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The Weekly News Nosh – August 2, 2026

Aug 2, 2026 | Nosh

This Jewish heritage news digest is this week’s NewsNosh (The Weekly News Nosh) from L’Dor V’Dor Foundation—a curated set of links for anyone interested in Jewish family history, Jewish history, and Jewish heritage. This week’s NewsNosh Jewish heritage news digest includes Jewish genealogy conferences, Sephardic children’s literature, Holocaust remembrance, archaeology discoveries, and more.

Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

This week’s news links:

1. Save the date. The 46th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will be held virtually, April 4–6, 2027. Live sessions will run from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET, with 90 days of on-demand access to every recorded session, so you can join live or catch up on your own time. More information to come.
2. The House that helped win the war. Beneath a Hertfordshire stately home, Jewish refugees gathered Nazi secrets and changed the course of World War II. Learn more from Jewish News UK: The House that helped win the war – Jewish News
3. Polygamy in Judaism. Once a tolerated and regulated practice, polygamy is virtually unheard of in Jewish life today. Read more from My Jewish Learning: Polygamy in Judaism | My Jewish Learning
4. First Temple-period figurine mold uncovered in Jerusalem excavation. The find will be housed in an archaeology, art and innovation wing of the Tower of David Museum slated to open in late 2028. Explore more from JNS: First Temple-period figurine mold uncovered in Jerusalem excavation – Israel & Jewish News – JNS
5. Extensive preservation, restoration, and improvement work carried out at Belgrade’s Jewish cemeteries. Work has been going on in both the large Sephardic cemetery as well as in the smaller Ashkenazic cemetery across the street. Read more and see the pictures from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2026/07/28/serbia-belgrade-cemetery/
6. Liturgy, Rituals and Customs of Jewish Weddings. The Jewish wedding is rich with ceremony, beginning with the announcement of intent to marry and ending with seven days of celebration. Discover more from My Jewish Learning: Liturgy, Rituals and Customs of Jewish Weddings | My Jewish Learning
7. Our greatest folksinger wrote about America, Dust Bowl refugees and Jewish identity. Steven Pressman’s documentary ‘Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls’ explores the Jewish side of Woody Guthrie. Read more from The Forward: The Jewish side of Woody Guthrie – The Forward. Editor’s Note: The Woody Guthrie Center: Woody Guthrie Center | Tulsa, OK as well as the Bob Dylan Center: Bob Dylan Center | Tulsa, OK are great Museums to visit! Also, soon to come in 2027 is the Miriam Weiner Jewish Genealogy Archive Collection which will be located at the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art in Tulsa, rated as one of the top 10 Jewish Museums in North America.
8. Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization. From its founding in 1912, Hadassah advocated a program of social feminism that addresses women of all backgrounds. Read more from My Jewish Learning: Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization | My Jewish Learning
9. Holocaust Museum LA to open $70 million cultural center. The museum CEO told JNS that she hopes it will be a place for learning, contemplation as well as hope and optimism. Learn more from JNS: Holocaust Museum LA to open $70 million cultural center – Israel & Jewish News – JNS
10. Historic drought reveals Nazi-era shipwrecks in Danube River near Serbia. The wrecks, deliberately sunk during Nazi Germany’s retreat from the Soviet advance in 1944, have been exposed by the unusually low water levels. Read more from JNS: Historic drought reveals Nazi-era shipwrecks in Danube River near Serbia – Israel & Jewish News – JNS
11. Their art was whimsical, elegant, ‘scandalous,’ and colorful. It was also revolutionary. The Jewish Museum’s new exhibit showcases the groundbreaking women of the Wiener Werkstätte. Learn more from The Forward: How the women of the Wiener Werkstätte changed the world – The Forward
12. Who Was the Baal Shem Tov? The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism is shrouded in legend and mystery. Read about him from My Jewish Learning: The Baal Shem Tov | My Jewish Learning
13. One of the most significant figures in the history of philosophy, Spinoza was excommunicated by the Jewish community. Read more about him from My Jewish Learning: Spinoza | My Jewish Learning
14. A Yiddish theater troupe condemned U.S. racism — then the Nazis came. The 1935 Yiddish play ‘Mississippi,’ inspired by the Scottsboro Boys, is available to English readers for the first time. Learn more from The Forward: When a Yiddish theater troupe spoke out against American racism – The Forward
15. The most Jewish room in Fremont, Ohio, is in a county history museum. A vanished Jewish congregation survives in fragments, kept alive by those who refused to let it disappear. Read its history from The Forward: Decades after this Ohio synagogue closed, its story lives on – The Forward
16. An Illinois farmer thought he knew how his family survived the Nazis. Then he went to the town that saved them. Nik Jakobs, a farmer building a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield, traveled to the Netherlands — where nearly 100 villagers kept the secret that saved his family, and where their descendants are reenacting the saga today. Read the story from The Forward: Holocaust story inspired farmer to build synagogue in cornfield – The Forward
17. Ladino-speaking pirates, genies and grumpy demon cats: PJ Library expands bookshelves with Sephardic stories. The iconic Jewish children’s book publisher is boosting authors who want to publish Sephardic, Mizrahi and Ethiopian tales for kids. Learn more from the Forward: PJ Library’s new Sephardic Stories Initiative wants to change Jewish children’s literature
18. Helena Rubinstein: How a Poor Girl from Kraków’s Jewish Quarter Built a Beauty Empire. A penniless Jewish girl from Kraków turned her own persona into a global marketing engine decades ahead of her time. Read her story from Aish: Helena Rubinstein: How a Poor Girl from Kraków’s Jewish Quarter Built a Beauty Empire | Aish
19. Parents buy out Brazilian Jewish school to keep it open, determined to preserve Jewish education in their region. The unusual move by a group of entrepreneurs has led to a sudden increase in enrollment in the Rio de Janeiro school. View the article from JNS: Parents buy out Brazilian Jewish school to keep it open – Israel & Jewish News – JNS
20. While not genealogy, history or culture…an important potential Israeli contribution to science. First human trial supports Israeli immune therapy for Alzheimer’s. Rather than target amyloid plaques, the potential new treatment aims to restore immune functions that naturally decline with age. Learn more from JNS: First human trial supports Israeli immune therapy for Alzheimer’s – Israel & Jewish News – JNS

