History

This week in Jewish history: The SS Exodus, Tisha B’Av, and Nobel pioneers

From the destruction of the Temples to Nobel Prize breakthroughs, the coming weeks mark defining moments of Jewish loss, resilience and achievement.

‘SS EXODUS,’ now derelict, in Haifa Port, 1952.
Visitors view the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft during the grand opening on June 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Lincoln Memorial to pull historic documents from public display over fear of heat damage - report

An AI-generated political cartoon.

The global war to delegitimize Israel: The war for which Israel built no shelters - opinion

Palestinian women walk past a mural of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Hebron on the 21st anniversary of Arafat’s death. Ruth Wasserman Lande argues that the Palestinian narrative was created by the Soviet Union.

Middle Israel: How Jews and Palestinians became masters of historical denial


Education-based alternatives for antisemitic hate crime offenders - opinion

What sets the program apart is its specificity: each participant’s curriculum is tailored to their criminal actions, personal history, and mindset.

 Aftermath of vandalism at Mikveh Israel synagogue, including arson, a dumpster fire, and an attempted break-in of the office of Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Philadelphia

Rabbinic diplomacy between Israel and US explored in new exhibition

A new exhibition celebrates 100 years of rabbinic diplomacy between Israel and the US, showcasing key meetings, letters, and diplomatic exchanges between Chief Rabbis and US Presidents.

People walk past a projection depicting Israeli and US flags on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City on Oct. 22, 2025.

Titanic survivor’s signed life jacket sells for over $900,000

Laura Mabel Francatelli was on Titanic’s lifeboat No. 1, with only eleven other passengers, despite the small vessel's 40-person capacity.

A life-preserver of Laura Mabel Francatelli, a survivor of the Titanic disaster is displayed before the auction of Maritime Models and Maritime Pictures at Christie's Auction House in West London, 16 May 2007.

Music to our ears, and hearts: How music shaped Israel’s identity over 78 years

The 1967 Six Day War changed everything, as this then-fledgling country, bursting with self-confidence, began to open up to the Western world.

YOAV KUTNER has charted much of the evolution of Israeli music.

Grapevine: Remembrance, appreciation

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

Israelis commemorate Remembrance Day at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square, April 20, 2026.

British professor uncovers location of Shakespeare’s London home using previously unknown documents

Munro’s find is historically significant, painting a very different picture of where Shakespeare may have spent time in his later years then what was originally thought. 

File Photo: A Sothebys employee handles a copy of William Shakespeare, The First Folio 1623  in London, England, July 7, 2006.

When refusal becomes a strategy - opinion

The Islamic Republic isn’t serious when it says it won’t participate in the US talks in Pakistan. Rather, it is leveraging refusal as a strategy

IRANIAN PRESIDENT Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Tehran last week.

Countries you didn’t know are named after people

Who is the hero Bolivia is named after, after whom Saudi Arabia is named, and who was Rus from whom Russia was born? A few examples of countries named after historical figures.

“Israel” is the new name of Jacob our patriarch, which was given to him by the angel who wrestled with him before he met Esau

Israel at 78: An appropriate birthday gift - opinion

Nations, like individuals, are not defined by how they celebrate their birthdays, but by how they respond to the clarity those moments provide.

The  turbulence of the past year fuelled by the Iranian regime’s war on Israel has fashioned Israel’s 78th birthday as a critical moment for self reflection.

Herzl, Ahad Ha’am, and the Jewish question we still haven’t answered

The unfinished synthesis between sovereignty and civilization has now matured into something more dangerous than exile: a crisis of intelligibility.

Theodor Herzl and Ahad Ha'am Asher Ginsberg.