FOSTERING CROSS CULTURAL DIVERSITY, TOLERANCE, INCLUSION, AND UNDERSTANDING AROUND THE WORLD WITH AN EMPHASIS ON JEWISH HISTORY.
Fantastic News from Amazon!
Recently, Amazon ranked Alex Shaland’s upcoming book ” Suburbanites on Safari ” as Amazon #1 New Release.
Continue reading “Suburbanites on Safari Ranks #1 New Release on Amazon”
Reprinted with permission of the author, Rabbi Barbara Aiello
Throughout Israel, especially in Tel Aviv, the last day of the year is “party night.” On December 31st Israelis will celebrate along with the rest of the world but instead of shouting “Happy New Year,” Israelis do something different. As the year turns from one year to the next, Israel’s Jews will wish each other a “Happy Sylvester,” a New Year’s greeting that invokes, of all things, the name of a Catholic saint!
Continue reading “THE JEWISH GREETING FOR THE SECULAR NEW YEAR”
If you missed Part one of this post click here Part One
When you make an appointment at your medical system’s Travel Clinic before your trip to Brazil, they always ask you when and what country are you going.
Continue reading “Medical Requirements for Travelers to Brazil, Continued”
Hello my fellow-travelers,
If Brazil is in your travel plans, you might find this information helpful. Alex and I are going to Brazil in November of this year, so we decided to get our medical preparations out of the way and went to a local Travel Clinic.
Continue reading “Medical Requirements for Travelers to Brazil”
Review by Philip Coetzee
If you look for a field guide, this is the wrong book, but if you want to understand more about birds, about their biology, habits and habitat, this is the perfect book. In a fun way, with random cartoons and loads of colorful illustrations, the life of birds is described, from the size of the eggs, the type of chicks, how they fly, migration and where the birds can be found.
Continue reading “Book Review: Birds for beginners in Southern Africa by Philip Coetzee”
If you are going to take some one-day trips, you might want to stay, like we did, near the train station. I suggest a small gem of a hotel: Axel Guldsmeden. It is a masterpiece of organic sustainability in everything from their beds and showers to afternoon/evening teas.
Continue reading “How to Enjoy Denmark: Suggestions from a Globe-Trotter”
Exploring Thailand away from the tourist crowds
Bangkok
Thai Theater
To all theater lovers, I always recommend not to be missed “real” performance when in Bangkok, and by real I mean those that are shown to non-tourists, outside of buses brining crowds for a mediocre dinner and Thai Dance-“light.” And for that, one should head to the National Theater http://www.finearts.go.th/ (very close to the National Museum) and see, preferably, the Siam Niramit performance, perhaps the most elaborate and “largest stage show in the world.” It is definitely one of the most amazing and intriguing. But any traditional Thai dance shows would do, though I always prefer Khon dancers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OWBs48qUuA.
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Irene Shaland’s Cuba article The Island within an Island: The Cuban Jewish Story of Survival was published on August 22nd by the Sephardi Ideas Monthly, a magazine of the American Sephardic Federation and Center for Jewish History Research of New York. On August 23rd, the essay was also published by the Mosaic, a magazine dedicated to advancing philosophical discussions related to Jewish history and Judaism. See the excerpts below:
Read more Jewish history stories in Irene Shaland’s latest book:
Introducing Irene Shaland’s latest book, a collection of Jewish short stories:
“The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories.”
Link to eBook Edition: https://amzn.to/2HhwSng
Link to Paperback Edition: https://amzn.to/2T1u5kK
Link to Large Print Edition: https://amzn.to/2Cqhi6l
This book is full of Jewish survival stories and fascinating tales. It shines the light on the history of Jewish communities in ten countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa.” – GTA Books.
Two and a half millennia ago, a small party of Jews explored new trading routes for King Solomon, settled in the south of India, and lived there peacefully until today. Similarly, during the ancient Roman period, many Jewish merchants traveled to China over the Silk Route and some made it their permanent home.
Also, before the Edict of Expulsion in 1492, Sicily was home to over 50 Jewish communities, possibly numbering 50,000 people. So, how did the Diaspora bring these wandering Jews to so many places around the globe? And why did Jews live happily in India and China for centuries and not experience antisemitism, while the story of the Jews in Europe went from persecutions and massacres to unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust? Finally, why do we see the rise of antisemitism and violence again in the 21st century?
You will find answers to these questions and much more in the current edition of Irene Shaland’s artfully illustrated book The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories. She collected these fascinating stories while visiting ten countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa and interviewing the locals in their homes, synagogues, and even cemeteries. Now, Irene Shaland’s book, replete with her husband’s photos, takes you on your own exciting journey of discovery from Austria and the Czech Republic to Scandinavia, from India and China to Sicily and Sardinia, and from East Africa to Stalinist Russia.
Learn more about Irene Shaland.
Don’t look for the Steinedererinnerung in your guidebook: the murdered Jews of Austria have neither a Rick Steves nor a Frommer. And Vienna, basking in its Baroque and Art Nouveau splendor, would rather have you waltzing from Schonbrunn palace to Sachertorte’s shops instead of searching out the synagogues and homes of long-gone Jews. An Austrian sarcastic proverb, as noted by Magrit Reiter in her conference presentation “Antisemitism in Austria after the Shoa,” declares that Germans were the “better Nazis,” while Austrians were definitely the “better anti-Semites.”
Continue reading “The “Jewish Question” in Vienna (excerpt from The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories)”