Open Search form

Ashkenazic Jews

Apply for a Blog

Jonathan Shavit

Oct 9, 2026, 6:21 PM

Children of Abraham: A review

Published this year, its author Marc David Baer attempts to apply much-needed nuance to a topic, Jewish-Muslim relations, that usually veers into myths of interfaith utopia or perennial antagonism. Spanning the period from Islamic rule to the present, Baer...

Oct 8, 2026, 11:05 PM

Dragør: The Little Fishing Village That Helped Save a Nation’s Jews

The picturesque village of Dragør, Denmark. Photo: New York Jewish Travel Guide.

There are places where history is impossible to miss. It stands in monumental buildings, fills museum galleries, and announces itself through plaques and memorials. And then there are places like Dragør, a beautiful fishing village just outside Copenhagen, where...

Sep 25, 2026, 11:49 PM

Sweden’s Yiddish Story: How Sweden Became a Guardian of Yiddish

When travelers think about Sweden’s Jewish heritage, they may think first of Stockholm’s Great Synagogue, the rescue of Danish Jews during the Holocaust, or the remarkable story of Raoul Wallenberg. But there is another, less familiar chapter of Jewish...

Sep 24, 2026, 7:14 PM

A Jewish Journey Through Scandinavia Reveals Three Wartime Responses

Three Countries, Three Wartime Stories: What Scandinavia Reveals About the Holocaust There are journeys that take you from one destination to another—and there are journeys that change the way you understand history. My recent Jewish heritage press trip with Jewish Copenhagen...

Sep 13, 2026, 11:30 PM

This Arabic Jew

(from the authors personal library)

When I call myself an Arab Jew, it never fails to provoke both emotional and intellectual objections from those who insist there is no such thing. While Arabized may be the more historically precise term, I find it too...

Sep 3, 2026, 10:08 PM

Beyond 1943: Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior on the Future of Jewish Life in Denmark

Rabbi Jair Melchior, Chief Rabbi of Denmark, in Copenhagen — New York Jewish Travel Guide

In an interview with the New York Jewish Travel Guide, Denmark’s Chief Rabbi discusses Jewish identity, the next generation, antisemitism, security, and the continuing evolution of one of Europe’s most distinctive Jewish communities. For much of the world, the story...

Kathleen J. Rusnak

Aug 21, 2026, 1:16 AM

How Western Dreams of Peace Crash on Israeli Soil

Western Peace Gestures Meet Israel's Raw Realities

Liberal peace initiatives and even “woke” ideals are familiar concepts to me. Born in Euclid, Ohio and ordained as an ELCA Lutheran minister, I’m also a member of an Episcopal church in New Hampshire. Additionally—having lived in Israel—I feel...

Lauren Gladstone

Aug 14, 2026, 8:21 AM

Can You Belong to a Place You’ve Never Lived?

Above the orignal entrance to "De Dierense Shul". Photo taken by the author

I have never prayed in the synagogue in Dieren, the Netherlands. I don't know the rabbi. I've never attended a Shabbat service there or celebrated a holiday with its congregation. I don't receive its emails or know the people...

Aug 12, 2026, 2:24 PM

Why Did the Kessim Laugh at Elijah’s Chair?

At the most recent session of Ono Academic College’s Beit Midrash of Bete Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Rabbis and Kessim (traditional Bete Israel spiritual leaders), one of the Kessim looked around with a half-smile and asked: “What is this thing...

Aug 11, 2026, 8:27 PM

The Boy In The Bar Never Questioned Hashem

I grew up inside, so nobody needs to sell me on it. The meals that show up after a birth. The loan with no interest and no questions asked. The chevra kadisha. The man you barely know who finds...

Load more