will survive. Ben Peturah […]

The final event of this international Jewish heritage competition includes 200 Jewish institutions, 30 countries and more than 20,000 young participants. The 50 finalists and their families will attend the exhibition opening in memory of Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf at The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Koret international […]

Pride Month, and its celebration of the many ways to love and be loved, is a result of years of activism and advocacy on the part of LGBTQ+ people and their allies, particularly starting in the 1960s. But before the dawn of the 20th century one German Jewish doctor and sexologist, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, became […]

Peugeot, Citroen, Ford, Honda, Ferrari, Bentley, Renault. Before these brands became megacorps employing hundreds of thousands, they were flesh-and-blood people. Armand, Andre, Henry, Soichiro, Enzo, Walter, and Louis – the visionary engineers, inventors, and industrialists who entered the Industrial Revolution’s pantheon – are etched in human memory as masters who changed our lives forever. And […]

For the first time in Israel: The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot is proud to present a state-of-the-art tool: The C U ROBOT. As part of the Museum’s focus on accessibility through the use of innovative technologies, Beit Hatfutsot has launched a new robot tour that was developed specifically for Beit Hatfutsot. […]

  “Me adhiero a todos aquellos que alaban a “A Bintel Brief”, a través del cual se pueden manifestar quienes tienen “un secreto o algo que pesa sobre sus conciencias”. “Mi hermana y yo somos revolucionarios rusos y seculares, pero nuestros padres se empeñan en que realicemos un casamiento religioso – ¿qué tenemos que hacer?”. […]

“My girlfriend and I are Russian revolutionists and freethinkers, but our parents want us to have a religious wedding—what should we do?” “Should I marry a woman with a dimple in her chin, when everyone says that people with dimples in their chins will lose their first husband or wife?” “I was a prosperous businessman […]

“Behind me stand hundreds of thousands of saints, a camp full of tortured victims staring silently at you and demanding justice. Not mercy – only justice. I stand before you here with them, with all my heart and soul.” If those lines sound familiar to you, you have a healthy grasp of history.  These words […]

“Gibborim: Trailblazers of the Jewish People” from Beit Hatfutsot was the leading event for kids and families at the IAC Celebrate Israel Festival in Los Angeles this past Sunday, May 19. Hundreds of families jammed out to Jewish singers like Dana International and Bob Dylan, created works of art a la Marc Chagall, jumped in […]

Long before the Israeli Mossad became the best espionage organization in the world, Jewish spies in Israel stripped off and donned disguises, crossed enemy lines and brought back quality intelligence – intelligence that did not come under the heading of “the public’s right to know.” Among the most important, least well known and most forgotten […]

In the coming three months, Beit Hatfutsot’s Capsule Exhibit on Vintage Jewish Fashion will be displayed in six branches of the Los Angeles Public Library; in the Jewish Libraries Association conference; and in the Jewish American University. The images in the exhibit all belong to the Oster Visual Documentation Center at Beit Hatfutsot. Curator: Yaara Litwin […]

We were delighted to host Mr. Pavan Kapoor and his wife, the ambassador of India to Israel, who participated in the symposium “Movements in the Middle East Post 1948”. In the panel “Migration and Refugees” the following scholars took part: Lyn Julius, author of the acclaimed work “Uprooted: How 3,000 years of Jewish Civilization in the […]

“The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people,” declared Israel’s first prime Minister David Ben-Gurion on the stage at Beit Dizengoff, 71 years ago today. To avoid desecrating the imminent Shabbat, he scheduled the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel for Friday afternoon, several hours before the cancellation of […]

The year was 1923, and among the main attractions for European football fans were English football leagues’ summer tours of the Continent. The gaps between the nation that invented football and its Continental neighbors were vast. The latter had yet to take its first steps in the game. No other all-star league trumped England’s until […]

Sunday, March 31: Boris Maftsir’s film “The road to Babi Yar” was screened in the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. This is the latest film in Maftsir’s documentary serial project. Before the screening, Ms. Liora Shani, Director of Conventions & Events Center, greeted the visitors, and then historian Prof. Havi Dreifuss from the Institute for […]

Much like other bygone vocations that did not survive the technological revolution, a photo studio is one of the institutes that’s been vanishing from the public sphere. The dark room, film strips, the hard labor of photo development, the thrilling expectation to find out how the photos turned out – were all replaced by digital […]

Catherine the Great, the Tsarina of Russia, was known for her insatiable lust. Legend has it that in her twilight years she grew tired of her lovers and turned to four-legged animals to satisfy her sexual needs. Those legends also claim that she went to her maker in the midst of passionate relations with a […]

In Jungian terms, Israel’s sweeping victory in 1967 symbolized an archetypal revolution of the common Jew. The archetypal passive, docile, and persecuted Diaspora “galut Jew” – whom Bialik slammed in his poem “City of Slaughter” in 1903 – morphed into that of the brave, heroic, flawless “Jewish soldier” who destroyed his mortal enemy in six […]

Gefilte fish is probably Eastern-European Jewry’s most famous dish. Other well-known Jewish delicacies include borsht, bagels and shmalz. Today, however, not many are aware that the names of these familiar foods are also Jewish surnames, as are babke, kishke, tzimes and more. There are at least a hundred Israelis with the family name Herring, and […]

I.D.F. Chief of the General Staff, lieutenant general Aviv Kochavi and members of the General Staff Forum, found the time yesterday to leave their uniform at home for a few hours and enjoyed an amusing evening at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv. They were guided by Itamar Kremer, director of the Koret International School for […]

Estee Ackerman, a 17-year-old Jewish girl from New York, is one of the top table tennis players in the United States, and is setting her sites on competing in the 2020 Olympics. As a Jewish table tennis champion, Ackerman is actually following in a long tradition of Jewish success in the sport. When table tennis […]

In one of Louis C.K.’s classic stand-up routines, he rails at the people who complain throughout inflight service. “You’re fucking sitting in a chair in the sky,” he roars. “And you have the nerve to complain that the omelet has no mushrooms?” A recent ride with a particularly nervous cab driver reminded me of that […]

Shame. That word seems to best define what Orthodox Marxists felt after World War I. “How did the tweedy high-brow men who filled the salons of Berlin, Vienna, and London screw up our proletarian revolution?” they asked each other. Why was it a Russian nation comprised mainly of illiterate farmers that adopted the collectivist utopia […]

We were delighted to have the management of Maccabi, towards a cooperation between the Maccabi movement and Beit Hatfutsot, in which groups from South American, the United States and Europe are planned to visit Beit Hatfutsot. Among the distinguished guests were Eyal Tiberger, CEO Maccabi Israel, and Carlo Tapiero, deputy director-general of education. The cooperation will […]

Israel is awash in a wave of nostalgia. Hipsters model 60s styles in Tel Aviv. Khaki pants star in Fashion Week. And retro raves attract hundreds of victims of the Static and Ben-El era, who gather to trade stories about the First Gulf War to the strains of Queen songs. Foreign media notes that nostalgia […]

We can venture a guess as to what Walther Rathenau had on his mind during the few moments he lived after extreme right-wing assassins riddled his upper body with bullets in his hometown of Berlin. Perhaps one of the early 20th century’s greatest statesmen thought: My lifelong conflict has finally been solved. I am finally […]

Itzig Stern did everything possible to hide his Jewishness. He took pains to lose his Yiddish accent, read only anti-Semitic papers, and underwent dozens of plastic surgeries to fix his beaked nose, doe-like eyes, meaty lips, and thick tongue. His efforts paid off when he married a German-Christian bride. But the charade was revealed when […]

A Tisch Dialogue evening was held at the home of Claudia De Benedetti, the Italian representative on our International Executive Board of Governors. The guest list comprised Museum Directors, opinion makers and prominent members of the Jewish community.  The evening was chaired by Elena Loewenthal who is a well-known and highly respected figure both in […]

‘’Mother, tell me one more time/ how did we end up here Tell me of the journey in the desert/ how we left in darkest night’’ The 3rd Annual Yerusalem conference, held at Tel Aviv Cinematheque, was dedicated to Israeli Ethiopian women. Previous conferences honoured Ferede Aklum Z’’L and Baruch Tegene Z’’L whose persistence helped […]

Use of Hitler’s accursed name to slam one’s adversaries is not the invention of poets. At least in this sense, Yitzhak Laor is in “good company.” One of the first to drop the German despot’s name for the sake of debasement is none other than Israel’s first prime minister David Ben-Gurion. A diplomatic genius with […]

Hiroo Onoda was a high-rank intelligence officer in the Japanese army. Sent during World War II to the Lubang island in the Philippines, his orders were to do literally everything to prevent the enemy from invading the island. Should he failed, he’d better not return to Japan, they said. Hiroo Onoda had no intentions to defy […]

We were delighted to host a festive cocktail party in honor of Mr. Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria, who came with his wife, the Austrian minister for digital and economic issues; Martha Schultz, vice president of the Austrian chamber of commerce; Martin Weiss, ambassador of Austria in Israel, Talya Ledor Presher; and 200 Austrian […]

Many of us spend significant time on trains every day traveling to the office and back. Some devote their train time to working, others to putting out bureaucratic fires, and the rest leaf through the daily papers or take a brief nap. But how many people do you know who exploit their time on the […]

The guide to “how an entitled man should behave” recommends – particularly in the #MeToo Era – that he refrain from publicly remarking that Jane Doe’s legs rouse his libido. That is to say, he can do it, but he has to also be prepared to eulogize his career. In the past, men of status […]

A bizarre phenomenon took place in Europe during the months of Spring. People claimed during that time of year that a significant number of people had disappeared from the face of the earth. Rigorous investigations – based mainly on the work of advanced medieval Identification and Forensic Science divisions – determined that those missing persons […]

It was the same old story every weekend. On our way home from Shabbat dinner at my sister’s house in Haifa’s Ahuza neighborhood, my grandfather – may he rest in peace – would stop in a tiny alley to bow down at length to a street sign. This peculiar ritual took many seconds to complete, […]

January 30 marked Eight years since the passing of Chava Rosenfarb, one of the most significant, albeit underrated, Yiddish writers of the late 20th century. Rosenfarb was born in 1923 in Lodz, Poland. At that time, Lodz was about one-third Jewish, and the experience of growing up in a city with such a strong and […]

“Filth, lack of discipline! Let us glimpse the site where the tragedy took place…Shattered windows, broken doors, dismantled floors…working bathrooms in only one home…How much time does it take for a European to lose his semblance of culture in conditions like these? None. Can you preserve culture with draconian punishments like denying soup or benches? […]

He was paranoid, provocative, racist and chauvinist. But most people forgave him all of it, because he was a singular genius with an IQ over 200 and the memory of a Google server farm. Bobby Fischer, World Chess Champion from 1972-1975, harbored neuroses that spilled over into his personal and public lives. As a teen, […]

For most of history, Jews have lived outside of the Land of Israel, whether in prosperous places or in poor countries. One place has always had a pretty small Jewish population – the Land of Israel. In the 17th century, some 3,000 Jews were living in Jerusalem under the Ottoman rule. During that century, they […]

The match was about to start. In one corner of the ring, a skinny Jew with a goatee, round glasses on his nose, and a deep penetrating stare. In the other corner, an imposing looking man wearing a modern top hat and a thick beard from which only a pair of black piercing eyes could […]

Tartan, a checkered pattern that is formed when the same set of colored bands intersect horizontally and vertically, is one of the defining visual features of Scottish culture. Tartan is taken so seriously, in fact, that there is official legislation defining tartan and the process of registering it officially. Historically, tartan was associated with the […]

The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot hosted a magnificent celebration of Jewish humor radiating with the rich content of “Let There Be Laughter: Jewish Humor Around the World,” the blockbuster exhibition currently on display at the Museum. It was a unique event demonstrating the brand values of a renewed Beit Hatfutsot. Our vision, mission […]

For those who celebrate, Christmas might conjure up images of sleigh bells, snow, and dancing sugar plum fairies. But for Jews, the holiday is just as likely to prompt mouthwatering visions of wontons, Kung Pao chicken, and other Chinese dishes. Jewish people eating Chinese food on Christmas is an image that has become so pervasive, […]

There is a Talmudic Agada about Moses, who traveled forward in time and landed in Rabbi Akiva’s Beth Midrash. He sat in the eighth row and listened to Rabbi Akiva splitting hairs over every verse – or as the story puts it: “(Rabbi Akiva) is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these […]

A quote that religious Jews in Israel enjoy hurling in heated arguments with secular Jews is that of the founder of the Hashomer Hatzair Movement and spiritual leader of the kibbutz movement, MK Yaakov Hazan: “We wanted to raise a generation of apikorsim [non-observant Jews], but instead raised a generation of amei haaretz  [unlearned Jews].” This […]

In celebration of our blockbuster exhibit, “Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World”, honoring the contributions of Jews to the world of comedy, we at the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot unveiled a list of the 15 greatest moments in the history of Jewish comedy. Headlining the list are […]

We were proud and delighted to host Prof. Siro Polo Padolecchia at the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. Siro Polo Padolecchia, born in Venice in an ancient noble family, is the last living descendant of Marco Polo. Former Ambassador of Italy at the  United Nations, he assisted maaplilim to arrive to Israel after […]

Assaf Gamzu The popular culture of 2018 owes so much to Stan Lee. Every couple of months a new comic movie is released by Marvel Cinematic Universe, that undisputedly has been ruling the world of cinema for a decade now. Most of the stars – Thor, The Hulk, The Black Panther, Spider-man and others – […]

Two contradictory ideologies dealing with distributive justice were dominant in modern history: the model of the Socialist State, that strive to expand government’s power and interference in the lives of citizens, and the opposite model of the Liberal State, that focused on individual rights and wished to limit governmental interference in private lives. In a […]

In the early 1930’s, an unknown young Jewish lyricist called Aharon Ze’ev published the poem “We are carrying torches” – Anu Nos’im Lapidim, which became popular overnight among Zionist sing along lovers. It was a one-liner essence of all Zionist core ideas: No miracle happened for us / No cruise of oil did we find […]

The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot had the pleasure to host today the Nobel laureate in physics, the Algeria born French-Jewish physicist, Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, who now visits Israel within a scientific conference, as the President’s guest. Tannoudji, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997, toured the museum, accompanied by […]

In a summit held this week in Jerusalem, Irina Nevzlin, Chair of the Board of Directors of The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot, chaired a panel moderated by journalist Zvika Klein (“Makor Rishon”), titled: “Israel and the Diaspora: united we stand?” Before the panel, the audience enjoyed the video “You are part […]

Though he wasn’t the first to publish a modern newspaper in Hebrew; though the paper wasn’t the largest, nor the most popular; though he sometimes copied from his adversaries; and though he didn’t stand out in his education among his colleagues – still, the paper “HaMelitz” and its publisher and editor, Aleksander Zederbaum (“The Cedar”) have […]

November 25, 1940, 9 am. The illegal immigration ship “Patria” is docking in Haifa port. Suddenly, a loud blast rips the side of the ship. Huge amounts of water flood the ship and within minutes the old ocean liner, carrying 2,000 passengers, starts to sink. Chaos and panic all around, old people slip and fall […]

Radical works of art may raise arguments and debates about whether they belong in the public arena and might even destroy the career of an appreciated author, who only wished to push some boundaries. That was the case of the Yiddish author Shalom Asch. Ash was born in 1880 in Kutno near Lodz, Poland, to […]

