Madeira and Azores – Virtual Lecture

May 19, 2024
12:00 Noon EST via Zoom

Please “come” virtually to Irene Shaland’s lecture devoted to Jewish history in Portugal. This time, we will be exploring the enchanting islands of Madeira and Azores that belong to Portugal.

This lecture is hosted by the Society for Crypto Judaic Studies. The event is OPEN to the public. To receive the link to the event, you need to register. Please find the link to register:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ON SCJS WEBSITE

About this Zoom event:

Title: “The Hidden History of Jewish People on the Islands of Madeira and Azores and the Unsolved Mystery of a Sefer Torah”

Date: May 19, 2024

Time: 12:00 Noon EST

Description:

Join the renowned author and historian, Irene Shaland, in her exploration of two Portuguese autonomous regions in the Atlantic: Madeira and Azores. With their mild climate, dramatic waterfalls, and mountains, both archipelagos are popular tourist destinations with over five million visitors arriving annually.

However, few tourists know that the two islands of Madeira and the nine islands of Azores have a hidden Jewish history, and the archipelagos tightly guard their secrets.

The Jewish presence on the islands, still under the radar of most historians, spans the entire length of recorded history beginning with their discovery by the Portuguese in the 14th and 15th centuries. It is even thought that the explorer who discovered Madeira, Joao Zarco, was of Crypto-Jewish ancestry.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ON SCJS WEBSITE

To learn more about Irene Shaland’s new book “Shaland’s Lisbon: An Illustrated Guide to Jewish History and Sites in and around Lisbon” click here: https://amzn.to/4awMblb

Learn more about the presenter Irene Shaland.

December 19, 2020January 23, 2021

Meeting the Jewish Community of Mumbai India

Irene Shaland and guides inside the Mumbai Mogen David Synagogue

Excerpt from Irene Shaland’s book “The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories.”

Jews settled in Mumbai (Bombay) in the 18th century. First, the Baghdadi arrived in the 1730s. Then, the Bene Israel began migrating from the countryside into the city in the 1740s. Today, Mumbai has the largest Jewish community in India: 3,500 to 4,000 people, most of whom are the Bene Israel. We visited two of the city’s eight synagogues: Kenesseth Eliyahoo and Magen David. Both were built by the Sassons, the wealthiest family of the Baghdadi Jews. The elegant blue structure of the Magen David Synagogue was erected by David Sasson in 1861. Hanna and Eliyahoo were waiting for us inside.

December 14, 2020March 26, 2021

Join us for a Free Virtual Lecture: Jews and Aborigines

Jews and Aborigines: Little-Known Stories from Australia

Presenter: Irene Shaland. Date: Tuesday, January 26^th , 2021, 1:00 PM

This program is hosted by The Women of Fairmount Temple. The event is FREE but a Registration is required. To register: email Janice Hirshon at [email protected]

Follow Irene Shaland on an exciting virtual trip to Australia to explore this country’s history, its land, and its people. Meet an Aboriginal man, William Cooper, a hero of his people’s human rights struggle and a brave defender of the Jews during World War II.

September 28, 2016December 9, 2020

The “Jewish Question” in Vienna (excerpt from The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories)

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.”

May 19, 2024 12:00 Noon EST via Zoom

Jews and Aborigines: Little-Known Stories from Australia

Presenter: Irene Shaland. Date: Tuesday, January 26th , 2021, 1:00 PM

May 19, 2024
12:00 Noon EST via Zoom

Presenter: Irene Shaland. Date: Tuesday, January 26^th , 2021, 1:00 PM