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Dagmar Nick, a multiple literary prize-winner in her native Germany, has turned her considerable talents to researching her fascinating Jewish ancestry. She brings to life her family history through the letters, diaries and documents that they left behind, and shows how--despite being excluded from society, forced to earn their livelihoods in 'unchristian' trades, and victimized over the centuries--they rose through hard work and commitment to family to become not only wealthy, but also indispensable to the nobility as suppliers of luxury wares and as financiers and as advisers. Author Nick uses the Goldschmidt archives in Denmark and Glueckel von Hameln's diary to describe their lives on a personal level. She explains the difficulties they faced in business, especially against a background of ostracism, and harsh taxation. The final chapters show how under more liberal Prussian rule, they were allowed to become doctors, scientists, and even famous philanthropists such as Lina Morgenstern and Sigismund Asch. Nick describes not only her own complicated family history, but also shows us that many families have similar shadows that can be captured.

Using previously unpublished communal sources and an innovative chronological-thematic structure, Omer-Jackaman analyzes the effects of Zionism and the State of Israel on the identity of Britain's Jews between the founding of the Jewish State and the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Throughout the book, a picture emerges of the often fraught relationship between Israeli and Anglo-Jewry during the period. Despite British Jews' close identification with the Jewish State, there was a fundamental tension between the two Jewish communities, based on competing and perhaps even irreconcilable visions of Jewish identify after the creation of the State of Israel.

Who are the Jews from Arab countries? What were relations with Muslims like? What made Jews leave countries where they had been settled for thousands of years? What lessons can we learn from the mass exodus of minorities from the Middle East? Lyn Julius undertakes to answer all these questions and more in Uprooted, the culmination of ten years of work studying these issues. Jews lived continuously in the Middle East and North Africa for almost 3,000 years. Yet, in just 50 years, their indigenous communities outside Palestine almost totally disappeared as more than 99 percent of the Jewish population fled. Those with foreign passports and connections generally left for Europe, Australia, or the Americas. Some 650,000-including a minority of ideological Zionists-went to Israel. Before the Holocaust they constituted ten percent of the world's Jewish population, and now over 50 percent of Israel's Jews are refugees from Arab and Muslim countries, or their descendants. This same process is now repeating in Christian and other minority communities across the Middle East. This book also assesses how well these Jews have integrated into Israel and how their struggles have been politicized. It charts the growing clamour for recognition, redress and memorialization for these Jewish refugees, and looks at how their cause can contribute to peace and reconciliation between Israel and the Muslim world. *** "Lyn Julius provides a riveting account of a fascinating, but disgracefully overlooked subject. Anyone who really wants to understand the Middle East, Israel and world history, should read it." --Tom Gross, former Middle East correspondent, Sunday Telegraph; contributor to The Guardian and Wall Street Journal[Subject: Middle East Studies, Jewish Studies, History, Sociology, Politics]

"On a brisk winter day in 1913, Rae Landy boarded a ship headed to Palestine. Her final destination was Jerusalem, a desolate city filled with disease and poverty, languishing under the indifferent rule of the Ottoman Empire. Along with nursing partner Rose Kaplan, her mandate was to set up a district nursing system under the auspices of a new Zionist women's organization called Hadassah. The two nurses braved tremendous hardships to bring hope and better health to the people of that ancient city"--Back cover.

Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich was born in the small Baltic state of Latvia after the Second World War, which was under Soviet occupation. Yosef received a Soviet education, far removed from his Jewish faith and culture. His father, Moshe, was arrested by the Soviets when Yosef was 10 years old. His mother, Chaya Yenta, died soon afterwards. Despite his harsh childhood experiences, Yosef found his way to truth and faith and became one of the outstanding leaders of the Jewish revival in the USSR in the 1960's. He considers the spiritual forces which enabled him to remain proud and unbowed during his 11-year incarceration in KGB cellars and the forced labor camps of the Gulag a miracle from Heaven. A Hero of Jewish Freedom consists of short stories drawn from Rabbi Mendelevich's life experiences as a young Soviet Jewish freedom fighter imprisoned together with his comrades by the KGB after their failed attempt to hijack a Soviet plane and fly it to Israel. From within the KGB cellars and Gulag prison cells, Yosef dedicated his soul to his belief and thus became a martyr of his faith, pledged to follow the way of the Lord G-d of Israel unswervingly. As each amazing story ends a new one begins, like an expertly threaded string of pearls. Yosef succeeds in bluffing the warders and smuggles into the top-security prison a Hebrew Bible, a Siddur, and a Tallit. He prays in a pit carved in the snow. The author's unique style turns the book into a work of art and makes the reader feel they are with him in his cell. The book celebrates the triumph of the love of life and faith, and shows how the struggle of the few helped to win freedom for millions of people in the Soviet Union. The hero is released and flies to Israel following his historic 56-day hunger strike. These stories of indomitable faith and ingenuity will inspire people of all ages and beliefs. [Subject: Jewish Studies, Biography, History, Mysticism]