Every year, on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a quintessentially American holiday, one that not only ushers in the winter holiday season, but also tells a story about the country’s founding and its values. Thanksgiving as a holiday whose purpose is to set aside a time for […]

You can tell a lot about religions by their archetypal protagonist. Generally speaking, Christianity is fond of pure, untarnished guys, those who turn their other cheek. The Muslims adore men who sacrifice their lives to reach paradise, whereas the Buddhists respect he who can live an entire life doing one thing – avoiding. Avoiding over […]

This week a hundred years back, the first World War ended, in which 18 million people died, out of which 8 million were civilians. Not only was is a devastating war on its own, it also left us with some of the horrible illnesses of the 20th century: Nazism, Fascism, Bolshevism, to name a few. […]

If we had to choose a date for “The Memorial Holocaust Denial Day”, it must be November 11. On this day in 2005 the historian David Irving, considered the greatest Holocaust deniers in the world, was arrested. This dubious title Irving owes to Deborah Lipstadt, a Jewish Professor from Emory University in Georgia. Lipstadt came from […]

When John Monash arrived in Cairo from Australia during World War I, he had no formal military training. But he did have an extensive education, and notable achievements as a civil engineer. The son of Jewish immigrants to Australia, Monash earned academic degrees in law, art, and engineering. He was a reservist officer in the […]

In 1979, when the film “The Life of Brian” by the Monty Python group was released, it immediately provoked fury and insult, as Jesus Christ, rather than a saint martyr born to a virgin, was presented as a foolish loser who found himself in ridiculous situations and somehow made the Jews believe he was the […]

From its founding, Pittsburgh was a city that was open to Jews, and a place where they could prosper. Jewish achievements are wound into the literal fabric of the city; Frankstown Road, which runs through the city, was named after David Franks, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and a prosperous merchant who sent so […]

Hear this out: Hitler wasn’t just a diabolic psychopath, but also a wretched plagiarizer of symbols and ideas. The yellow badge, for example, was borrowed from another Jew hater, who lived centuries before the Nazis came to power in Germany: Edward I King of England (1239-1309). Old Ed hated and loathed the Jews so much, […]

Lunes, 22 de octubre, Centro de Convenciones, Tel Aviv La Conferencia de la GA, la Asamblea General de la JFNA (el acrónimo en inglés de la Unión de las Federaciones Judías en América del Norte), se inauguró ese día en el Centro de Convenciones en Tel Aviv. La conferencia, cuyo título fue “Israel y la […]

October 22, 2018: We were proud and delighted to have the book launch of Ambassador Alfred Moses, Co-chairman of the International Board of Governors of The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. General (res.) Amos Yadlin, director of the Institute for National Security Studies, and Ms. Irina Nevzlin, chair of the Board of Directors […]

Monday, Oct. 22, Tel Aviv The General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America opened Monday for the first time in Tel Aviv. Irina Nevzlin, President of the Nadav Foundation and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot, delivered her speech at the opening plenary of […]

A ruthless steadfast warrior, as well as a merciful leader who liberated thousands of slaves – this was Dihya al Kahina, a Jewish Berber Northern African woman. The Jewish Khaleesi, if you will, but unfortunately, not nearly as famous as that the Game of Thrones fictional character. Dihya al Kahina lived in Northern Africa at the end of the […]

Christian Herrmann   For years, whenever I find the time, I travel through Eastern Europe, photographing the traces of Jewish life. An analogue camera for black and white films and a digital camera are always with me, and I often also travel with dear friends who share my passion. I am frequently asked why I […]

Try to picture this: Shabbat morning, a synagogue in Bnei Brak, and the late rabbi Elazar Shach delivers his sermon to his listeners, in sheer atmosphere of silence and holy awe. Then suddenly, a loud defying horn sound from a nearby sport car is heard just outside the synagogue. Now which scene is more likely […]

This coming Yom Kippur, just like every year, during the Musaf prayer, the famous piyyut “Unetanneh Tokef“ will be once again sung and touch all hearts in Ashkenazi synagogues and in part of the Sephardi and Yemenite ones as well. The piyyut opens with the words “Let us now relate the power of this day’s holiness, […]

More than half a century later, Sandy Koufax’s decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series between his Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins, still reverberate loudly and clearly among American Jews. The greatest pitcher of his day, enjoying a five-year dominant span unparalleled in Baseball history, decided to respect Yom […]

He who has control over time, has control over agendas. Therefore, it is not surprising that the greatest revolutions in history always sought an opportunity to change or replace the calendar in use: the leaders of the French revolution replaced the Gregorian calendar with a new one, in which each month had three weeks, ten […]

This week marks the 103rd anniversary of the lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish industrialist who was falsely accused of a terrible crime and whose violent murder shook American Jews’ sense of security in their new home. Frank was born in Paris, Texas but his family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up. […]

Surely, some concepts delivered by Judaism hit Jews back like a boomerang: God; the atom bomb; summer vacation, to name just a few, and also, the sociological concept of the excommunication. Such sanctions weren’t invented by the BDS movement, who simply adopted an old Jewish concept and used it against the Jews. The origin of the […]

“Crazy Ex Girlfriend” is a series created by Rachel Bloom, a Jewish-American comedian and producer, famous for her clips on feminine sexuality, Judaism, women geeks, among other topics. The song Chanukah Honey is a nice example to start with. Bloom uses a Christmas carol and converts it hilariously (warning: the clip contains sexual references as well […]

Throughout most of Jewish history, Jewish scholars and authors contributed in all genres but one: they wrote Halacha and Agadah, poetry, lamentations, songs of joy, holidays poems, ethics, Kabbala and “Sod” (mystery) literature – you can find Jewish authors everywhere in written culture. But there was one field which they have been avoiding until the […]

The kind of bribe a leader receives or offers can reveal a lot on his set of values. Think, for example, about the elephant granted by Sultan Harun Al Rashid to Charles the Great, or the shoes that “Norman” the hustler bought for Prime Minister Micha Eshel in Yossef Cedar’s film, or the cash packed envelopes […]

A well-known Jewish folk story, recounted whenever there is a need to emphasize what a lover of Jews Napoleon Bonaparte was, takes place during the failed campaign to the Land of Israel. It is told that Napoleon landed with his troops on Tisha B’Av. Upon hearing the Jews lamenting, he asked why, and when they […]

The President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament, H.E. Wolfgang Sobotka, accompanied by a high level delegation, visited The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot today.  Among the distinguished participants in the delegation were H.E Martin Weiss, Austrian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Martin Engelberg, member of the national Council, Mr. Harald […]

Anti-Semites, the people who brought us The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the belief that any evil is caused by Jewish fortune, would probably rejoice at knowing that while the English branch of the Rothschild family funded the English wars against Napoleon in early 19th century, two wealthy Jewish families from Algeria supported Napoleon […]

The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot was honored to take part in a unique exhibition, displayed at the Knesset: “At 70: Treasures of Museums in Israel”. This exhibition, initiated by The Association of Museums in Israel and the Knesset, featured the videos from the highly acclaimed media exhibition “Operation Moses: 30 Years […]

How Jews imported football into Austria – that is some strange tale. It happened after the Austrian branch of the Rothschilds hired a group of English gardeners to maintain the lawns at their mansion. The workers brought along both a football and a strong passion for the unfamiliar game. The first football match in Austria […]

“If journalism aims to serve the public, it must strive for as large circulation as possible. And the reason is simple – larger circulation means more publicity, which means more money, which means optimal journalistic freedom” – said Joseph Pulitzer, the Jewish journalism magnate who immigrated to America in the 19th century and was one […]

With the opening of Beit Hatfutsot’s new exhibition, “Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World,” the Museum has welcomed Tefillin Barbie into its collection of objects that inspire, amuse, provoke, and enrich the story of the Jewish people. This year, Tefillin Barbie is celebrating her bat mitzvah: 12 years of bringing joy, […]

Everybody who lived in at least part of the 20th century can easily recognize the cultural icon of the roaring lion before every movie by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, known worldwide as MGM. Today the company functions mainly as an archive owned by Sony, but at its peak in the 1930’s and 1940’s it was not only […]

 When Beit Hatfutsot was first opened, in 1978, it was called The Diaspora Museum, setting as a main goal to tell the story of Jewish communities in the diaspora, thus connecting Israelis to their past. At that time, the classic Zionist view was that the difference between Israelis and their fellow Jews in the diaspora […]

Miki and Sally Schneider’s only son was born in Long Island in 1925. He was circumcised when he was 8 days old, and named Leonard Alfred, or “Lenny”. Little did his parents know then, that this baby was about to smash the idols of his time and announce a new religion: counter-culture. “Lenny Bruce was […]

El concurso  Mi Historia Familiar, en memoria de Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf , cierra el año 2018 con la participación de más de 20.000 jóvenes de todo el mundo,  de 24 países correspondientes a  190 instituciones judías. A lo largo de todo el año  los participantes de este proyecto han investigado acerca de sus raíces, historias […]

The final event of this international Jewish heritage competition includes 190 Jewish institutions, 24 countries and more than 20,000 young participants. The 58 finalists and their families attended the closing event and exhibition opening at The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv, Israel Bursts of laughter, applause of praise and […]

They were both unusual characters. He – head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, a bright young star in the Zionist movement during the 1930’s; she – a Third Reich celebrity and the renowned wife of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda. Were they romantically involved? Can Joseph Goebbels be standing behind […]

The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot and The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia held a reception on the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Slovenia, attended by H.E. Ambassador Ms. Barbara Sušnik, H.E. Ambassador Ms. Charlotte Slente, and distinguished guests. The reception included: An exhibition on Jewish soldiers of the […]

What makes a great speech? A great speech confronts two universal values with one another and forms an unsolvable conflict. Such was the steering speech by Elazar ben Yair, which led to mass suicide on the Masada. A great speech can be addressed in a seemingly insignificant occasion, and still enter indifferent hearts, like Elie […]

A short while after losing her beloved mother in 1928, the Jewish-American singer Sophie Tucker recorded the song “A Yiddishe Momme” which made her famous. Every time she performed the song the used to tell the audience about her late mother, “a woman with a pure Jewish heart, with eyes reflecting endless devotion”. The song […]

Green Park hotel was standing upon four things: tradition, religion, family, and food – as declared in the opening scene of Marsha Lee’s award winning film about the most famous Jewish hotel in England. The story of Green Park reflects the story of the entire Jewry of England. First, mass immigration due to pogroms in […]

If Ruth was living among us today, how would we categorize her? An illegal immigrant? A refugee? An infiltrator? A work seeker? If Ruth was living among us today, she probably would not be considered “Jewish” enough to be converted by the chief rabbinate, nor “Israeli” enough to represent Israel in the Eurovision song contest. […]

On January 30, 1939 Adolf Hitler addressed a historical speech, in which he announced publicly for the first time his intention to exterminate the entire Jewish people. In his address he mentioned several times “the world Jewish capital” as the source of all humanity’s evil. Many researchers asserted that Hitler’s pathological hatred of the chosen […]

We were extremely proud and honored to be hosted at the 2018 Herzliya Conference. Ms. Irina Nevzlin, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot and President of the Nadav Foundation, was invited to give the keynote speech addressing the distinguished forum. Ms. Nevzlin was warmly welcomed […]

The forced conversion and deportation of the Jews of Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century were a dramatic shock wave for the Jewish society people, as one of the main Jewish centers was wiped out almost overnight. Many Jews either escaped to other places or converted to Christianity and became new […]

For most Jews, the Hasmoneans, and the revolts they led during the 2nd century BCE, are commemorated and celebrated until today, during the festival of Hanukkah. At the time when the revolts actually took place, however, there was one group of Jews who resented the Hasmoneans and was deeply disappointed by them. As a result, […]

Every Israeli child knows these lines by heart: “He (Bar Kokhba) was a hero, he struggled for freedom, the whole nation loved him. Hero!”. Written by Levin Kipnis in 1930, this children song depicts Bar Kokhba as a Jewish version of Che Guevara – tall, handsome, riding a roaring lion, wasting Romans in one hand, […]

After the Nazis came to power in Germany 1933, some half a million German Jews were gradually leaving Germany. The vast majority of those descendants of Ashkenazi communities, who lived along the Rhine since the ninth century fled to America and Great Britain, while a small 10% chose to immigrate eastwards to the Land of […]

In 1903 the young poet Chaim Nachman Bialik was sent to Kishinev, Russia, to cover the pogroms there. He faced horrible sights: 49 brutalized dead bodies, 92 severely wounded, dozens of Jewish shops ruined and looted. But what upset him even more were the humiliation, the helplessness, the shredded self-respect of the Jews – these […]

There are so many Jewish jokes and tales out there, with hardly anything to do with real events or people. Take for example the case of the wise men of Chelm: though Chelm is an actual city, it had a perfectly normal population of both wise and stupid. No one really knows why Chelm entered […]

It was a cold night in January of 1943. Two friends were walking in the fifth avenue in New York. Children were making snow men on the sidewalks and the showcases still had remains of bright neon lights decoration from New Year’s Eve celebrations. Then the two men sat on a bench under a street […]

In 1963 the Israeli foreign ministry invited Johannes Bogaard, a Dutch farmer, to Israel on an official visit. He was awarded the “Righteous Among the Nations” title by Yad Vashem, the National Holocaust Memorial Authority, for saving some 300 Jewish children from certain death during the Holocaust, between 1941 and 1945. The ceremony included planting […]

We were thrilled and honored to launch the new exhibition “Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World”, celebrating generations of Jewish humor, and marking 70 years of Israeli humor and satire. Many stage artists, comedians, actors, businesspersons and friends of the museum came to celebrate the opening with us, and were hosted […]

During the Holocaust a number of incredibly brave individuals risked their lives to save those of their friends, neighbors, or even the lives of strangers. One of the most remarkable stories of courage and creative thinking in the face of danger is that of Dr. Eugene Lazowski, who managed to create an entire typhus “epidemic” […]

The Jewish Museum in Bologna, directed by Dr. Guido Ottolenghi, hosted a Gala evening in honor of The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot’s 40th anniversary. Mayor of Bologna, Mr. Virginio Merola, the Ambassador of Israel in Italy, Mr. Ofer Sachs, President of the Jewish Communities in Italy (UCEI), Ms. Noemi Di Segni, and Ms. […]

As Prof. Israel Yuval was standing with his three daughters at the bottom of the deep cistern under the famous basilica in the German town of Trier, he felt it was a life changing moment for him. 900 years beforehand, at that very spot, Jewish parents were willing to throw their children into the pit […]

Comience a ejercitar sus músculos faciales para reírse, y mucho, cuando lancemos una nueva y especial exposición que investiga el humor judío. ¿Qué hace a los judíos tan graciosos? ¿Y cómo, el “Pueblo del Libro”, trajo al mundo brillantes escritores, productores y comediantes? El museo ofrece una risueña perspectiva de los orígenes del humor judío […]

The comedy duo Dzigan and Schumacher was for three decades the most successful pair on the Jewish-Yiddish stage, more than any other comedian or ensemble. Their story is also the story of Jewish entertainment, and also the historical story of the Jewish people in the 20th century. Their repertoire included dozens of acts in Yiddish, and a […]

