Henry Abramson

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Apr 26, 2022, 4:16 PM

Mariupol, one of Putin’s main targets in Ukraine, once sheltered a great yeshiva

Since the 1990s, when its roof collapsed under heavy snow, all that remains of the The Choral Synagogue in Mariupol, Ukraine, is the brick facade and foundations. (Wikimedia Commons)

Founded in Lithuania, the storied Ponevitch institution eventually came to Israel. But for a while, it thrived in a city that was 18% Jewish

Jul 10, 2021, 12:00 PM

Banning critical race theory will gut the teaching of Jewish history

Teachers, students and school board members in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area hold a news conference opposing new bills seeking to bar schools from teaching ideas linked to critical race theory, June 12, 2021. (Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association/Flickr Commons)

These 'memory laws' barring educators from linking old hatreds to systemic racism would make it nearly impossible to present the legacy of antisemitism

Feb 7, 2021, 1:36 PM

Donald Trump and the time someone yelled ‘fire!’ in a crowded Yiddish theater

Yiddish theater members, from right, Jacob Adler, Zigmund Feinman, Zigmund Mogulesko, Rudolf Marx, Mr. Krastoshinsky and David Kessler in 1888. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Senate's case may rest on whether the ex-president's call to 'fight like hell' was a clear and present danger, as happened in 1887

Oct 15, 2020, 3:59 PM

‘Moser’ is one of the ugliest words in Judaism

A 13th century Belgian Manuscript illustrating the dialogue between the jew "Moyses" and the Christian "Petrus." (Public Domain/JTA Montage)

This deadly accusation has a tragic history, linked to the assassination of Rabin, and to a vicious attack in Brooklyn just last week

Feb 25, 2020, 12:24 AM

Nissim Black’s ‘Mothaland Bounce’ is the most authentically Jewish song you’ll hear this year

This African-American Hasid -- 'Hitler’s worst nightmare' -- does what Jews have always done: he blends cultures to create something new

Mar 13, 2019, 3:25 PM

The Romans tried to ban wild Purim parties

Haredi Jews revel in Purim at a synagogue in Beit Shemesh, Israel, March 2019. (David Silverman/ Getty Images via JTA)

If hanging Haman in effigy was a stand-in to mock Jesus’ crucifixion, it was in the Jews’ best interest to tone it down

Feb 28, 2019, 4:00 PM

What a Bergen-Belsen prenup teaches us about Jewish resilience

A post-Holocaust prenuptial agreement (Archives of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research)

The blood-stopping document conveys the heartbreaking dilemma faced by Jewish survivors who spouses were unaccounted for

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About Me

Henry Abramsonis a specialist in Jewish history and thought who currently serves as a Dean of Touro College in Brooklyn, New York.