09 Feb
History, Latest

Czech Out Those Jews: Judaism in the Czech Republic

By Kayla Green How is it possible to judge the attitude toward Jews in the Czech Republic, a country where Jews have in recent history suffered not only from the devastating Shoah, but from stifling Communism, as well? Many westerners are quick to associate the country with anti-Semitism, and can cite the fact that between the beginning of the Prague Shoah, which began in 1938 (the longest Shoah in Europe due to appeasement in Munich), and Communism, which ended in 1989, Czech Jewry only had two and a half years of freedom. However, in only focusing on the past, one completely misses all the events and sentiments that paint a much rosier picture of Czech and Jewish relations. The Czech Republic is home to ten Jewish communities, 350 Jewish cemeteries and boasts the second largest synagogue in...

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01 Feb
History, Latest

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 beautiful. With its high, pointed brown roof and few windows, the Old-New Synagogue  maintains old-world style without revealing its true age; built between 1270 and 1280, it is the oldest synagogue still in use in Prague. It defined the Jewish Ghetto, survived the Pogroms and the Holocaust and continues being used today. Embedded in the Shul’s ancient walls lies the history of Prague’s Jews, making it a riveting symbol of the community’s remarkable past. From the beginning, the Old-New Synagogue reflected the troubles of the Jewish community in Prague; hardships and anti-Semitism hindered the process of building the synagogue in ways still visible in its physical structure.  Because it was illegal...

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06 Apr
Arts & Culture, Latest

Michelle Obama Visits Prague Jewish Quarter

By Benjamin Schuman-Stoler The Jerusalem Post was with MO in Prague's historic Jewish quarter yesterday. "It was a wonderful visit, but much too short," MO said. "I'll be back." The JPost has a video, which you can see here. She had a busy day: Her visit included a stop at the Pinkas synagogue, whose walls bear the names of more than 80,000 Czech Holocaust victims... There were a few somber moments at the tiny cemetery, jammed with some 12,000 family gravestones crowded into a little garden near the Vltava River, and about 100,000 dead buried in several layers beneath them. Mrs. Obama stood briefly by the oldest gravestone - that marking the resting place of poet Avigdor Kara, who died in 1439 - before moving to the grave of the legendary 16th century rabbi Yehuda Loew, the Maharal,...

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