By: Yair Achituv, Bar-Ilan University   The text of the Gutwirth-Zucker Haggadah, an 18th century manuscript written in Prague in 1707 and exhibited in Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv, is accompanied by drawings. Drawings in illustrated Haggadot are usually related to Passover customs and Passover-related events, the Exodus. However, there are drawings in the Gutwirth-Zucker […]

It is safe enough to state that humanity is progressing, even without delving into philosophers such as Hegel. True – slavery still exists, classes still count, women and minorities are still being discriminated – but not as much as they used to. In a long perspective, human history is indeed moving forward. On the other […]

Who are we to blame for the common anti-Semitic stereotype about the Jews as contaminators of mankind? Can we blame it on the Jewish interpreter Luis de Torres, the man who brought the first cigarettes to Europe? We most certainly can not. For one thing, the hazards in smoking were not yet known in the […]

¿Será que el estereotipo antisemita sobre los judíos, que son un factor contaminante se originó en relación al intérprete judío Luis de Torres, quien es en gran parte el responsable por la llegada de los primeros cigarros a Europa? No, no tiene nada que ver. Los antisemitas modernos les atribuían a los judíos la culpa […]

Hubo tiempos pasados en que a la palabra “Explorer” tenía implicaciones de vida y muerte y no de un navegador web, y “Trafic” representaba un movimiento físico en el espacio y no algo que publicistas ávidos de fama juran en su nombre. Eran tiempos en los cuales la floreciente industria marítima del siglo XVI atraía […]

Back in the 16th century, “explorer” and “traffic” certainly did not mean what they mean today. These two concepts actually used to mean physical motion through lands and seas. Those were the days of the flourishing seamanship industry, in which some of the sharpest minds of that period were involved. The leading “startup nation” of […]

Praying at the graves of sages is an old Jewish custom, recorded in Talmudic and Midrashic literature. Various medieval Jewish scholars discussed this religious practice, whether they approved or rejected it. A significant change regarding the prostration on graves occurred some 500 years ago, and since then it became a popular custom practiced by the […]

We were delighted to host a distinguished group of parliament directors from over 30 states, who came to a conference arranged by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. The guests toured through the exhibitions and learnt about the different aspects of Jewish history and heritage. They were guided by Beit Hatfutsot C.E.O., Dan Tadmor, and guides […]

By: Assaf Gamzou Science fiction fans and cinema lovers across the world were all holding their breath in anticipation in 2017 at the release of Blade Runner 2049. In this sequence of Ridley Scott’s master piece, we are introduced to K, a replicant who hunts down other replicants and kills them. In the near future, […]

What triggered the butterfly effect 50 years before Habiba Msika became the most famous Jewish Tunisian woman in the world, was in fact not a butterfly, but bacteria – the tuberculosis that entered the body of a poor little baby named Edgardo Mortara, born in 1851 to a Jewish family in Bologna, Italy. His Christian […]

“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months” (Oscar Wilde) In this postmodern era of ours, when the concept of “truth” is undermined every single minute and dissected into numberless narratives, the building of Beit Hatfutsot is here, maliciously annoying all relativists. For five decades it […]

With the Winter Olympic Games commencing in South Korea it’s noteworthy to mention that one of the most successful Olympic sports for Jewish athletes has actually been the marquee event of the games – figure skating. In fact, at least 16 Jewish skaters throughout the generations have won Olympic medals – with the trend becoming ever […]

In 1993 General Colin Powell visited the State of Israel. Upon meeting then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir, he is said to have greeted the surprised Shamir with “mir kenen redn Yiddish!” (“We can speak Yiddish!”) Powell, the son of Jamaican immigrants who was born in Harlem and raised in the South Bronx of New York City, […]

Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People mourns the passing of a lifelong friend and leader – Sam E. Bloch Z”L. Sam was one of the founders of the Museum, envisioning a central establishment bridging between Israel and global Jewish communities. Since its inception, Sam Bloch supported the Museum and established the American […]

He wore many hats: an American Sheriff and patriot; an ambassador who released hostages in Tunis; an Ashkenazi who declared himself a Portuguese; a proud Jew, and most important – the man who wished to establish a Jewish state in the U.S.A. – way before others came with the idea of a Jewish state. Who […]

Friends of Israel and Beit Hatfutsot gathered on January 9, 2018 for a memorable event launching the celebration of Israel’s 70th Anniversary and Beit Hatfutsot’s 40th Anniversary. The evening was held in conjunction with Operation Finale: The Capture and Trial of Adolf Eichmann, Beit Hatfutsot, the Mossad and the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage’s landmark exhibition on […]

In April 1959, the chamber of the Arab League Boycott of Israel submitted a demand that the Swiss watch company Ardath remove the Star of David from their logo, as it was an ancient Jewish emblem. A short while after, the Maariv newspaper delegate,  Yosef  “Tommy” Lapid  Z”L, published an item about the British tea […]

“When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose”. Two millions Dollars was the sum an anonymous businessman gladly paid  for the four pages original manuscript of the song “Like a Rolling Stone”. Indeed irony is one way to describe Bob Dylan’s career, the poet who wrote this complex beautiful poem when he was […]

Oscar Schindler used his enamelware factory as a cover in order to save Jews; Jan and Antonina Żabiński used the zoo they were running for this very same purpose; and Jaap Penraat from Holland used to smuggle Jews dressed as construction workers. All of them justly received the Righteous Among the Nations honorific from the state […]

The Jewish population of Europe has declined from about 10-million at the eve of World War II to about Two million today. The primary reason being the Holocaust, but immigration and assimilation in the years following the War reduced the Jewish population even further. One sign of this phenomena present itself in many former synagogues […]

The annual gala dinner, launching the celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary and Beit Hatfutsot’s 40th anniversary, was held on January 9, 2018 in New York, with distinguished guests such as Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Honorary Chairman, Irina Nevzlin, Chair, Board of Directors, Ambassador Alfred H. Moses | Major General Eitan Ben Eliahu, Co-Chairs, International Board of Governors, Daniel S. Pincus, President, American Friends of Beit […]

Take some kids with the worst learning problems you can imagine, and try to tell them about the Dreyfus affair: they are most likely to take some interest in the story of the French Jewish officer who in 1895 was convicted treason, exiled to the Devil’s Island, then thanks to a passionate campaign by supporters […]

The middle of the 12th century was quite a dramatic era for the Jews of Yemen. The Fatimid Caliphate who ruled over Yemen for long time were losing territories to a religious charismatic preacher called Ali Ibn Mahdi, whose name means in Islam the Messiah, redeemer, savior. Indeed Ali referred to himself as the savior […]

26,000 Jews were living in Algeria in 1830, when France invaded Algeria and made it a French colony for 130 years. The Jews of Algeria enjoyed freedom and equality thanks to Adolphe Crémieux, who was minister of justice in the second French republic and gave the Jews full equal rights in 1870. The Crémieux decree […]

The most traumatic event in the collective memory of Iraqi Jews — the Farhud — took place during Shavuot 1941. During these violent riots in Baghdad thousands were raped and/or wounded, Jewish shops and synagogues were plundered and destroyed, and a staggering 180 people were brutally murdered. This unprecedented attack on the theretofore flourishing, peaceful […]

A fines del Siglo XIX, la palabra “América” tenía un efecto casi mágico sobre el alma de los judíos que se aglomeraban entre el Océano Báltico y el Mar Negro. Ellos no discernían sobre de cuál América se trataba, si la del Norte o la del Sur. América no era para ellos un punto geográfico […]

Towards the end of the 19th century, the very sound of the name America had a magical effect on the millions of Jews in Eastern Europe, and they could not care less whether it was northern or southern America. For them, “America” was not a spot on the map, but a dream, a desirable destination, […]

It is well known that Sigmund Freud was Jewish, as were many of his successors. But the first psychoanalysis patient ever was also Jewish – she was a Viennese young woman called Bertha Pappenheim, referred to as Anna O in the book about her case. Who was Anna/Bertha, and what was so special about her life […]

One interesting phenomena of Jewish life in the modern Arab world was the stardom achieved by many Jewish female singers. There was reason for this: with Muslim society constraints on issues of modesty – often forbidden to appear in front of men – it was easier for Jewish women to make significant breakthroughs in local […]

In a new Israeli Reality Show “Married at First Sight”, couples meet for the first time at their wedding. 250 years ago, this format was an acceptable practice, having quite the same motives – mostly financial ones. Our tragic hero had such an experience. Salomon Ben Yehoshua was born in 1753 in the town of […]

Christmas is, ostensibly, one of the least Jewish days in the calendar. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a less Jewish day than one that celebrates the birth of a religious figure who was firmly and decisively rejected by Jews, and is traditionally celebrated with a special church mass and/or a Christmas ham. Historically, Christmas […]

Ambassador of Israel in Austria, Ms. Talya Lador-Fresher, hosted a festive reception and Hanukah candles lighting at her home with respected members of the Jewish community in Vienna, marking the 40th anniversary of Beit Hatfutsot. Ambassador Lador-Fresher pointed out the importance of Beit Hatfutsot, the unique museum telling the ongoing story of the Jewish people, emphasizing the […]

Hanukah eve, 25 Kislev 5623 – 1862. A heavy snow blister was raging outside, while the town’s Jews gathered in their homes, around the Hanukia. Scents of fried latkes filled the warm living rooms, dreidels were spinning, blessings were sung. Suddenly, strong bangs on the door and loud calls were yelled: “Jews Out!”. Copies of […]

Before There Were Potatoes There Was … Cheese!  Potatoes only reached Europe in the 16th century – following the “discovery” of the Americas. Hey, so what about Latkes? Before there were potato Latkes the tradition was to eat cheese pancake – commemorating brave Judith who fed the Greek general before she decapitated him in his […]

The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs initiated a national day to mark and promote the relationship between Israel and global Jewish communities. Beit Hatfutsot, a leading educational and cultural institution, was invited to address members of the Knesset and present a display featuring projects from “The Jewish Lens”, one of the Museum’s leading international programs. Dozens […]

We were proud and delighted to have the former Prime Minister of Britain, special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East and founding chair of The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Mr. Tony Blair, for a short visit at Beit Hatfutsot on Friday, December 8. Mr. Blair was hosted by Ms. Irina Nevzlin, chair of Beit Hatfutsot […]

The history of the Civil Rights movement in the United States, and the strive of African-Americans for equality, is illuminated with many Jewish names. Rabbi Abraham Heschel  marched with Martin Luther King. Lawyers such as Joel Spingarn and Samuel Leibowitz fought groundbreaking legal cases. Artists, like Bob Dylan, helped mobilize the masses to protests. Most […]

“It is good to die for our country” is undoubtedly one of the most famous quotes in Israeli collective ethos, referred to Joseph Trumpeldor before dying from his wounds in the battle of Tel Hai in 1920. At that point Trumpeldor was already a famous hero, mainly for his glorious actions in the Jewish Legion […]

Traducción al español: Kalman Gabay En una mañana gris del 11 de abril de 1961, a las 9 de la mañana, una figura delgada, de cabellera rala, vestida de traje y llevando lentes oscuros, ingresó a la cabina de vidrio en la sala del Beit Haam, en Jerusalén. Se sintió el murmullo de la audiencia […]

Traducción al español: Kalman Gabay Esta es la maravillosa historia del manuscrito más antiguo de la Biblia, el diamante de la corona. Como corresponde a quien refleja en sus páginas la epopeya bíblica plena de drama y misterio, su historia también está compuesta de innumerables tramas y giros sorprendentes. La Festividad de Simjat Torá nos […]

The Jewish People are characterized by dualities: exile and redemption; slavery and liberty; Holocaust and revival; calamity and heroism; restraint and uprising; Memorial Day and Independence Day. This duality was, in fact, the historical backdrop behind the United Nations’ final vote in favor of the Partition Plan for Palestine on November 29, 1947 in the […]

Different estimates show the number of Jews living in the world between 14.4 and 17.5 million – about half in Israel and more than half of the rest in the United States. But the bond to Judaism is not about strength in numbers.Here are five small and distant Jewish communities in the far corners of the […]

The renowned author Shalom Aleichem thought Schund was trash literature and called for casting it entirely out; the critic Simeon Dubnow claimed that Schund characters are all flat and cheesy; and I.L. Peretz, the founding father of Yiddish literature loathed it altogether. But the more the refined intellectuals scorned upon Schund, the more young authors such as […]

It was a cloudy morning on April 11th 1961, when a gaunt, thin haired man in a suit and dark glasses entered the shielded glass booth at “Beit HaAm” auditorium in Jerusalem. The audience was rustling. The man sat down with a slight twitch in the corner of his lips. Television cameras focused on his […]

The origins of Sigd, the unique holiday of the Beta Israel community, are vague. One version dates back to the 6th century and the ending of the Jewish-Christian war during the reign of Gebre Mesqel, King of Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia. But the earliest mention of Sigd in writing is from the 15th century at […]

Karl Katz, who was one of Beit Hatfutsot planners, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 88. We mourn the bright man, who left his mark in the Museum of the Jewish People, as well as on many other Jewish museums and institutes. May he rest in peace. Read the New York Times obituary     […]

“You want it darker” was Leonard Cohen’s last album, released shortly before the great musician’s death. The album’s theme song is “Hineni” in which Cohen added extracts from the Kaddish prayer. In the dramatic peak he cries: “I’m ready my lord. Hineni! Hineni!” He passed away 17 days later, on November 7, 2016, at 82. […]

In the years since World War II several diplomats have been honored as Righteous of the World for their effort to rescue Jews from their inevitable death and the hand of the Nazis. Visas and travel documents were the most obvious survival methods for many Jews. But the story of Japanese vice consul to Lithuania Chiune Sugihara […]

While most of us remember the 1995 murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Jewish history’s earlier political assassinations may be less familiar. A politically-motivated murder in the biblical era and two during the British mandate still have consequences that are felt to this day. Gedaliah ben Ahikam Filled with massacres, rape and bloodlust, the Bible […]

There is an open debate regarding Salvador Dali’s attitude towards Jews. Due to his initial sympathy to Hitler and his decision to live in Franco’s Spain. But in 1968, Dalí published a 25 print edition, in 250 copies, paid by the Shorewood Publishing and Israel Bonds to celebrate Israel’s 20th anniversary. Works that eventually extended […]

“Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe’s beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald.” These were the opening words of “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel – a holocaust survivor, author, philosopher and intellectual. […]

Jewish success in the fashion industry is well documented – from generations of textile traders to modern day fashion icons like Donna Karran, Ralph Lauren and Isaac Mizrahi. But the story of Gabrielle Hanoka is somewhat different. The Parisian fashion legend out of Jewish Egypt. She was born in Alexandria and commerce was never foreign […]

By Rachel Druck Simchat Torah is a holiday that celebrates the Torah and the Jewish people’s continuous connection to it. In honor of the holiday, below is the story of over 1,000 Torah scrolls that were saved from destruction. Walking through the new Synagogue Hall at Beit Hatfutsot, it is clear that while Jews throughout the world may […]

From the Thanksgiving connection, through your psychological analysis, recycling and how all of this has to do with Iraq – Here are Five less-known facts about the third Holiday of the Jewish calendar. The Iraqi-American connection In pre-independence North American colonies Jews would follow an old Iraqi custom of preparing fashioned birds out of hollow […]

