Roma Life Today
Since the mid-1970s and early 1980s, Roma activists and groups such as the International Romani Union and Roma National Congress have worked to transform the scattered Roma into a cohesive political force. Nevertheless, the Roma remain fragmented and continue to face social exclusion, extreme poverty and discrimination.
Roma in the Holocaust
What Jews call the Holocaust, the Roma (also known as gypsies) call Porrajmos, their “devouring.” Between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma were murdered by Nazi Germany and its sympathizers during World War II. Despite the enormity of these numbers, the Roma experience during the Holocaust is not widely known, even among the Roma themselves.
Invisible Roma
Tied together through Romani, their mother tongue, and loosely organized in insular tribes, the Roma have traditionally served as craftsmen, musicians or seasonal hired hands, and have a reputation throughout Europe as thieves and swindlers. In an era when Europe’s birth rates have fallen to record lows, their numbers are exploding.
Meet the Birdman
Yossi Leshem—the world-renowned ornithologist and champion of Israel’s environmental movement—resembles a cross between a linebacker and an academic. Frameless glasses perched precariously on his nose, he speeds through Jerusalem’s narrow streets, simultaneously leaning down to fumble for a pamphlet about owls, answering his cell phone and informing me that it is too cloudy to bird-watch.
Revolutionary American Jews
When people look back on this country’s founding, they think of names like John, Thomas and James; not Moishe, Dovid, and Shlomo.
The Lost Diary of Margot Frank
By Kayla Green
Every day, countless tourists flock to the Anne Frank House to visit the hiding place of young Anne, her family and acquaintances. The...
Jewish History in China Boosting Sino-Israeli Relations
by Amanda Walgrove
Chinese and Jewish cultures are among the oldest remaining civilizations in the world. Besides the spiritual divide, both cultures highly value family life...
Keeping Up With the Times: Digitizing Holocaust Archives
By Amanda Walgrove
The rapid growth of technology, characteristic of the twenty-first century, has altered methods of human relation. Communicating through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and email...
Keeping Up With the Times: Digitizing Holocaust Archives
By Amanda Walgrove
The rapid growth of technology, characteristic of the twenty-first century, has altered methods of human relation. Communicating through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and email...
The Golem in the Attic
By Kayla Green
Tucked away in the snowy cobblestone streets of Prague’s Jewish Quarter stands a synagogue that is as old and significant as it is...
Jewish Ghosts of Budapest
By Merav Levkowitz
On the last evening of 2010, a Friday, about 35-40 (mostly) young adults, gathered in a non-descript apartment in the center of Budapest’s—actually...
A Tale of Two New Years
By Gabriel Weinstein
Optimism and excitement for the new year still permeate the crisp winter air as in the second week of 2011. Lofty...