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About The Weekly News Nosh

The Weekly News Nosh (NewsNosh) is the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation’s weekly Jewish heritage news digest—a curated set of links for anyone interested in Jewish family history, Jewish history, and Jewish heritage. NewsNosh is published on Sundays and shared on our website and social media platforms. “A Family Without The Understanding Of Their Past History, Foundation And Ethnicity Is Like A Tree Without Roots.” Subscribe to receive NewsNosh every Sunday, directly in your inbox. Browse past issues of our Jewish heritage news digest in the NewsNosh archive.

Why Every Jewish Genealogist Should Join the JewishGen Discussion Group

 

One Question…One Discovery: Why Every Jewish Genealogist Should Join the JewishGen Discussion Group

One of the greatest benefits of belonging to the worldwide Jewish genealogy community is the willingness of researchers to help one another. Every day, the JewishGen Discussion Group features questions from researchers seeking answers about family history, immigration, Holocaust survivors, ancestral towns, and historical records. Often, a single question leads to discoveries that would have taken weeks—or even months—to uncover independently.

A recent discussion is a perfect example.

A researcher asked whether anyone knew the name of the ship that sailed from Marseille, France, on January 25, 1939, arriving in Mollendo, Peru, on February 19, 1939. The voyage was believed to have carried Jewish refugees escaping Nazi Germany just months before the outbreak of World War II.

