An Introduction to Researching the First Zionist Congress at the Center for Jewish History 120 years ago, on August 29, 1987, Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in the city of Basel with 200 participants from 17 countries. “If I were to sum up the Basel Congress in a single phrase—which I would not dare to make public—I would say: In Basel I…
#Out of the Archives By Andrey Filimonov "Rose Halprin’s joie de vivre was reflected in her love of the arts and of people. The resplendence and distinctiveness of her hats was proverbial, but beneath that varied headgear was a Yiddisher kop—a brilliant, analytical Jewish mind—together with a warm and sensitive Jewish heart.“ – Rabbi Israel Goldstein Rose Halprin in 1948; Hadassah Archives on Long-term…
By Janine Veazue Oral history is distinguished from other forms of interviews by its content and extent. Oral history interviews seek an in-depth account of personal experience and reflections, with sufficient time allowed for the narrators to give their story the fullness they desire. The content of oral history interviews is grounded in reflections on the past as opposed to commentary on purely contemporary…
Image: Courtesy of Leo Baeck Institute By James Benjamin Nadel, Communications Outreach Associate As the summer ends, and opportunities to explore the great outdoors grow fewer, I wanted to draw attention to the little discussed history of Jewish hiking organizations. Several of these youth groups existed in pre-World War II Europe, but one stands out in particular for its unique engagement with various cultural…
by Ilana Rossoff, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History This post is part of the Jews and Social Justice Series. To view all posts in the series, click here. Since Israel’s emergence as an independent Jewish state, there have been few organizations to come out of Jewish communities in the United States that openly challenge Zionism or modern-day Jewish nationalism. Some ultra-Orthodox Jews, such…
A Time to Reflectby Rachel Rudman, M.A., Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History This post is part of the Holiday History Series. To view all posts in the series, click here. Above image: Text on back of photograph: “Chaplain Joseph H. Freedman Hq, USAFIME, is shown blowing the ‘Shofar’ during the annual religious service in observance of Rosh-Hashana. Photo by Sgt. E.M. Henderson, S.C., Signal…
by Ilana Rossoff, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History This post is part of the Jews and Social Justice Series. To view all posts in the series, click here. At the same time that they were coordinating post-war refugee relief in Europe, Jewish Labor Committee members began to take an active role in supporting African-American-led efforts to advocate for civil rights legislation. According to…
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Jews: Part Oneby Ilana Rossoff, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History (This image is from the White House slideshow, “Our Presidents.”) Franklin Delano Roosevelt is considered one of the most popular and accomplished presidents in American history. He pulled the U.S. economy into recovery from the Great Depression, contributed to orchestrating the defeat of the Nazi/Axis…
Click on the images above to see enlarged versions for easier viewing/reading. At the Sewing Machine (from Songs of the Ghetto) Poem by Morris Rosenfeld (1862-1923) with translation from Yiddish by Berthold Feiwel (1875-1937). Illustration by Ephraim Moses Lilien (1874-1925). Berlin, Benjamin Harz Verlag ca. 1902. Collection of Yeshiva University Museum (1996.023). Gift of Michael Cohn. – A haunting image from the famed and…
Click on the text of the poem above to see an enlarged version for easier reading. “Homeward” by P. M. Raskin was published in The Maccabaean in May 1917. As Naomi W. Cohen explains in her article “The Maccabaean’s Message: A Study in American Zionism Until World War I” (Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 18, No. 3, July 1956, p. 163): “Four years after the…