Jewish involvement in politics is well documented – and Jews have risen to the Prime-Ministerial rank in several prominent nations with significant communities.These include France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine (currently) and Hungary. But here are somewhat more surprising cases: Jews who became leaders of small nations. Some of which are very small communities.   Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics […]

The Trial of the Talmud On June 12th, 1242, dozens of wagons led by horses came across a main square in Paris, each loaded with thousands of volumes of the Babylonian Talmud. Crowds of people who already heard the rumors were filling the squares and streets, headed by an apostate Jew called Nicholas Donin, who […]

“For hours the black-haired Jew boy, diabolic joy in his face, waits in ambush for the unsuspecting girl whom he defiles with his blood and thus robs her from her people … The end is not only the end of the freedom of the peoples oppressed by the Jew, but also the end of this parasite […]

“For hours the black-haired Jew boy, diabolic joy on his face, waits in ambush for the unsuspecting girl whom he defiles with his blood , thus robs her from her people … The end is not only the end of the freedom of the peoples oppressed by the Jew, but also the end of this […]

Jews have contributed to humanity in many noble ways – from science to art and culture. But with Yom Kippur upon us, and the spirit of remorse, we should also mention those who made less admirable contributions – some of the biggest Jewish criminals of all time. Arnold “The Brain” Rothstein    Arnold Rothstein, nicknamed “the […]

The High Holidays are just around the corner (Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset on Wednesday, September 20 and ends on the evening of Friday, September 22). Time to reflect, time to reconnect to your Jewish roots and heritage. Oh… and explore out all the funny, witty and sometimes hilarious High Holidays t-shirts from around cyberspace. […]

Antes de dirigirse al Aeropuerto de Ben Gurión, concluyendo su visita de tres días en Israel y en los territorios palestinos, tuvimos el honor de recibir en el Beit Hatfutsot al Secretario General de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, el Sr. António Guterres, quien visitó las dependencias del museo y pronunció aquí el discurso […]

UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres delivered the closing Speech of his special visit to Israel at Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People.   Mr. Guterres was welcomed by Beit Hatfutsot’s board of directors chairwoman, Irina Nevzlin, CEO of the Museum of the Jewish People, Dan Tadmor, co-chair of Beit Hatfutsot’s Board of Governors, Major-General (Ret.) […]

There are not many uplifting moments in Jewish life more than the first day of school. From the Yeshiva to the Kibbutz, from the Americas to North Africa. Eastern Europe or Middle Asia, In Israel or the United States to ghettos and communities living under oppression – the child’s education is an encompassing experience of […]

In 2013 world-renowned rock star and BDS enthusiast Roger Waters managed to upset the Anti-Defamation League after a performance in which he featured Stars of David alongside dollar signs. The ADL claimed that Waters employed an ancient despicable anti-Semitic stereotype. Indeed, the display was hateful, but how ancient was its message, really? Like many anti-Semitic […]

Much has been written about Jewish history of Hollywood. But this is a bit more surprising. Jews played a major role in the early days of the equally vibrant Indian cinematic industry – Bollywood. Particularly prominent was a group of Jewish actresses who captured the imagination of Indian audiences with their charm and beauty. One […]

El Concurso Internacional “Mi Historia Familiar”, en nombre de Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf, z”l, se llevó a cabo por 22ª vez en el Beit Hatfutsot, El Museo del Pueblo Judío. Veinticinco alumnas y alumnos, tanto de Israel como del mundo entero, llegaron a la etapa final del concurso. Dos de ellos, Gabriel Yermiahu Dazli, de Jerusalén […]

Para contactos: Samantha Kupferman, West End Strategy Team [email protected] Oficina: 212.498.9300; Cell: 202.215.9260  La Fundación Taube anunció su determinación de contribuir con 5 millones de dólares para el Beit Hatfutsot – el Museo del Pueblo Judío. Esta generosa donación le permitirá al Beit Hatfutsot – el Museo del Pueblo Judío, comenzar la última etapa de […]

Unas 200 personas, entre simpatizantes, contribuyentes y visitantes, participaron el martes, 18 de julio de 2017, en el evento que organizó la Asociación de Amigos del Beit Hatfutsot en Israel: una proyección especial de la película “Foto Farag”, contando con la participación del director del film, Kobi Farag, y el fundador mitológico de Foto Farag, […]

El Concurso Internacional “Mi Historia Familiar”, en nombre de Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf, z”l, se llevó a cabo por 22ª vez en el Beit Hatfutsot, El Museo del Pueblo Judío. Veinticinco alumnas y alumnos, tanto de Israel como del mundo entero, llegaron a la etapa final del concurso. Dos de ellos, Gabriel Yermiyahu Dessalenge, de Jerusalén […]

Making only one ill-fated voyage, the story of the Titanic, has captivated the imagination of the public for more than 100 years and has been the subject of numerous books and films. Following are five anecdotes regarding the Jewish angle of this famous tragedy.   1. It is no surprise to learn that there were […]

1000 children with special needs have already visited Beit Hatfutot thanks to the generation donation by the Slomo and Cindy Silvian Foundation, Inc, of Long Island, New York. This kind support, organized by the Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot, enables the Koret International School for Jewish Peoplehood  to host the children in a fascinating seminar […]

You are Part of the Story is the central concept and one of the principle tenets of Beit Hatfutsot. This was also the raison d’etre behind the fundraising event recently held by The Israel Friends of the Museum (IFBH). Over 200 friends, including leading Israeli businessmen, attended a special screening of the documentary film “Photo Farag” […]

Jews have been involved in textile and fashion as a business for many generations. This has obviously impacted the wonderful diversity found in Jewish traditional dresses. Here is a collection of Jewish traditional dresses throughout the 20th century. 1. Tunisia, 1930 2. Romania, 1910 3. Morocco, 1944 4. Greece, 1920’s 5. Algeria, 1956 6. Serbia, […]

Dan Tadmor the CEO of  Beit Hatfutsot hosted the French Ambassador in Israel, Helene La Gal, together with Barbara Wolffer, Director of the French Institute in Israel when they visited the New Wing of the Museum. The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot and the French Embassy have a long history of fruitful […]

Always enchanting, always changing, our beloved Tel Aviv – the world’s youngest metropolitan – transforms in front of our eyes. Here are some nostalgic Tel Aviv photos from our historical database, with their 21st century matching images. 1. The Beach of Tel Aviv, 1960’s. Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld. Beit Hatfutsot, the Oster Visual Documentation Center, the Sonnenfeld Collection […]

“Well, It sounds better in Yiddish” is the old age excuse for failed humor – but what about some all-time music classics? Can they possibly sound better in Yiddish? We picked up some good examples, for you to judge!   The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night Justin Bieber – Love yourself Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah […]

-Exhibition was closed on July 1, 2018- ‘Capturing History: The Photography of Chim’ Review: The Past Made Personal / by William Meyers, The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2017 ‘Capturing History: The Photography of Chim” is part of Magnum Photo’s 70th-anniversary celebration. In 1947, David “Chim” Seymour, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and George Rodger founded the […]

“Liderazgo Revolucionario: Fortaleza Personal, Tenacidad de la Comunidad”, es una conferencia anual realizada por el Fórum Jerusalén (del cual Beit Hatfutsot es miembro), destinada a destacar la vida de varios héroes de la comunidad judía etíope. A través de sus historias de vida, se expone el coraje y la determinación de sus miembros al emprender […]

El 16 de junio de 2017, se proyectó en Beit Hatfutsot la película documental “En Memoria del Dr. Melville Edelstein – la vida y la muerte de un buen hombre”, con motivo del 41° aniversario del levantamiento en Soweto, Sudáfrica, el evento culminante que indicó el comienzo del fin del régimen del Apartheid en ese […]

El Concurso Internacional del Acervo Judío: 155 instituciones; 28 países; 20.000 jóvenes judíos. Mi Historia Familiar en memoria de Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf Z”L El programa “Mi Historia Familiar”, que festeja su 22° aniversario, es un viaje pleno de diversión, significativo y muy personal. Es una jornada hacia el pasado, global y multigeneracional, que investiga el acervo […]

Concerning both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, at the center of major historical developments, the Jewish history of France is as diverse as the French nation. It spans from the enlightened to the cruel, from the progressive to the tragic. Here are some defining moments in French-Jewish history. Happy Bastille Day to all! 1. ‎1040-1105 – […]

Last week we were honored to host three teachers from the “Torah VeChinuch” Jewish school in the island of Djerba, Tunisia. Visits from Tunisia are quite scarce, especially since 2012, when the relationship between Israel and Tunisia deteriorated following the events of the “Arab Spring” in several countries. Sarit Hadad, Anael Hadad and Batia Ahuh […]

Contact: Samantha Kupferman, West End Strategy Team [email protected] Office: 212.498.9300; Cell: 202.215.9260 Taube Philanthropies Makes $5 Million Gift to Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People Pivotal grant enables the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot to begin final phase of $100 million overhaul A $5 million gift from Taube Philanthropies […]

The Most Historical Early Synagogues in the United States The United States is by far the most important Jewish diaspora of modern times.  The great immigration from Eastern Europe in the late 19th century was in retrospect critical to the survival of the Jewish people. Nicknaming their new country “The Golden Medina”, Jews flourished in […]

On June 16, 2017, the documentary film Remembering Dr Melville Edelstein – the life & death of a Good Man was screened at Beit Hatfutsot, to mark the 41st anniversary to the uprising in Soweto, South Africa, a defining event that began the demise of the Apartheid regime in that country. Dr. Edelstein was an unsung hero […]

“Groundbreaking Leadership: Strength of Individual, Tenacity of the Community” is an annual conference, led by Forum Yerusalem (of which Beit Hatfutsot is a member), designed to commend various heroes of the Ethiopian Jewish community, exploiting their stories in order to expose the courage and determination of its members on their journey to Israel. The immigration […]

We were pleased and proud to cooperate with the Organization of Jews from Lybia in Israel, hosting a conference commemorating 50 years to the emigration of the last Jews from Lybia. Over 200 guests participated, each with their own personal, moving story. Amos Gueta shared his family story, accompanied by a fascinating presentation. His family […]

Jewish mothers may want their offsprings to be lawyers or doctors – but here are some Jews that scaled the highest pinnacles in sports. Don’t Forget to follow the Maccabiah in July 2017. Wimbledon Tennis Title Born In Bayonne, New Jersey, Dick Savitt taught himself Tennis and never took a lesson in his life. He […]

The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutost is once again proud to be part of Museum Week – a worldwide social media project including museums, galleries and archives from around the world. Last year’s museum week generated more than 600,000 tweets that were seen nearly 300-million times. This year’s program is devoted to […]

Press coverage: ejewishphilanthropy.com i24NEWS Worldwide Jewish International Heritage Competition: 155 Institutions, 28 Countries, 20,0000 JEWISH Youths in the Annual “My Family Story” Competition in Memory of Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf My Family Story (MFS), now in its 22nd anniversary year, is a fun-filled, meaningful, personal, global and multigenerational Jewish heritage journey to the past, where the exploration of […]

We were proud and delighted to host the first screening of the film Gdanski Railway Station, in cooperation with the Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN. The film follows the attempt of Polish-Jewish immigrants to cope with the painful events of 1968 – an outbreak of an anti-Semitic wave which led to a […]

Although she tragically lived only 15 years, Anne Frank has had a profound influence on humanity. Her diaries,  with her beautiful articulation of feeling and emotions during her time in hiding, have become a symbol of Human spirit. For her 13th birthday, Anne Frank received a book she had shown her father in a shop […]

  Proyección de la película “Shalom Italia”. Cada año, en el Día de la Memoria por el Holocausto, el Beit Hatfutsot, en cooperación con el Centro Kantor, realiza un evento en honor del famoso científico fallecido, Felix Zandman, z”l (1927 – 2001). Zandman nació en Grodno, Polonia, y su adolescencia la vivió bajo la ocupación […]

Beit Hatfutsot recibió, el 3 de mayo próximo pasado, la visita de 350 miembros de la UJA (United Jewish Appeal), que llegaron al país para participar de la apertura de una exposición que se pudo levantar gracias a la colaboración entre el Beit Hatfutsot, la Federación UJA de Nueva York y la American Jewish Historical […]

“Identity issues used to be simple in the old times, but today, defining who you are became so difficult”: Irina Nevzlin, chair of Beit  Hatfutsot Board of Directors, spoke at the JPost Annual Conference 2017. Video courtesy of Jerusalem Post:

The exhibition Forever Young – Bob Dylan at 75 is on display until January 2018 Highway 76 – Dylan’s Jewish Moments Born Robert Zimmerman to a Minnesota Jewish family with routes in Russia, Lithuania and Turkey, Bob Dylan’s career epitomizes the wandering Jew. Exploring and researching spiritual directions Dylan has grown far and then close […]

“I want to be a tuneswept fiddle string that feels the master melody, and snaps…” Amedeo Modigliani, the Sephardic Jewish-Italian painter and sculptor, was born in Livorno, a port city known as refuge for those persecuted for their religion. It was home to a large Jewish community including Modigliani’s great-great-grandfather, Solomon Garsin who found refuge […]

350 UJA members visited Beit Hatfutsot on Wednesday 3.5, for the opening of an exhibition that is a collaboration between Beit Hatfutsot, UJA-Federation of New York, and the American Jewish Historical Society. The exhibit documents the Federation’s first 100 years of shaping Jewish life in America and around the world and features artifacts and photographs […]

10 Hava Nagila Choir Performances The tune for the famous “Hava Nagila” originates among Sadigur Chasidim in the Ukraine – and the unique scale can be found in Transylvanian music. It is now probably the most recognized Jewish tune throughout the world. South Korea, Busan Harmony Choir   Iran   Turkey, State Polyphonic Choir   […]

Film Screening: “Shalom Italia” Each year on Holocaust Remembrance Day Beit Hatfutsot, in cooperation with the Kantor Center holds an event in honor of the late Felix Zandman, 1927 – 2001, the bright scientist. Zandman was born in Grodno, Poland, he matured in Nazi occupied Poland and during the Second World War, when he was […]

Barbara Streisand and Golda Meir were two of the world’s most famous women in the 1970’s. As Streisand launched her block-buster career, Meir was the third woman in history to become a leader of a democratic country (and the first such leader not to be related to a previous male leader of the country). Despite […]

Got to see these! Horses, flags, fireworks and female soldiers. When Israel celebrated 12 Israel is 69 this week, proud, successful and beautiful – but  not that young! In fact more than 2/3 of the United Nations member are younger sovereign states. This is a good time to remember it’s glorious teens, with stunning photos […]

Beit Hatfutsot mourns the passing of Harvey M. Krueger Honorary Fellow of Beit Hatfutsot and Past President of the American Friends of Beit Hatfutsot, a devoted friend and benefactor of Beit Hatfutsot and an enthusiast supporter of the museum’s educational and cultural activities, especially in the field of genealogy and documenting family history. May Harvey’s memory […]

Over 800 educators, school professionals, and community leaders in Toronto came together for two days of groundbreaking professional development lead by Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. The UJA’s Israel Engagement Committee and Beit Hatfutsot’s Koret International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies crafted this special opportunity […]

By: Yair Achituv & Rachel Druck Passover haggadahs, like the Passover seders themselves, have striven to engage readers as they recite and reenact the story of the birth of the Jewish people. While the haggadah text may remain constant, haggadah illustrations have been visual tools that have drawn in readers through the centuries. While the individual […]

