News

Dialogue heads east

photo - Belle Jarniewski (fifth from the left) is one of the co-founders, with Sumera Sahar (fourth from the left), Perry Kimelman and Dr. Rory Dickson of the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue Group of Winnipeg

Belle Jarniewski (fifth from the left) is one of the co-founders, with Sumera Sahar (fourth from the left), Perry Kimelman and Dr. Rory Dickson of the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue Group of Winnipeg. (photo from Belle Jarniewski) Started in Winnipeg last year…

87 headstones added

photo - Shirley Barnett, chair of the Jewish cemetery restoration project, led the proceedings

Shirley Barnett, chair of the Jewish cemetery restoration project, led the proceedings. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay) On Sept. 11, a small crowd gathered at the Jewish section of Mountain View Cemetery for the unveiling of 87 headstones for babies and…

A physical, emotional hike

photo - Arlene Doyle, right, was joined for part of her adventure by her friend, Jennifer Williamson

Arlene Doyle, right, was joined for part of her adventure by her friend, Jennifer Williamson. (photo from Arlene Doyle) In early February, Arlene Doyle, a 53-year-old massage therapist and writer based in Ottawa and Perth, Ont., set off on the…

Jewish tourists in Romania

photo - The Choral Temple in Bucharest

The Choral Temple in Bucharest. (photo from Wikimedia Commons) We spent two weeks in Romania in the late summer of 2015, also visiting Bulgaria. We took this trip partly because it was an area of vibrant Jewish life from Roman days…

Consider an African safari

photo - In Livingstone, Zambia, visitors on the Jewish tour will see a church that used to be a synagogue. The Jewish population peaked in the late 1950s, to some 1,000 community members

In Livingstone, Zambia, visitors on the Jewish tour will see a church that used to be a synagogue. The Jewish population peaked in the late 1950s, to some 1,000 community members. (photo by Rebecca Shapiro) “This guy came to stay,…

Tower of David a must-see

photo - A scene from Migdal David’s The Night Spectacular: the Queen of Sheba with her entourage

A scene from Migdal David’s The Night Spectacular: the Queen of Sheba with her entourage. (photo by Amit Geron) While growing up in the United States, my friends and I never seemed to tire of asking each other, “Who is…

Where David fought Goliath

photo - The author, Sybil Kaplan and Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at the opening of the exhibit In the Valley of David and Goliath, now at Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem

The author, Sybil Kaplan and Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at the opening of the exhibit In the Valley of David and Goliath, now at Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. (photo by Barry A. Kaplan) “As the Philistine moved closer to attack…

Jerusalem’s French aspects

photo - Salt print of Adolphe Crémieux, December 1856, by Nadar (1820-1910), from the J. Paul Getty Museum

Salt print of Adolphe Crémieux, December 1856, by Nadar (1820-1910), from the J. Paul Getty Museum. (photo from Wikimedia Commons) While Jerusalem’s French connection thankfully lacks the violence and crime of the 1971 movie by the same name, both the…

Museums adapt using tech

photo - Museloop’s app that it created for Israel Museum

Museloop’s app that it created for Israel Museum. (photo from Museloop via Times of Israel) How do museums and other purveyors of history attract visitors and make the past relevant, especially as people come to expect more and more digital…

Another planet earth?

photo - An artist’s impression of the newly discovered planet, Proxima Centauri b

An artist’s impression of the newly discovered planet, Proxima Centauri b. (photo from ESO Kornmesser) An international team announced recently that a planet with a mass similar to that of earth has been observed orbiting the star Proxima Centauri –…