From the Balfour Declaration of 1917 to the Suez Crisis of 1956, Britain's strategic interests in Palestine and in the Middle East underwent radical changes. A leading authority on the British Mandate in Palestine and the rise of the state of Israel, Professor Michael J. Cohen focuses on these changing interests in this anthology of some of his seminal works. This book includes previously unpublished material and an introductory chapter surveying the changing views and interpretations of the Declaration over the past 100 years. Britain's imperial interests are the key to understanding these changes, why she supported the Zionist cause until the mid-1930s, and why her priorities changed thereafter. After the Second World War her priorities changed once again and Allied strategic planners drew up contingency plans to meet the threat of a potential Third World War against the Soviet bloc. This anthology closes with an analysis of the botched Suez War. This caused not only the failure of the military operation, but a grave crisis with the Americans, Eden's fall from power, and the denouement of Britain's Middle East hegemony. Professor Cohen's essays are essential reading for anyone wanting a clear understanding of the Middle Eastern context of the Palestine Mandate, and the rise of the State of Israel during this period. *** "This is a fine book of historical essays. Of special significance are Cohen's assessments -- and in part, re-assessments -- of the Balfour Declaration, Churchill's and Truman's attitude toward the Jews and Zionism, and Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini's evasion of punishment as a Nazi war criminal in 1945-1947. Historians and students of the Arab-Zionist conflict can both derive benefit from Cohen's insights." --Professor Benny Morris, Ben-Gurion University *** "This important book of essays will provide further food for thought for readers who wish to look at the self-interest, both personal and national, behind the decision of the decision makers." --Colin Shindler, Emeritus Professor, SOAS, University of London [Subject: British History, Israeli History, Middle East Studies]

On a spring day in 1277, the prominent Jewish businesswoman Licoricia of Winchester was found by her daughter murdered, stabbed to death in her own house. Alongside Licoricia's body was that of her Christian maid, Alice. Why was Licoricia killed? And why was her death reported as far away as Germany? In this ground-breaking new book, Suzanne Bartlet draws on extensive research in the fiscal archives of medieval England, most notably those of the Jewish Exchequer, to examine the family history behind the famous murder. This is the story of Licoricia's route to wealth through advantageous marriages (her second amidst a divorce scandal which was referred to the Beth Din in Paris) and business acumen, the business contacts she made, the close relationship she appears to have had with King Henry III, and the altogether more mixed fortunes of her sons. By using Licoricia's family as an example, Bartlet demonstrates the gradual deterioration in the conditions of even the wealthiest Jews in En

For nearly fifty years, Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schonfeld was a controversial figure in British Jewry, after he took over the fledgling Charedi Union of Hebrew Congregations from his late father in 1933. Against all the odds, this charismatic rabbi built up the foundations of the organization until it was equal to the other traditional Jewish power bases. He also saved many thousands of lives organizing the immigration of refugees from the Continent before and after the war. He transformed the attitude of the Jewish community in Britain towards Jewish education. His Jewish Secondary School Movement provided the proof that it was possible to combine an extensive curriculum in Jewish studies with a secular curriculum, rigorous enough to take a disproportionate percentage of the pupils to the best universities in the country and into the professions. These massive achievements were only attained by overcoming an enormous amount of opposition from the Jewish establishment, and persuading success

Confessions of a Serial Biographer is the story (or rather the stories) of Michael Freedland, a man who has mingled with celebrities since he was a teenage junior newspaper reporter. He has been involved with some of the iconic names of Hollywood and showbiz in general - people like Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, and Andre Previn, all of whom cooperated in his biographies. Then, there was a wide spectrum that ranged from the comedic duo Morecambe and Wise, to Ella Fitzgerald, to say nothing of Leonard Bernstein and Bob Hope. His most recent biography was a best-selling study of the life of Dean Martin, titled King of the Road. This second edition is an autobiography of a biographer of more than 30 books, who, while still at school, was captivated by the voice of a singer called Al Jolson. Yet, this is not just a story of smooth, friendly relations with Michael Freedland's subjects, because James Cagney sued him in the New York courts and Mr. Peck tried to stop his book. Freedland won in both cases. Additionally, it is the story of politicians like Harold Wilson, Alec Douglas Home, ...and even Tony Blair, to whom Michael Freedland gave some early media training. This is also the tale of a radio program called You Don't Have To Be Jewish, which, after 23 years, became the longest running regional broadcast in Britain. [Subject: Memoir]