While Hebrew was the language of the Bible, it has been the main spoken language by Jews only for relatively short periods. Judaism was strongly influenced by Aramaic and local dialects based on local languages have served Jews for many centuries. Here are the most common Jewish Languages:  Judeo – Aramaic Jewish Aramaic was the […]

No Passover is complete without your Seder-friendly t-shirt. Apparently, Moses told the Israelites: “Keep Calm – I’m Going to Split The Sea”. Here are some of the funniest Seder shirts we found.   Darth Seder        Looking for my other half       Matzo Pocket T-shirt        What happens at […]

We were delighted to host Mr. Jean Daniel Ruch, Ambassador of Switzerland in Israel, to a special screening of the film A Jew Must Die (Un Juif pour l’exemple), on 13.3.17. After the film a discussion was held, with the director, Jacob Berger and Prof. Dina Porat from Tel Aviv University. The film is based […]

-Exhibition was closed on July 1, 2018-   It was a great delight to hold the opening gala of the exhibition “Capturing History – the Photography of Chim” at Beit Hatfutsot (March 28 2017), with over 200 attendees, guests, curators, friends, family and photography enthusiasts, speeches, music – and the wonderful art of Chim Z”L, […]

By: Rachel Druck Shimi bar Chiyya said to Rav: “As they say, camels in Medea dance on a kav; here is a kav and here are camels and here is Medea, and they are not dancing!” While this may have had the other rabbis rolling on the floor with laughter, suffice it to say that […]

5 Jewish Comedians in America READ ALSO: Inside Out and Outside In: Jewish Humor and the Jewish People, by Rachel Druck “What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul” goes an old saying- and the proud tradition of Jewish comedy in Europe continued full force in America. Here are five Jewish comedians […]

6 Things you didn’t know about Albert Einstein It’s the 138th birthday of the world’s most iconic scientific genius. Here are 6 facts about the extraordinary man that reshaped science. Einstein is also one of the most popular figures in our “Heroes” exhibition for children and families.   Einstein and the violin Einstein’s mother, Pauline, […]

Meyer Lansky – The Jewish Gangster in the “Golden Land” This is the story of a Jewish boy, Meyer Lansky, who emigrated from a small town in Poland, reinvented himself in New York’s Lower East Side, founded the National Crime Syndicate, broke some Nazi bones and aided his Jewish brothers and sisters in forging a […]

6 Jewish women who won the Nobel Prize It’s international Women’s month and let us mark it with six Jewish women who won the Nobel Prize. A true inspiration to every girl – and every parent. Beit Hatfutsot Nobel Price Website   photo: German Fuentes pavez Ada  Yonath Ada E. Yonath  is an Israeli crystallographer best known […]

El viernes 30 de diciembre de 2016, el Beit Hatfutsot organizó un panel de estudiosos sobre el tema titulado: “La Estantería Judía – El Misterio del Kadish y el Enfrentamiento Entre las Dos Versiones del Talmud”. Los libros fueron escritos por León H. Charney, z”l, y Saúl Mayzlish. El evento fue auspiciado por Tzili Charney, […]

El Museo del Pueblo Judío en el Beit Hatfutsot, en Tel Aviv, anunció la recepción de una contribución en el valor de 10 millones de dólares por parte de la Fundación Koret, con asiento en San Francisco. La contribución está destinada a la instauración de una Escuela Internacional para Estudios Judíos. Basándose en el trabajo […]

Beit Hatfutsot organizó una velada especial con motivo de la proyección del documental “Dos Tzión: El Legado Viviente de la Reina de Sabá y el Rey Salomón”. El documental, producido y dirigido por Cheryl Halpern, se centra en Tzión de Jerusalén y Tzión de Axum, Etiopía. Se refiere a la relación entre el Rey Salomón […]

5 Jewish stations in Dylan’s spiritual journey   @Regrann from @maybens – #BobDylan #ForeverYoung #bhmuseum A post shared by Museum of The Jewish People (@beithatfutsot) on Feb 27, 2017 at 3:38pm PST Bob Dylan’s spiritual identity search has taken a long journey – including a period in Christianity. But he completed is his journey as […]

Rashi: A late born son who illuminated the world Born on February 22, 977 years ago in Troyes, France. Shlomo Yitzchaki, generally known by the acronym Rashi, was a medieval French rabbi and author who lived in Worms, Germany. Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise and […]

Can you guess what was main occupation of Jews in Eastern Europe during the 18th and the 19th century? It was inn keeping. They used to lease inns and distilleries from non-Jewish land owners and noblemen – and with time became experts in this business. A well known Jew in the Alcoholic beverages business was […]

Decades before the Israeli air force’s reputation skyrocketed, and Moshe Hadar coined the slogan “aviation is for the very best”, causing young ambitious Israelis such as Ron Huldai, Avihu Ben-Nun, Dan Halutz and Ilan Ramon Z”L to strive for a flying career, a link between the Jews and airplanes already existed. However one name in […]

The San Francisco-based Koret Foundation has awarded the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv a $10 million grant — the largest from a U.S. philanthropic foundation in the Museum’s 40-year history. The grant will go towards establishing the Koret International School for Jewish Peoplehood, which develops and offers educational programs […]

Beit Hatfutsot organized a special evening in honor of the screening of the documentary, “Two Zions: The Living Legacy of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon”.  Directed and produced by Cheryl Halpern, the documentary focuses on Zion in Jerusalem and Zion in Axum, Ethiopia.  It is revealed through the relationship of King Solomon and […]

On Friday, December 30, 2016 Beit Hatfutsot hosted a discussion among scholars titled “The Jewish Bookshelf–The Mystery of the Kaddish and the Battle of the Two Talmuds.” The books were written by Leon H. Charney Z”L and Saul Mayzlish and the event was initiated by Tzili Charney in honor of her husband Leon on the […]

by:  Rachel Druck American Jewish organizations in New York City, Falls Village, CT, and Berkeley, CA that work to promote environmental awareness and activism within a Jewish context The Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat, the “New Year of the Trees,” places a particular emphasis on the relationship between Jews and the natural world. As the world […]

Jews and the Environment – CLICK HERE Tu Bishvat: From New Zealand to Poland Way before environmentalism, way before green politics and ecological awareness – the Jews had “Tu Bishvat” (which means the 15th of the month of Shvat). Celebration the connection between man and our planet’s flora.  You can enjoy these Tu Bishvat photos […]

Hey Mel Gibson, you may have been right! Jews have done well in Hollywood. Here are 10 of the greatest Jewish icons in the Hollywood hills – on the screen or on the set. Harrison Ford gained worldwide fame for his starring roles as Han Solo in the Star Wars film series and as the […]

Jewish Nobel Prize Winners At least 185 people of Jewish persuasion or Jewish origin have won the Nobel prize – which is more than 20% of the total amount of winners. Remarkable for an ethnic group less than 0.25% of the world’s population. Explanations of this extraordinary success are many but at least Albert Einstein […]

It is often strange to see a restaurant or a cookbook portrayed as “Jewish food”. Jewish food is as diverse as Jewish people – Indian and Moroccan spices as well as Russian or Polish influences. But Jewish food – everywhere – a labour of love. Students in cooking school, Jerusalem, Israel, 1960’s Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld […]

  Beit Hatfutsot tuvo, recientemente, el honor de ser la sede de un evento para jóvenes diplomáticos, durante el cual recibieron la visita de representantes de Australia, Canadá, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croacia, Egipto, El Salvador, la Unión Europea, Finlandia, Italia, Japón, Lituania, Jordania, Noruega, Filipinas, Polonia, Rumania, Suecia, Tailandia, Reino Unido y Estados Unidos. […]

La Municipalidad de Jerusalén ha instituido un festival anual, con el propósito de rendir honores a los nuevos inmigrantes. Este año, el Beit Hatfutsot se unió por primera vez a los festejos y tomó parte de esta importante iniciativa. Más de 1.000 personas se hicieron presentes, incluyendo a inmigrantes de países de habla inglesa, rusa, […]

  Este proyecto de David y Hadas Avate, “Sipur al Haderej”, que literalmente significa “Una Historia sobre el Camino”, es una importante iniciativa cuyo objetivo es conectar a israelíes de diversos orígenes, con la historia de la comunidad de judíos provenientes de Etiopía. Los Avates, conjuntamente con grupos e instituciones destacadas de la comunidad, organizan […]

Beit Hatfutsot recently had the honor of hosting an event for AJC’s Young Diplomats, welcoming participants from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, the EU, Finland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Jordan, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Thailand, the UK and the US. Holding a variety of positions at their consulates, these […]

Jews are often associated with Hollywood pioneers, manager and producers. But here is a list – not ranking – of some of Hollywood’s most  glamorous and talented Jewish actresses: Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. Her parents were both of Jewish ancestry. While her mother escaped Hungary during the […]

5 legendary Jewish non-Israeli military commanders Throughout history there have been many inspiring Jewish military commanders – from antiquity, through the struggle against the Nazis, pre-state Israel and the modern I.D.F. Here we meet other legendary Jewish military commanders – from several nations. John Monash – Australia General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD (27 […]

Each year the Jerusalem Municipality honors new immigrants with an annual festival. This year, for the first time, Beit Hatfutsot joined the festivities and took part in this momentous occasion. Over 1,000 participants were in attendance, including new immigrants from English, Russian, Spanish and French speaking countries. The Museum had several items on display, including […]

Story of a Journey   סיפור על הדרך The vision of David and Hadas Avate, “Sippur Al Haderech”, literally meaning a story about the journey, is a grassroots initiative that connects Israelis of various backgrounds with the story of the Ethiopian Jewish community. The Avates, together with leading community groups and institutions, organize evenings for […]

La Kehila de Madrid otorgo el Premio / Martha Mazo La Kehila de Madrid otorgo el Premio “OR JANUCA” a la Escuela Ibn Gabirol, en reconocimiento por su labor en la transmisión de valores judíos de generosidad, excelencia y compromiso, y en esa oportunidad querian hacer publico el reconocimiento al Beit Hatfutsot por la actividad […]

Photo Collection from BH Open Databases: Celebrating Hanukkah Explore a century of Hanukkah celebrations by viewing photos from around the globe. Click the image and enjoy the light  

The World’s Most Expensive Hanukah Menorahs The Hanukkah spirit around the family Menorah is truly priceless. For something a bit more fancy you may need your credit card.  (top photo: Reddish Studio)     1.  A rare menorah from 18th-century, Ukraine Jonathan Greenstein is a prominent dealer and auctioneer specializing in Judaica . And as demand […]

Old but new – New acquisition of an 18th century Torah from Italy Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People, is proud to announce the acquisition of a unique Italian Torah set from the 18th century. The set, which includes a Torah Scroll, Torah Mantle, Silver Finials, Crown and half Crown, was in […]

Spinoza Baruch Benedict (1632-1677) Last week was Spinoza’s 384th birthday. The story of this incredible thinker is part of our groundbreaking children-friendly “Heroes” exhibition Baruch Spinoza was a philosopher born into a Jewish Dutch family of Sephardi/Portuguese origin. He widely credited with laying the foundations for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern […]

El Dia Internasional del Ladino – International Ladino Day El Dia Internasional del Ladino has been celebrated since 2013 Originally Proposed on Ladinokomunita, the largest online correspondence circle in Ladino, In 2013, it was endorsed by Yitzhak Navon, the fifth president of Israel and director of the National Authority for Ladino in Jerusalem. Originally spoken in […]

Denish diplomat Lars Faaberg-Andersen, ambassador of the European Union, visited Beit Hatfutsot on Wednesday, 16.11 and was deeply impressed by the renewal plan and the exhibitions of the new wing. Ambassador Faaberg-Andersen was greeted and accompanied by Dan Tadmor, CEO of Beit Hatfutsot, and by Ms. Enia Zeevi Kupfer, director of the Israel and Europe Desks. “We […]

Leonard Cohen – His 5 Jewish Moments Leonard Cohen, The Jewish-Canadian poet-singer who died last week, was deeply influenced by his Jewish identity. Here are five beautiful Jewish moments in Cohen’s journey. 1. 1973: Leonard Cohen performed for Israeli troops during the Yom Kippur War. He said : “I’ve never disguised the fact that I’m Jewish and in any […]

An Interview with BH chair, Irina Nevzlin (jewishvoiceny.com) I was raised in a blue-collar neighborhood in Moscow. In Russia the only religion was Communism and we were forbidden to talk about our Judaism. My family suppressed our Jewish identity. In fact, I did not even know that I was Jewish… READ THE INTERVIEW – CLICK […]

Jews are often nicknamed “people of the book” – and accordingly some of the most ancient and treasured written materials in the world are Jewish. Here are some of the rarest and most important manuscripts to Judaism. 1. The Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of some 981 different texts discovered […]

Voting in the Polls, Voting in the Pews: The Prayer for the Welfare of the Government Jewish communities express their connection to their governments By Rachel Druck On November 8, 2016 citizens of the United States of America will vote for their next president, as well as for a number of local and state representatives. […]

 5 Jews that Started Other Religions Judaism is one of the world’s most ancient existing religions, but ironically also one of the world’s smallest. Reasons for this are varied and often tragic – but here is another: Jews that founded other religions! 1. Jesus The founder of Christianity was born at Yeshua in the year […]

The Jewish Community of Maui, Hawaii / Prof. Bernard Katz A retired Professor of Marketing and Advertising. Prof. Katz contributed this article to the website of Beit Hatfutsot. Mention to friends that you would like to visit the Hawaiian Islands and they will probably have the typical image in their minds: tropical breezes, palm trees, […]

Los Amigos y Colaboradores de Beit Hatfutsot, Celebran Su 38° Aniversario Proclamación del Establecimiento del Centro León H. Charny Amigos y colaboradores de Beit Hatfutsot, celebraron recientemente, en Nueva York, el evento festivo anual en conmemoración de su nuevo aniversario. Más de 250 invitados asistieron a la gala, en la cual se dieron a conocer […]

Who are the Jews? Do we have a role in the world? A new book published by Beit Hatfutsot and Kinneret Zmora-Bitan is attempting to answer seven of the most fundamental questions that almost all Jews ask themselves, both in Israel and out of Israel The book is the result of a cooperation between the […]

Friends and Supporters Celebrate Beit Hatfutsot’s 38th Anniversary – Establishment of The Leon H. Charney Center Announced Friends and supporters of Beit Hatfutsot recently held their annual anniversary celebration in New York. Over 250 guests attended the gala, where plans for the next phase of the renewal of the Museum were revealed. The crowd was abuzz […]

“No hay otro pueblo como el Pueblo Judío, que pasó de destrucción en destrucción, que el tercio de sus hijos fueron exterminados durante el Holocausto y, a pesar de ello, cuenta con una gloriosa historia que abarca miles de años. Me siento orgulloso de pertenecer al Pueblo Judío dondequiera que se encuentren, y les hago […]

Does your community have an interesting Tashlich custom? Tell us about it! [email protected] by Rachel Druck It can be difficult to find customs that contemporary Jews have in common with each other: something that any Jew, whether Ashkenazi or Sefardi, Orthodox or Reform, from a community in Australia or a community in India or community in […]

