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Articles on Jewish history

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A confirmation class in 1924 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest/Wikimedia Commons

Shavuot: The Jewish holiday that became all about children

Shavuot, which was originally an ancient pilgrimage festival, has gone through many changes over the years – as has Judaism itself.
Partial layout of the graves discovered during the excavation at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt. Thuringian State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology/Karin Sczech + Katharina Bielefeld

Ancient DNA from the teeth of 14th-century Ashkenazi Jews in Germany already included genetic variations common in modern Jews

A German town needed to relocate a medieval graveyard to build a parking garage. A positive side effect: Scientists got to sequence the DNA of Ashkenazi Jews who lived more than 600 years ago.
A woman holds a sign denouncing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, with syringes in the shape of a swastika, during a 2021 rally at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Holocaust comparisons are frequent in US politics – and reflect a shallow understanding of the actual genocide and the US response

Many Americans know a simple version of Holocaust history, in which their country played the savior. The reality isn’t so comfortable, a historian writes.
A Jewish family welcomes home their Navy man and gathers for a Passover Seder at their home in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1943. Minnesota Historical Society/CORBIS/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

How a coffee company and a marketing maven brewed up a Passover tradition: A brief history of the Maxwell House Haggadah

A collaboration between advertiser Joseph Jacobs and the famous coffee company produced the classic U.S. haggadah. The book sets out the ceremony for the Seder meal.
Bevis Marks traces the historic Jewish presence in the City of London. Jansos / Alamy Stock Photo

Bevis Marks: Britain’s oldest synagogue is central to London’s history – here’s why it needs protecting

Bevis Marks – the cathedral synagogue of British Jewry – is one of the few remaining traces of the historic Jewish presence in the City of London. As a national heritage site, it has no parallels.

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