Based on an insider's knowledge of weaponry and of actual Israeli and Egyptian battle strategies, this book examines how two of the strongest regional militaries would likely fight a high intensity war in the Middle East. The book examines how the various factors in play - the battle for air superiority, air-ground bombardment, armor, and infantry collisions - would shape the outcome of the conflict, discussing each factor separately in order to highlight its importance. The analysis draws on previous (mainly Arab-Israeli) conflicts, and also on the author's 20 years of experience in studying and doing research on Israel's national strategy and military doctrine. Fascinating new issues are looked at, such as the demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula and both armies being largely equipped with US military hardware. How would the lack of military infrastructure in the Peninsula dictate the course of the conflict? What issues of identification and friendly fire would the similarity of equipment bring? The book also examines the variety of confrontations that Israel might face - such as high intensity, hybrid, and low intensity wars - and the corresponding responses and strategies it might choose in defense. This will be essential reading for anyone interested in modern high intensity warfare, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the possible future of the Middle East. *** 'Eilam presents a very cogent, judicious and compelling analysis of what the future military confrontation between Israel and Egypt in Sinai could look like.' -- Hillel Frisch, Professor of Political and Middle East Studies, Bar-Ilan University [Subject: Israeli studies, Middle East Studies, Military Studies, Politics]

This memoir contains many fascinating vignettes about pre-war childhood in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, a child's-eye-view of the lost world of East European Jewry. It tells the tormented story of the Kovno ghetto as seen by a youngster whose father was a leading figure in the medical life of the ghetto. The author then recounts the long, harsh journey of entering the gates of Dante's Inferno into the whirlpool of the Holocaust to Stutthof and Dachau and moves on to describe his liberation. The author also provides a full and fascinating focus on the post-war years: recovery, organizing education in Italy, and the struggles of starting a new life in the United States, including the high point of obtaining the release of the author's parents from the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Jack Brauns has written a most personal and engaging tale. Not only is it a powerful factual narrative, but it is also an uplifting one that rises above the cruelties and savageries of the H

In the traditional Talmudic methodologies, the subjects of Talmudic logic and methodology are generally treated together. With a few notable exceptions, there has been little attempt at a systematic presentation of such matters as the structure of the Talmudic arguments, the division of the sugya into its component parts, the methods of Talmudic reasoning, and the literary style and character of the Amoraic debates. This book notes some of the problems in this field and suggests some tentative solutions. The first part sheds light on Talmudic logic, in particular suggesting the ancients were aware of the process of Induction. The second part examines the literary analysis of the Amoraic literature, and argues that the Gemara in its present form is a 'contrived' literary product of great skill in which the older material used has been reshaped by methods similar to literary artists throughout the ages. Although the book is presented for the considerations of students of the Talmud, it m

During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, women could not participate in the development of modern Hebrew literature. As pointed out in 1996's New Women's Writing from Israel, to which this is a successor volume, they could give vent to their poetic talents either in Yiddish, their spoken language, or in Russian, but not in Hebrew. While Yiddish writing did not insist on the national element as a required poetic norm, Hebrew literature did. The ideological dictum insisted on the symbiosis of the collective experience with the private, of the myth of the nation with the myth of the individual. Since women did not take part in public life or in the initial stages of the Hebrew revival which took place in Eastern Europe, they could not respond to these poetic demands. In the 1920s, Hebrew prose was more open to autobiographical and confessional writing, and women were able to contribute to this genre, as they could incorporate the full range of their experience. On the whole they

Now a retired university academic living in Jerusalem, Katz was born into a well-to-do Jewish family who owned a thriving grocery shop and export business in Jaroslaw, a smallish town in southeastern Poland. In 1939, the Katz family was expelled by the Gestapo from Jaroslaw into the Soviet-occupied

This is the story of Zenon Neumark's experiences as a Jewish teenager in Nazi-occupied Europe. He escaped from a forced labor camp in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland, and lived under a false Polish Catholic identity, first in Warsaw and later in Vienna. It is a story about betrayal by friends and rescue by strangers; about a constant fear of being recognized as a Jew; the struggle for lodgings, work and blending in with the local population; a story of a double life working for opposing Resistance groups; and opportunities to help others survive. The story ends with his recapture in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and deportation to a camp in Vienna, where, after another escape, he was liberated by the Soviet Army.