Shana Tova greeting cards are a surprisingly ancient tradition – dating back to 14th century Germany and preceding Christmas cards by nearly 500 years! They were initially the privilege of the rich, until the introduction of postal stamps and post cards in the 19th century popularized the custom. Following is a rare collection of Shana […]

Setting up a Sukkah, decorating with the four species, performing a Tashlikh (casting away sins), or fasting on Yom Kippur – Jewish high holidays ceremonies from around the world View 18 unique photos from our collections: Children holding the four species. New York, USA, Sukkot, 1950’s: Girl reading a book about Rosh Hashana, Israel, 1950’s: […]

Amy Winehouse, the Jewish-British musician accomplished a lot in her tragically short life. Including two chart topping studio albums, “Frank,” and “Back To Black,” which won five Grammy awards. They re-entered in Billboard’s Top 10 catalog shortly after her death. “Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait” is an original exhibition about Amy Winehouse, curated by the […]

How Ludwig Guttmann fled from twisted Nazi race theories to restore hope and self-belief in people with disabilities Treating many war, Guttmann fundamentally disagreed with the commonly held medical view on a paraplegic patient’s future. Thanks to him, a small Archery event for disabled athletes turned to 4,300 athletes from 161 nations competing at the Rio Paralympic Games Ludwig Guttmann fled […]

What’s in the name? Family names are a quite modern phenomena – becoming widespread only the recent 200 years. They were created as a means to distinguish between people in a time where communities grew and national registries were formed. With trades and location being the main source of names – but heritage rights or […]

People of The Book It’s September and school is back. Few things bond Jewish communities throughout centuries and diasporas more than the bond of learning and commitment to education. Here are some school related images from our collection at the Beit Hatfutsot open databases   1. Pupils in a religious school, Israel, 1950’s   2. Jewish […]

Hundreds of Medals: A Proud Jewish Tradition Since 1896 Learn about the great athletes like Alfred Hajos, Mark Spitz, Agnes Keleti, Harry Isaacs, Dara Torres and more It has been another great Olympics for Jewish athletes worldwide. Gymnast Aly Raisman captured the hearts of millions winning gold with Team USA in gymnastics and a brilliant silver medal in […]

The “Framing the Story” series interlaces past and present, an old and ongoing story, while commemorating and reviving particular moments in time. The photographs are products of the G2G: Generation to Generation program, a nationwide initiative run collaboratively by the Ministry for Social Equality, the Ministry of Education and Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of […]

Stubborn presumptions are embedded deep in us, even if they contradict apparent facts. As professional myth smashers striving to deliver the Jewish story as accurately as possible, we hereby reveal the most ten common mistakes. Enjoy! Eve did not eat an apple according to the Hebrew text in Genesis, Eve did not eat an apple, […]

  Hands/ Hannah Lempert. The doorknob is originally from a Cincinnati, Ohio synagogue desecrated in 1968. The hands represent the vibrant spirit of today’s Jewish citizens who are free to welcome guests into their centers of prayer. “Remembering history is important to me as a Jewish teen because if the past is forgotten, history inevitably repeats itself.” Many Faces – One People/ Hadar […]

Más de 300 jóvenes adolescentes de todo el mundo, sumamente emocionados junto a  sus familiares, asistieron al evento de gala de apertura de la 21ª edición de la exposición “Mi Historia Familiar 2016”. Los concursantes hicieron gala de sus creativas y coloridas exhibiciones, que reflejaban de qué modo captaban su identidad y su acervo judío, […]

Los Amigos de Beit Hatfutsot en Israel, realizaron una proyección especial del premiado documental “Sombras en Bagdad”. Éste fue el último de una serie de eventos patrocinados por los ABHI, con el doble objetivo de aumentar la concienciación en relación al museo, así como recaudar fondos para financiar sus proyectos especiales. Dirigido por Duki Dror, […]

Acompañado por su esposa, hijos y nietos, el Presidente Reuvén (Ruvi) Rivlin visitó recientemente la nueva exposición diseñada especialmente para niños: “Héroes: los Pioneros del Pueblo Judío”, que se exhibe en la Sala de la Familia Tamar y Milton Maltz, en el Beit Hatfutsot. Irina Nevzlin, Presidenta de la Junta, junto a Dan Tadmor, Director […]

The Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot recently hosted a special screening of the award-winning documentary “Shadow in Baghdad.” This was the latest in a series of events hosted by the IFBH, aimed to raise both awareness of the Museum and funds for its special projects. Directed by Duki Dror, “Shadow in Baghdad” tells the riveting […]

             The Jewish Lens @ Beit Hatfutsot, is a joint initiative of the International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies at Beit Hatfutsot and the photographer Zion Ozeri. This program aims to deepen the connection of Jewish youth worldwide, with the unique and ongoing story of the Jewish people throughout the generations. The Museum […]

Accompanied by his wife, children and grandchildren, President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin recently attended the Museum’s new children’s exhibition, “Heroes: Trailblazers of the Jewish People,” displayed in the Tamar and Milton Maltz Family Gallery at Beit Hatfutsot. Irina Nevzlin, Board Chair, together with Dan Tadmor, CEO, received the President and his family, sharing with them the […]

READ ABOUT THE VISIT OF Julie Fisher, the wife of US Ambassador Dan Shapiro

Over 300 excited young teens and their families from around the world gathered for the gala opening of the 21st year of My Family Story 2016 exhibit taking pride in their colorful creative displays that exquisitely captured their personal and collective Jewish identity and heritage. My Family Story 2016 celebrations were especially festive this year when […]

Este festivo evento se celebra después de años de planificación y construcción, y marca una nueva era para el museo que ahora, más que nunca, se sitúa como el centro mundial para los judíos de todo el mundo. El Primer Ministro Netanyahu, presente en el acto de apertura, destacó el importante rol del museo, y […]

The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot recently celebrated the grand opening of its much-anticipated new wing. This festive occasion comes after years of planning, construction and collaboration and marks a new era for the Museum, which now more than ever serves as the global center for world Jewry. Prime Minister Netanyahu was […]

El Club Internacional de la Mujer (CIM) visitó recientemente el Beit Hatfutsot. Esta fue la tercera visita anual del CIM, encabezado por su Presidenta, la Sra. Catalina Cornet D´elzius, esposa del Embajador de Bélgica en Israel y por la Sra. Ivyhelen Cohen, su Agregada Cultural, visita que fue organizada por Irit Admoni Perlman, Directora de […]

Los Amigos de Beit Hatfutsot en Israel (ABHI), promueven los programas educativos, culturales y comunitarios que se llevan a cabo en Beit Hatfutsot – el Museo del Pueblo Judío. Eventos destinados a la recaudación de fondos se realizan a fin de apoyar los programas cuyo propósito es traer a los niños de las escuelas y […]

The Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot (IFBH) promotes the educational, cultural and community programs at Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People. Events and fundraising efforts are made to support the cause of bringing school children and families from Israel’s peripheral areas to a meaningful visit at the Museum. To this end, Irit […]

The International Women’s Club (IWC) recently visited Beit Hatfutsot. This was the third annual visit of the IWC, led by their president Catherine Cornet D’elzius, wife of the Belgian Ambassador, and Ivyhelen Cohen, their  Cultural Coordinator, and hosted by Irit Admoni Perlman, Director of External Relations and Enia Zeevi Kupfer Director of the European Desk […]

Zuzanna Ginczanka – The lasting power of poetry Zuzanna Ginczanka was a remarkable poet who managed to produce her most impressive work under desperately difficult circumstances. Though her poetry is largely unknown, particularly among English and Hebrew-speaking audiences, it has proved to have a lasting power that even Nazi oppression, and Soviet suppression, could not crush Early […]

The Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot—comprised of both members and significant supporters of the Museum —strive to form relationships and raise funds to promote the cultural, educational and communal projects of Beit Hatfutsot. To this end, the IFBH embarked on its second annual organized tour of a Jewish community, this year visiting Madrid and Toledo […]

You are cordially invited to enjoy a lovely event of Israeli fashion – and at the same time to support Beit Hatfutsot by assisting us to bring soldiers and Olim to the museum. Friday, May 6 at 11am Tickets: 200 NIS

Una misión de los Amigos del Beit Hatfutsot en Israel (ABHI) – compuesta tanto por miembros del museo como por importantes contribuyentes, emprendieron un viaje para establecer relaciones y recaudar fondos con el propósito de promover los proyectos culturales, educativos y comunales del Beit Hatfutsot. Para este fin, los ABHI se embarcaron en su segundo […]

We are proud and happy to be launching the Beit Hatfutsot New Wing on May 25, 2016! Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People is a national institution since 2005. These days we are planning the construction of a new Core Exhibition, which will offer an authentic, inclusive and inspiring global Jewish experience for […]

“Operación Final: Captura y Juicio de Adolf Eichmann”: Esta importante exposición, organizada por el Beit Hatfutsot, fue inaugurada recientemente en el Museo Maltz, en Cleveland, Ohio. Sobre la base de documentos confidenciales y artefactos guardados por más de cincuenta años por el Mosad (Agencia de Inteligencia de Israel), esta exposición rebela no sólo la historia […]

“Aquí Viene la Novia: Vestidos de Bodas que Bordan una Historia Judía”, es una exposición original que presenta doce vestidos de novias de alta costura. Cada uno de estos singulares vestidos arroja un rayo de luz sobre las tradiciones y costumbres de diversas comunidades judías, incluyendo las del Yemen, Polonia, Irak, Grecia y Alemania, sólo […]

  Beit Hatfutsot tiene el orgullo de presentar una nueva exposición que muestra la elegancia, el refinamiento y, sobre todo, la armonía, que es lo más destacado en la cultura judía italiana. “El Renacimiento Ítalo Judío: La Belleza de la Judaica Italiana”, es una exposición de objetos del Museo de Arte Judío Italiano U. Nahon, […]

Beit Hatfutsot is proud to present a new exhibition that showcases the elegance, refinement, and, above all, the harmony that is a highlight of Italian Jewish culture. “Italian Jewish Renaissance: The Beauty of Italian Judaica” is an exhibition of artifacts from the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art, Jerusalem and is currently open to the […]

  The Spring Prism photo exhibition will display photos reflecting a variety of perspectives from worldwide Jewish communities, through the prism of spring and all its multi-dimensional associations. Both Israeli and worldwide Jewish communities are mutually intrigued about various aspects of each other’s lives. A range of photographs offers an opportunity for an encounter between […]

TWELVE GOWNS ONE UNIFIED THREAD “Here Comes the Bride: Wedding Gowns Embroidering a Jewish Story” is an original exhibition that showcases twelve haute couture wedding gowns. Each unique gown sheds light on the distinct traditions and customs of various Jewish communities, including those of Yemen, Poland, Iraq, Greece and Germany, to name a few. After being […]

  “Operation Finale: The Capture and Trial of Adolf Eichmann”: Curated by Beit Hatfutsot, this seminal exhibition recently opened at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Cleveland, Ohio. Based on confidential documents and artifacts kept  by the Mossad (Israel’s intelligence agency) for fifty years, this exhibition reveals not only history at large, but the […]

“Operation Finale: The Capture & Trial of Adolf Eichmann” in Cleveland – personal reflections Transforming “Operation Finale” from an Israeli exhibition that speaks to an audience who knew how to pronounce “Eichmann” and “holocaust” from the age of kindergarten, to an exhibition for American viewers who are at times less familiar with this story – […]

We were pleased to host distinguished educators and business persons from Zambia. Beit Hatfutsot CEO, Mr. Dan Tadmor, showed them the present exhibitions and revealed the renewal and development plans. Sitting (Left to Right): Honorable Michael kaingu Minister of Higher Education Dan Tadmor His Excellency The Ambassador of Zambia to Israel, Mr. Martin Mwanambale Her Excellency […]

Who was your best friend growing up? Did you attend a Jewish school or youth group? Do you celebrate the holidays the same way today as you did when you were a kid? These are some of the questions discussed by students of the Jewish Learning Center of Congregation Bet Shira in Miami with older […]

An article marking the 10th anniversary of the International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies (ISJPS): “While the whole notion of peoplehood has become so central to professional Jewish circles in recent years, it simply doesn’t resonate with the overwhelming majority of Jews from around the world” – READ FULL ARTICLE

Amigos y simpatizantes del Beit Hatfutsot – El Museo del Pueblo Judío, se reunieron recientemente en Nueva York, con motivo de la asamblea anual del museo. Cientos de invitados, incluyendo líderes tanto veteranos como jóvenes, tuvieron el placer de interiorizarse de los detalles acerca de dos importantes hitos del plan de renovación del museo, que […]

#myjudaism  grew out of a Times of Israel post by writer Sarah Tuttle-Singer #MyJudaism is a wild dance, which quickly went viral (shared 1.8k times). Beit Hatfutsot promoted the campaign along with The Times of Israel, resulting in over 28 amazingly colorful and personal stories of what being Jewish means to YOU. To participate, send in […]

Click here to read full document on Beit Hatfutsot Media Coverage 2015 (PDF)

“אצא אל השוק המפשיל שרווליים אלך מתנודד בין צבעיו הדולקים סחרחר מיינו, מראשו בשמיים מאש הקללות של מוכרות הדגים” (נתן אלתרמן) שוק דגים, שוק זהב, שוק בדים, שוק פרחים שוק בשר, השוק השחור, שוק שבועי ואפילו שוק לילי – שווקים תמיד היו חלק בלתי נפרד מחייה של העיירה היהודית הכפרית הקטנה, או של הרובע היהודי […]

Se trata de un centro mundial al servicio de las comunidades judías, proporcionando a los visitantes una comprensión más profunda sobre el significado de la identidad judía. Nuestra misión es fomentar el sentido de pertenencia, fortalecer la identidad judía y perpetuar nuestro rico acervo, a través de un programa atractivo y dinámico dirigido tanto a […]

Friends and supporters of Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish people, recently gathered in New York for the Museum’s annual celebration. Hundreds of guests including young and seasoned leaders, had the pleasure of hearing in detail about two major milestones in the Museum’s renewal project, both set to take place over the next […]

El Beit Hatfutsot tuvo el honor, recientemente, de ser invitado a la Kneset (Parlamento de Israel), a fin de presentar algunos de los módulos que serán incluidos en la próxima exposición “Operación Moises: 30 años después”. El lunes 7 de diciembre de 2015, la Comisión de Aliá y Absorción de la Kneset celebró una sesión […]

Beit Hatfutsot recently had the honor of being invited by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) to present a preview display of the upcoming original exhibition “Operation Moses: 30 Years After”. On Monday, December 7th, 2015, the Knesset Aliyah and Absorption Committee held a unique session marking 30 years of the immigration of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel. […]

In peaceful times, in times of war and distress, in various languages and with different songs – enjoy 15 photos of Hanuka from Beit Hatfutsot photos collections.  

