David Poratta, at The Blogs

Aug 22, 2023, 6:41 PM

Paris’ Ghastly ‘Dr. Satan’ shining false hope when France ‘went dark’

Beyond sadistic: Marcel Petiot poisoned Jews & others desperate to flee war-ravaged Europe. (Marcel Petiot - center - at trial via Getty Images) It starts young. At age 11 he allegedly sexually harassed a girl in his class and, later, was...

Jul 6, 2023, 10:41 PM

The Mysteriously Enchanting History of Lisbon’s Jewish Orphan Library

Lisbon's Lost Jewish Library In very modern Lisbon is an aging lost library. An unclaimed artifact from a fading era of persecution, chaos, sanctuary and, for the fortunate, freedom. This historical gem is safeguarded by Portugal's only Ashkenazi synagogue, Ohel...

Mar 2, 2023, 3:53 PM

This Year (finally) in Jerusalem!

This Year (finally) in Jerusalem! An old yeshiva bocher's musings on visiting Israel for the first time Lifelong indifference transforms into passion I peer through the jet's window and it's there: Eretz Israel. Like a heat-seeking missile, the ground rushes up,...

About Me

David is passionate about unearthing and sharing forgotten and off-the-beaten-path hidden Parisian & French stories. You can find many of these at his Substack website. He has lectured at Université Paris Dauphine & ISEFAC among other institutes, has lived in the US & Canada, and traveled widely. A past Canadian & US TV journalist and survivor of New York's media trenches (ABC, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes et. al.) he visited Israel for the first time in 2023 and is currently learning Hebrew.

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