FOSTERING CROSS CULTURAL DIVERSITY, TOLERANCE, INCLUSION, AND UNDERSTANDING AROUND THE WORLD WITH AN EMPHASIS ON JEWISH HISTORY.
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Travel through Jewish history in Asia and Mediterranean with an internationally-published art and travel writer and lecturer Irene Shaland. Join her for a fascinating two-part talk about her search for little-known fascinating stories about Jewish people in six countries on two continents.
Continue reading “Travels in Jewish History: Free Zoom Lectures”
The Return of the Jews: Jewish Renaissance in the Mediterranean
Irene Shaland’s Virtual Presentation on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 7:00 PM via Zoom. See details below:
If you read my latest book “The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories” and liked it please help my book reach a wider audience.
Continue reading “Help The Dao of Being Jewish Reach New Readers”
Join Irene Shaland, an internationally-published travel writer and author of several books for a captivating journey through 500 years of Jewish history in Brazil. Encounter little-known stories of Brazil discovery in the 15thcentury’s context of a twisted world of politics, deceptions, and intrigues. Learn about the key role the Crypto-Jews played in this country’s exploration and development. Find out why Anna Novinsky, a renowned expert in Jewish history residing in Sao Paolo, claimed that “Brazil was built by the Jews!”
Continue reading “Free Lecture: Jews of the Jungles (and cities) in Brazil”
Many of our readers who follow my wife Irene Shaland’s books, magazine articles, and lectures know me as a photographer who’s photos appeared in Irene’s publications and slide presentations. But only few know that I am also a writer myself. Now, that my first book Suburbanites on Safari is in print and sold in several countries, I felt it appropriate to say a few words about my writing career.
Continue reading “About the Author of Suburbanites on Safari”
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”
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”
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.
New book of stories from Irene Shaland is now available in paperback. In The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories Irene Shaland presents a collective Jewish narrative from various parts of the globe. She takes the reader on a fascinating journey, both familiar and unknown, from Europe to Asia and Africa, from Vienna to Delhi and Nairobi. The fate of the brilliant Jewish community of Vienna annihilated during the Holocaust shines a disturbing light on the stories of the current rise of Antisemitism in Scandinavia and throughout Europe.
Continue reading “The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories Released”