  Yitzhak Navon was the 5th president of the State of Israel, a politician, a diplomat, and an author.  He passed away on 6.11.16, at the age of 94. His memories were include in the 2015 “My Family Story” catalog, “Stories from Jewish Leaders. (CLICK HERE TO BUY THE CATALOG): “My mother knew how to prepare […]

Irina Nevzlin no supo que era judía hasta la edad de siete años, y aun así no estaba muy segura de ello. O sea que es realmente notable que una nativa de la ciudad de Moscú – que creció en la Unión Soviética bajo un escudo de privilegios y protección – es ahora la fuerza […]

Read the complete interview with Irina Nevzlin, published by Debra Kamin, JTA: Jewish Telegraphic Agency: http://www.jta.org/2015/11/05/arts-entertainment/meet-the-jewish-woman-whos-reinventing-the-museum-of-the-jewish-people

Una emotiva ceremonia tuvo lugar recientemente en el Beit Hatfutsot, contando con la presencia del Primer Ministro del Estado de Turingia, Alemania, el Sr. Bodo Ramelow y del alcalde de Erfurt, el Sr. Andreas Basewein, junto a la Presidenta de la Junta del Beit Hatfutsot, la Sra. Irina Nevzlin y el Director General, el Sr. […]

La Asociación de Amigos del Beit Hatfutsot en Israel (ABHI), llevó a cabo recientemente un emocionante evento de recaudación de fondos, conducido por Nurit Hirsch, una reconocida compositora e intérprete israelí. La velada fue dedicada al legendario ex Intendente de Tel Aviv y Presidente del Beit Hatfutsotl, Shlomo (Chich) Lahat, z”l, quien falleció hace un […]

Special Note: On Monday, November 2 the “United Colors of Judaica” exhibition will be closed. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

  The Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot (IFBH) held a moving musical fundraising event recently, led by renowned Israeli composer and performer Nurit Hirsch. The evening was dedicated to legendary former Mayor of Tel Aviv and Chair of Beit Hatfutsot, Shlomo (Chich) Lahat z”l, who passed away a year ago. In his honor IFBH established […]

A moving ceremony took place at Beit Hatfutsot last Wednesday, attended by the Premier of the State of Thuringia, Germany, Mr. Bodo Ramelow, and the Mayor of Erfurt, Mr. Andreas Basewein, along with the Chairperson of the Board of Beit Hatfutsot, Ms. Irina Nevzlin and the CEO, Mr. Dan Tadmor. One of the most amazing […]

Marking 20 years since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Beit Hatfutsot is displaying an online intergenerational wall to share memories and connect generations. Where were you when you heard about the assassination? What were your feelings during that period? How did this moment leave a mark on you? Add your message to our […]

In 1998, archaeologists digging in the old Jewish quarter in Erfurt, a city in Germany, could not believe their eyes. They had uncovered, beneath a stone wall in the basement of a house from medieval times, a remarkable treasure. This spectacular hoard of jewelry, coins and silverware included 3,141 silver coins, 14 ingots of silver, […]

The Remuh synagogue – click to read more GIFTS FOR SUKKOT: A VARIETY OF POMEGRANATES BY ISRAELI ARTISTS –

Former secret service officials, businessmen, Board members and friends came to Beit Hatfutsot to pay respects to Leon Charney and watch a special screening of the documentary “Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace”. Leon Charney is a Jewish American businessman, political advisor, author, philanthropist, media personality, and cantor. He is remembered as the key […]

Summer camps in Hungary, Canada, and the U.S.A. sent us their version of this summer’s “Hine Ma Tov” song by Doron Refaeli of the “Tararam!” group. Watch:

On any given day, The Museum of the Jewish People is alive with the sights and sounds of people encountering new aspects of the Jewish experience. These people – of all ages and backgrounds – discover and create the many different stories that constitute our collective past, present and future – our peoplehood. Whether it […]

TripAdvisor nos otorgó un Certificado de Excelencia y recomienda, una vez más, visitar el Beit Hatfutsot.

Este verano, el Grupo Tararám trajo al Beit Hatfutsot su ritmo salvaje – una mezcla de música en vivo, movimiento, danza, comedia y secuencias de percusión. Asista aquí al inolvidable video filmado recientemente en el Beit Hatfutsot. “Tararám” fue fundada hace 16 años. Combina diversos estilos de percusión, bailes y enérgicos movimientos. Los famosos versos […]

“Colores Unidos de Judaica – Las Múltiples Facetas Judías: Una Nueva Perspectiva”, es una exposición individual del artista Eliahou Eric Bokobza, exhibida actualmente en Beit Hatfutsot. La exposición invita a un debate inspirador sobre la identidad judía y sus aspectos étnicos, religiosos y culturales. La noche de apertura se llevó a cabo la semana pasada, […]

A new exhibition, “United Colors of Judaica – Eliahou Eric Bokobza – Multiple Jewish Identities: A New Perspective” is now on display at Beit Hatfutsot. This new solo exhibition by Eliahou Eric Bokobza, is an inspiring discussion of Jewish identity from the ethnic, religious and cultural aspects. Amongst the attendees at the opening night held last […]

  Join this summer’s workshop with performance artists from “Tararam!”. Come and experience body drumming and entertaining percussion instruments, where everyone creates a common rhythm especially composed by Doron Rafaeli for this summer’s event. His tune for “Heenei- Ma-Tov-Ew-Mana’im” (“Look how good and how pleasant it is for us all..”) expresses a contemporary sound that […]

We are proud to receive – again – TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. The TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is awarded to properties that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.

The 35th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will be held in Jerusalem, 6-10 July 2015. Haim Ghiuzeli, Director of Databases at Beit Hatfutsot, will lecture on “New Developments at Beit Hatfutsoth” and “Visual Documentation of Jewish Soldiers in Foreign Armies”. Conference site: http://iajgs2015.org/

La conferencia anual y la ceremonia que resumen las actividades del programa “G2G: Generation to Generation” (De Generación a Generación), se llevó a cabo recientemente en el Beit Hatfutsot – el Museo del Pueblo Judío. El lema de la conferencia fue “Las diversas facetas del programa G2G”. Cuatrocientos cincuenta grupos de escuelas de todo el […]

“Mi Historia Familiar” es uno de los programas emblemáticos más innovadores del Beit Hatfusot. Jóvenes participantes de Israel y de las comunidades judías de todo el mundo, se embarcan en un proyecto personal, significativo, experimental y multigeneracional sobre el legado judío. A través de la investigación personal y una creatividad inspiradora, los alumnos producen una […]

My Family Story is one of Beit Hatfutsot’s most innovative flagship programs. Young participants in Israel and worldwide Jewish communities, embark on a meaningful, personal, and experiential, multigenerational Jewish heritage project. Through personal research and inspiring creativity the students produce an art display illustrating their families’ roots and connection to the greater story of the […]

Throughout the Jewish world, students research and write their roots and heritage stories. This marks a milestone moment in the lives of young Jewish students in Israel and around the world when they are challenged for the first time to find their own personal and unique story that emphasizes their Jewish identity. My Family Story program, led by The International […]

Una nueva exposición “Los Colores Unidos de Judaica – Eliahu Eric Bokobza – Múltiples Identidades Judías: Una Nueva Perspectiva”, será exhibida en Beit Hatfutsot a partir del 17 de julio. Esta nueva exposición individual de Eliahu Eric Bokobza, provoca un interesante debate sobre la identidad judías, desde los aspectos étnicos, religiosos y culturales. La exposición […]

Irina Nevzlin Kogan, Presidenta de la Junta Directiva del Beit Hatfutsot, convocó la semana pasada a una fiesta íntima en Nueva York, y se refirió específicamente al tema de la exposición “Tejedores de Sueños: Desde los Sastres Judíos hasta los Diseñadores de Moda de Elite”, la cual está actualmente en exhibición en el Museo. El […]

Recepción de Gala para los Amigos del Beit Hatfutsot en el Palacio Shönburg, Viena Los Amigos del Beit Hatfutsot en Israel, disfrutaron recientemente del primer viaje organizado en grupo, a Viena, Austria. “Beit Hatfutsot es el centro nacional para las comunidades judías en el mundo”, dijo Irit Admoni Perlman, Directora de Amigos del Beit Hatfutsot […]

The Many Faces of the “G2G: Generation to Generation” Program 2015 The annual conference and ceremony summarizing the 2015 activities of the G2G: Generation to Generation program was recently held at Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People. It was conducted under the theme: The Many Faces of the G2G Program. 450 groups […]

Last Thursday Friends of Beit Hatfutsot Austria (chaired by Dr. Joanna Nittenberg) as well guests from Israel, the United States and Europe gathered in the stunning Palais Schönburg in Vienna for a gala evening. The event was attended by Dr. Heinz Fischer, President of the Republic of Austria, H.E. Mr. Zvi Heifetz, Israeli Ambassador to […]

Construction of the new wing, which will include the Synagogue Hall and new exhibition galleries has started. The new wing is slated to open in the Spring of 2016.  

Semana de Pesaj 5775 – El Beit Hatfutsot permanecerá abierto, con acceso gratuito, bajo los auspicios del Banco Hapoalim También este año, el Beit Hatfutsot es uno de los 40 sitios que estarán abiertos al público sin costo alguno, por gentileza del Banco Hapoalim. Aprovechen esta oportunidad especial para gozar de las exposiciones, ya que […]

This is a call for contemporary artists, to submit ideas for an interactive artistic display in the center lobby of Beit Hatfutsot-The Museum of the Jewish People. As the museum undergoes a major design and content renewal, we invite artists to create a temporary artistic concept on a large white wall that stands at the […]

Una mañana de moda y patrimonio nacional fue recientemente organizada por los Amigos en Israel del Beit Hatfutsot. Este creativo evento, dirigido al liderazgo empresarial de Israel, se caracterizó por incluir elementos de la moda, la cultura y el arte israelíes. El evento se llevó a cabo en el nuevo local de la casa de […]

This is Twitter’s Museum Week! All this week Beit Hatfutsot is participating in Museum Week 2015 as part of a worldwide Twitter campaign celebrating culture. Each day has a different theme; secrets, souvenirs, architecture, inspiration and family. Follow #museumweek to join in on the fun.

A morning of fashion and heritage was recently organized by “The Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot”. This creative event, geared at leading businesswomen in Israel, was a celebration of Israeli fashion, culture and art. It was held at the new location of Israeli fashion house Maskit, originally established in 1954 by Ruth Dayan. Currently on […]

Prof. Dariusz Stola, director of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, and Ms. Lucja Koch, head of the education department, visited Beit Hatfutsot on Sunday, 15.3. They were hosted by chief curator Dr. Orit Shaham Gover, who introduced to them the plans for the new Core Exhibition, and visited Beit Hatfutsot exhibitions.  

It is with deep regret that Beit Hatfutsot mourns the passing of Erna De-Shalit, a true and dedicated friend of the museum, and sends condolences to all the family. The generous donation that Erna De-Shalit and family granted to Beit Hatfutsot enabled the upgrade and enrichment of the museum’s database of Jewish Family Names, which […]

“Israelis and Jewish Peoplehood” was the topic of the conference that drew 250 people to Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People to discuss the theory and the practice of Jewish Peoplehood in the context of Israeli society. The conference was organized by the “International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies at Beit Hatfutsot” […]

In an emotional ceremony held at Beit Hatfutsot on February 10th, 2015, the Leslau family tree was added to Beit Hatfutsot’s database. Attending the ceremony were the siblings of the Leslau family: Etty, Yitzhak, Chana and Ziporah, as well as Beit Hatfutsot’s CEO Dan Tadmor, Director of Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot, Irit Admoni Perlman […]

Mrs. Petra Pau, Vice President of the Bundestag, Germany, accepted the invitation of Enia Zeevi Kupfer, Director of the European Desk of Beit Hatfutsot to visit the Museum on their next visit to Israel. Mrs. Pau, joined by her Parliamentarian aides, arrived on February 17th, and received a firsthand explanation by Beit Hatfutsot CEO, Dan […]

Un nuevo y emocionante espíritu se vio muy bien reflejado a través de los recientes acontecimientos llevados a cabo en Beit Hatfutsot. Un concierto excepcional se realizó conjuntamente con la celebrada exposición “Amy Winehouse: Un Retrato Familiar”. Mijal Shapira interpretó la música de Amy Winehouse, durante un homenaje especial a la estrella internacional de rock, […]

Una asombrosa velada de música y moda de vanguardia, fue el resultado ejemplar de más de un exitoso evento planificado por y orientado hacia jóvenes adultos de distintas latitudes que visitan el museo. Vlada Poltoratska de Ucrania e Iva Balavajderova de la República Checa, ambas estudiantes de la Escuela Internacional de Estudios del Pueblo Judío […]

¡Encontrar el camino dentro de Beit Hatfutsot se ha hecho aún más fácil! Hace unos meses atrás, Beit Hatfutsot fue elegido por Google para participar de un proyecto piloto de un nuevo servicio ofrecido por Google Maps, conocido como Navegación Interior. Se seleccionó a un número limitado de importantes museos internacionales para este proyecto piloto, […]

30 mujeres, miembros del Club Internacional de Mujeres (IWC, sus siglas en inglés), visitaron recientemente el Beit Hatfutsot. En el club participan las esposas de los diplomáticos acreditados en Israel y de los Directores Generales de empresas extranjeras, así como las esposas de diplomáticos israelíes en el exterior y mujeres líderes en diversos campos de […]

This upcoming PURIM, do not forget to upload your funny costumes photos onto our Purim site: http://purim.bh.org.il/

A stunning avant-garde night of music and fashion, Drum ‘n Dress, is yet another example of highly successful event planned by and geared for the international young adults visitors to the Museum. Vlada Poltoratska from the Ukraine and Iva Balavajderova from the Czech Republic, both ISJPS (International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies) interns, had every […]

Thirty members of the International Women’s Club (IWC) recently visited Beit Hatfutsot. Members include spouses of diplomats serving in Israel, of CEO’s of foreign companies, of Israeli diplomats serving overseas, and leading women in society. The head of the forum is Ms. Yvette Trubowitch. Among the guests was Cathrine d’Elzius Cornet, wife of the Belgium […]

Fashion designer Alber Elbaz, who designed the “wings gown” especially for the “Dream Weavers” exhibition at Beit Hatfutsit, visited the museum. “I made a gown for the wedding day, which carries such a deep symbolic meaning for the Jewish bride.

El Beit Hatfutsot está llevando a cabo un amplio programa de renovación, que culminará con la apertura del Salón de Sinagogas en 2015 y el Nuevo Museo en 2017. El programa de renovación refleja los cambios esenciales en la cultura y la sociedad judía e israelí, así como los avances en la tecnología de museo […]

Beit Hatfutsot, el Museo del Pueblo Judío, este año cumple el Vigésimo periodo consecutivo de la realización del Concurso Internacional “Mi Historia Familiar”. en homenaje a D. Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf , en el cual intervienen jóvenes de todo el mundo judío: Estados Unidos de América, América Latina, Rusia,  todos los países eslavos, Australia, Europa e Israel. […]

Michal Shapira and “The Gentlemen” – a tribute to Amy Winehouse (Wednesday, 24.12) Photos: Efi Yosefi

  Beit Hatfutsot – Porque Tú Eres Parte de la Historia Beit Hatfutsot es más que un museo. Es el centro mundial para las comunidades judías, proporcionando a los visitantes un profundo conocimiento y comprensión sobre el Pueblo Judío. Nuestra misión es promover el sentido de pertenencia, fortalecer la identidad judía y perpetuar nuestro rico […]

De sastres a héroes culturales – la contribución de diseñadores judíos al mundo de la moda. Por primera vez en Israel, se presenta una colección central de vestidos, joyas y accesorios, realizados por un grupo internacional de ensueño, compuesto por 19 diseñadores de moda: Ralph Lauren | Donna Karan | Alber Elbaz | Sonia Rykiel Michael […]

Walking into the opening of the latest new exhibition, “Dream Weavers: From Jewish Tailors to Top Fashion Designers”, one might have mistaken this event at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv, for Paris, Milan, New York or any other international fashion hub across the globe. Some of the guests may have initially appeared to be “competing” […]

Al entrar al acto de apertura de la última nueva exposición, “Tejedores de Sueños: De Sastres Judíos a los Diseñadores de Moda de Elite”, uno podría confundirse y pensar que este evento se está realizando en París, Milán, Nueva York o en cualquier otro centro de la moda internacional, y no en el Beit Hatfutsot […]

Mr. Shmuel Gani dedicated himself to building the family trees of the Jewish families of Zakynthos (Zante), Greece. There were less than 300 Jews on this island before the start of WW2. The Jews of Zakynthos were protected by the local Greek authorities and escaped deportation and murder by the Germans. The family trees built […]

La exposición, realizada en colaboración con el Museo Judío de Londres, representa la historia de Amy, desde su infancia hasta su muerte, centrándose en sus raíces judías. La vida de la cantante se despliega a través de sus objetos personales, su colección de discos y álbumes de fotos familiares. El evento fue organizado por Reuven […]

On 19-20 October Beit Hatfutsot hosted the 2014 Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors. The Annual Meeting included workshops, lectures and festive events, including a panel with Amb. Dennis Ross and Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror about strategic challenges facing the Jewish People, a benefit at the Amy Winehouse – A Family Portrait exhibition hosted […]

Starting November 19, visiting hours will be temporarily expanded: Sunday-Tuesday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.  

The Israel Friends of Beit Hatfutsot had the privilege to hold the opening night of the exhibition “Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait”, which was held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the International Board of Governors of Beit Hatfutsot. The event was hosted by Reuven Adler, the chairman of the Israel Friends of Beit […]

La Sra. Kuky Grosskopf y sus hijas estuvieron presentes en el auditorio de AMIA, en Buenos Aires, donde se llevo a cabo la ceremonia de entrega de certificados, de todos los alumnos de Argentina que participaron en el Proyecto “MI HISTORIA FAMILIAR“, en memoria de Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf. El Acto estuvo  muy emotivo e interesante […]

Radio Sefarad.com conversó con Beit Hatfutsot acerca del ciclo de conferencias sobre la temática sefaradí y sobre las novedades y cambios que atraviesa el museo

El reconocido boletín de noticias del mundo sefaradí: eSefarad, se interesó en nuestra serie ” Los Sefaradíes”  

Los Amigos del Beit Hatfutsot en Israel, realizarán un evento de beneficencia por ocasión de la apertura de la nueva exposición en Beit Hatfutsot: “Amy Winehouse – Un Retrato Familiar” – dedicada a la fallecida cantante Amy Winehouse, z”l. El evento de apertura de la exposición se realizará conjuntamente con la Junta Internacional de Gobernadores […]

Exposición en colaboración con el Museo Judío de Londres Curadora Principal: Dra. Orit Shacham Guber | Curadores de la exposición: Alex Winehouse y Elizabet Shilbi del Museo Judío de Londres | Curador en Israel: Asaf Galai Apertura: 7 de octubre de 2014 EVENTO FESTIVO DE MÚSICA Y MODAS: 19 DE OCTUBRE – DETALLES   La […]

  El Beit Hatfutsot llevó a cabo una velada festiva por ocasión de la inclusión de un nuevo modelo de sinagoga a su admirada y singular colección, el Templo Turner de Viena. El Templo Turner fue inaugurado en Viena en 1871, por la congregación Sechshaus; fue un símbolo de autonomía de la comunidad y sirvió […]

Cuando se piensa en el Museo de la Diáspora en Tel Aviv, nadie se imagina a alguien como Amy Winehouse y sin embargo, el mes próximo se inaugurará en el Museo, la exposición “Amy Winehouse, retrato familiar”. La exposición, exhibida por el Museo Judío en Londres, se centra en la vida de la cantante británica […]

  New Synagogue Model introduced to Beit Hatfutsot’s worldly collection Beit Hatfutsot held a festive evening on the occasion of the addition of the new synagogue model, the Turner Temple of Vienna, to its admired and unique collection. Turner Temple was inaugurated in Vienna in 1871 by the Sechshaus congregation; it was a symbol of […]

The complex story of Jews worldwide is the focus at Beit Hafutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People, which is undergoing a major renewal project at its Tel Aviv campus. By the end of 2014, Jews everywhere will be able to explore their genealogical and communal roots through BH’s online database — one way […]

On any given day, The Museum of the Jewish People is alive with the sights and sounds of people encountering new aspects of the Jewish experience. These people – of all ages and backgrounds – discover and create the many different stories that constitute our collective past, present and future – our peoplehood. Whether it […]

Guest post by Mariana Herrera & Dina Ergas Guez   Since the beginning of the operation Protective Edge (which seeks to restore calm in southern Israel) we have witnessed the ways in which a significant portion of society that ignores the history of the creation of the State of Israel and the current state of […]

Mariana Herrera & Dina Ergas Guez   Desde el inicio de la operación Margen Protector (la cual busca restablecer la tranquilidad en el sur de Israel) hemos podido ser testigos de cómo una parte importante de la sociedad que ignora la historia de la creación del Estado de Israel y el actual estado de la […]

POR BARRY DAVIES, DEL JERUSALEM POST (Traducido del inglés por Kalman Gabay) Una nueva conexión con la Diáspora – Irina Nevzlin Kogan trae consigo  experiencia, liderazgo y pasión al Beit Hatfutsot. Un nuevo hogar para la Diáspora judía.  La impactante Irina Nevzlin Kogan asume el liderazgo del Beit Hatfutsot y su amplio nuevo museo, haciendo […]

The Jerusalem Post Magazine 27 6 14 – cover story iterview with Irina Nevzlin Kogan The impressive Irina Nevziin Kogan takes up leadership of Beit Hatfutsot and its all-embracing new museum, making the Jewish people’s history and future accessible to all [READ MORE]

Malcolm I. Hoenlein, Dir. Gral./VP Ejecutivo de la Conferencia de Presidentes Obsequia al Beit Hatfutsot – El Museo del Pueblo Judío El Libro del Dr. Meir Schwartz, “El Pogrom en la Noche de 1938” Crónica de los Eventos de “La Noche de los Cristales Rotos” en Alemania Hoy, el Beit Hatfutsot tuvo el privilegio de […]

“History is About the Future”: Malcolm I. Hoenlein, CEO/Executive VP of the Conference of Presidents presents to Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People Dr. Meir Schwartz’s Book, “Pogrom Night 1938″ Chronicling the Events of Kristallnacht in Germany Beit Hatfutsot had the honor and privilege to host Malcolm I.Hoenlein, CEO/Executive Vice Chairperson of the Conference of Presidents […]

Esta semana se llevó a cabo en el Beit Hatfutsot, un evento festivo que marcó el final del programa anual escolar “De Generación a Generación (en hebreo: Hakesher Harav Dori). Esta emblemática iniciativa realizada en colaboración con los Ministerios de Educación y de  la Tercera Edad, demuestra el singular puente y conexión existentes entre las […]

Cientos de estudiantes y sus familiares de Israel y de todo el mundo, llegaron al Beit Hatfutsot para participar en el evento de clausura de “Mi Historia Familiar”. Este singular programa educacional, de un año de duración, que se lleva a cabo ya hace 19 años, es uno de los más innovadores y emblemáticos programas […]

Hundreds of kids and their families, representing dozens of countries, packed the museum to participate in a fun-filled, multi-cultural encounter that celebrated this year’s My Family Story competition and exhibit opening. My Family Story developed by the International School for Jewish People Studies at Beit Hatfutsot (ISJPS), enables each student and family to value the […]

La semana pasada, el Beit Hatfutsot se honró con la visita del Presidente de Israel, el Sr. Shimón Peres, quien llegó para participar en una ceremonia muy especial: la colocación de la piedra fundamental del nuevo Museo del Pueblo Judío. El Museo está pasando actualmente por una amplia reforma, y la colocación de la piedra […]

Chef Meir Alalof of Tel-Aviv’s renowned “Messa” restaurant offered an exotic halva cake recipe for Shavuot: “My family came to Israel from Egypt and Turkey, as did halva. It is a traditional Turkish confectionary, and it is also well known in Arab cuisine: in Arabic “halva” means “sweet” or “desserts” “. Dough: 1 kg all-purpose […]

Read Shimon Peres’ speech – click here Beit Hatfutsot welcomed Israel’s President Shimon Peres for a special event to lay the cornerstone for the new Museum of the Jewish People. The museum is currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation, and the laying of the cornerstone marked an important milestone in the process of its renewal. Approximately […]

Irina Nevzlin Kogan, Chair of the Board of Directors of Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People, in Tel Aviv, condemned Saturday’s brutal attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium, which left four dead. Nevzlin Kogan wrote to the museum’s President, Philippe Blondin, to “offer her sympathies and support at this difficult time.” […]

Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, with which Beit Hatfutsot is enjoying profound partnership, celebrated its 360th anniversary. Beit Hatfutsot’s cooperation with the oldest Jewish congregation in America, will be reinforced with the renewal of The Museum of the Jewish People Core Exhibition at Beit Hatfutsot, to which the congregation has contributed artifacts and knowledge. “We are proud […]

“To renew myself, to relive, to be someone else, was always the great temptation of my existence”. Romain Gary     Today is the birthday of Romain Gary, born Romain Kacew

When Franco Anza, a pupil attending the “Tarbut” school in Mexico, began preparation of his roots project this year, in the framework of “My Family Story” at Beit Hatfutsot, he already had a family tree. His sister, Valentina, had prepared it two years ago using My Heritage software, which Beit Hatfutsot recommends to participants of […]

In his new book Mordechai (Max) Shatner, Israeli philosopher and artificial intelligence expert, suggests a fresh explanation of the famous Jewish success secret. Apparently, the ancient Jewish art of creating stories is the main source of Jews’ phenomenal success. The diversity of Jewish success led the author to the conclusion that it depends on some […]

These days in 1492 were fateful and busy for Don Isaac Abrabanel. This prominent philosopher, statesman and financier left nothing undone to convince Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon to revoke the Alhambra decree.  But despite all his efforts, including a huge bribe he offered the monarchs, the Edict of Expulsion went public, and […]

Now, when the Crimea on everyone’s lips, let’s recall that in 1921 the young Soviet regime had plans to establish a Jewish republic in the peninsula. Actually it was a brilliant idea: the Jewish agricultural settlements, pioneered by “Ha-Halutz” and other Jewish groups, were very efficient; and the American Joint Distribution Committee was willing to pay and […]

  The term “melting pot” was used by David Ben Gurion during the early 1950’s. It means creating an Israeli society with an unified identity which, back then, meant Ashkenazi, educated, secular and progressive. Has the “Old Man’s” vision been realised? “Forging the Melting Pot” is a joint project of the Wizo Academic Center  Haifa […]

Dear friends, The Beit Hatfutsot team wishes the entire Jewish people a Happy Passover! Pesach is a time of great promise and renewal when we retell a glorious part of the Jewish history and celebrate our freedom. It is also a strong, cohesive force within the Jewish community and culture. Enjoy the pictures of the Pesach […]

Following are 11 beautiful photos of views in Tel Aviv from Beit Hatfutsot photo collections:

Tommy Hilfiger was very impressed with the creative work of the Shenkar students at Beit Hatfutsot’s exhibition “Here Comes the Bride”. He was also happy to meet young and fashionable Tel-Aviv audience to talk about his professional secrets and unmatched life experience.    

After an evening dedicated to Romanian Jewry, which included a selection of films from Beit Hatfutsot collections, and a fascinating lecture about Jewish-Romanian roots and family names, we received the most touching letter from Ruti Solomon from Zichron Ya’acov: “I was surprised and moved to tears, and I will treasure this evening in my heart […]

“Our world is being dramatically reshaped. The rules of the past no longer apply. In the 21st century, it’s no longer what you do that matters most but HOW you do it,” – with this strong statement our special guest Mr. Dov Seidman began his fascinating lecture at Beit Hatfutsot. Named one of the “Top […]

The Maltz Family Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, established by Milton Maltz and his wife Tamar, and Ambassador Alfred Moses and his family, have committed a pair of gifts of $5 million each for a combined $10 million to Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People. The Maltzs are no strangers to […]

Hundreds of online visitors joined the Beit Hatfutsot’s special interactive project – the Worldwide Purim Album. Dear friends, we invite you to upload funny Purim photos from your family archive. Together we will create an unforgettable celebration that spans both time and distance. Purim Sameach!  

While the anti-Semitism in France is escalating, and the Jewish community in France is seeing an unprecedented exodus, Beit Hatfutsot – the Museum of the Jewish people opens the exhibition “Dreyfus – The Story of a French Jewish Family”.

Enjoy 10 Purim photographs from the Bernard H. and Miriam Oster Visual Documentation Center at Beit Hatfutsot. HAPPY PURIM!

If you could talk to any biblical figure, who would you choose? And what would you say? This imaginary dialogue with our ancestors is evolving not only in the Jewish culture, but wherever the Bible was read and taught. The archetypal power of the biblical characters is enormous, and still extremely vivid and even popular […]

Meet Irina Nevzlin Kogan, the elected Chair of the Board of Directors of Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People. She came to the Board in July, 2012 following five years as president of the NADAV Foundation where she was responsible for overall strategic management of the foundation, which focuses on Jewish Peoplehood […]

  Orit Shaham Gover was appointed chief curator of Beit Hatfutsot two years ago. She is the director of the new core exhibition, slated to open in 2 stages: The Synagogue Hall, scheduled to open in summer 2015  and the new museum in 2017. Orit is well acquainted with the existing core exhibition, ever since the […]

Medy Shvide is the Project Director of the new core exhibition at The Museum of the Jewish People. Medy has extensive experience in managing art-related projects, in the public and private sectors.

We were glad to welcome hundreds of our old and new friends at the festive opening of “An Island within an Island”. People mingled and laughed, had mojitos, cameras flashed, – all set to the beautiful sounds of authentic Cuban mambo, salsa and conga. The Beit Hatfutsot’s guests had attended a first look at the […]

Gary Rosenblatt interviewed Dan Tadmor for “The Jewish Week”: Dan left a distinguished career in Israeli media — 20 years as an editor and manager at the daily Yedioth Achronot, followed by several years as a television executive — to become the CEO a year ago of Beit Hatfutsot: the Museum of the Jewish People. […]

The remains of an organ pipe found in 1950 by Hans Hirschberg in the ruins of the Neue Synagoge on Oranienburger Strasse, Berlin, are now on display at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The entire collection of Hans Hirschberg was generously donated to Beit Hatfutsot by his sister Mrs. Lilli Fliess, in his memory. The […]

Beit Hatfutsot – the museum of the Jewish people in Tel Aviv is undergoing a comprehensive renewal program which will culminate with the opening of the Synagogue Hall in 2015 and the  new museum in 2018.  This renewal program reflects essential changes in Jewish and Israeli culture and society, as well as world-wide advances in museum […]

Barbra Streisand and her husband James Brolin paid a private visit to Beit Hatfutsot yesterday (19/6/13) and were welcomed by Irina Nevzlin Kogan (Chair of the Board of Directors) and Dan Tadmor (CEO).