Within a short time, JewishGen member Oren Kaplan responded with remarkable information. He identified the ship as the SS Colombo, an Italian ocean liner, and discovered that passage for many Jewish refugees was arranged through the Palestine & Orient Lloyd travel agency.

Even more exciting was his discovery of a German historical website documenting the experience of the Homburger family, one of the many Jewish families desperately trying to escape Nazi persecution.

According to the article, Emil Homburger, his wife, and their young son received a letter in January 1939 informing them that berths had been reserved aboard the SS Colombo, departing Marseille on January 25, 1939, bound for Mollendo, Peru, with onward travel to Bolivia.

The letter reveals both the urgency of their situation and the tremendous financial sacrifice required to escape. The family was instructed to pay 3,300 Reichsmarks for passage and was strongly advised to accept the reservation immediately because opportunities to leave Europe were rapidly disappearing.

Reading this correspondence is a powerful reminder that every passenger list tells a much larger story. Behind every name was a family facing impossible decisions, hoping to escape persecution and begin a new life.

What makes this discovery especially valuable is that it extends beyond one family's journey. The German website preserves the history of Nauen, the town where the Homburger family lived before fleeing Germany. Local history websites like this often contain photographs, historical documents, and community stories that help genealogists better understand the lives of their ancestors.

If you visit the website, you can easily translate it into English by using your browser's "Translate to English" feature.

You can also explore the town through an excellent YouTube video that showcases Nauen, Germany, allowing viewers to see the streets and surroundings connected to the Homburger family's story.

German Historical Article (translate to English in your browser):

The Homburger Family's Escape from Nazi Germany

YouTube Video – Discover the Historic Town of Nauen, Germany:

Watch the Nauen, Germany video on YouTube

This story demonstrates why the JewishGen Discussion Group is such an invaluable resource. A single question from one researcher led to the identification of a ship, a travel agency, a refugee family's remarkable story, and historical resources that will benefit researchers around the world.

Whether you are researching immigration, Holocaust survivors, ancestral towns, passenger lists, or family names, the JewishGen Discussion Group connects you with thousands of experienced genealogists who are eager to share their knowledge and help solve research mysteries.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami encourages all of our members to subscribe to the JewishGen Discussion Group. Ask questions, share your discoveries, and become part of a worldwide community dedicated to preserving Jewish family history—one discovery at a time.

The Weekly News Nosh - July 26, 2026

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Headlines July 26, 2026

Rare burnt First Temple-era beams unearthed in Jerusalem after 2,600 years 190 New Papers on Newspapers.com! The Temple and its Destruction 75 artifacts tell the fitful, inspiring, unfinished story of Jews in America The Tragic History of the Jews of Spain Ethiopian Jews in Israel Guatemala recognizes City of David as part of its heritage As Jews mark Tisha B’Av, ancient mourning rituals make room for modern grief 12 Things To Know About the Temple in Jerusalem Beach worker searching for lost items finds rare 2,500-year-old Cypriot coin What sort of Yiddish do Yiddishists speak today? Vilna Gaon Blood for Money: Joel Brand’s Doomed Mission House where Hitler was born reopens as police station Voices from the Inferno - Holocaust Survivors Describe the Last Months in the Warsaw Ghetto You Need To Know These Actresses From the Golden Age of Yiddish Theater Why are all the cool girls wearing yarmulkes? A Jewish couple fell in love with rural Oklahoma. Then they built a cemetery there For this fashion-forward rabbi, shoes and scripture are intertwined ‘We Met at Grossinger’s’ Is a Nostalgic Journey Through the Jewish Catskills 12 Holocaust Movies and TV Shows Streaming Right Now Sex, drugs, and Torah scrolls: At the Psychedelicatessen, visitors receive a powerful dose of art Hidden communities share their Jewish heritage through food

ConferenceKeeper.org Calendar of Virtual Events

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https://conferencekeeper.org/jewish/

L'Dor V'Dor Weekly News Nosh July 12, 2026

 

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Headlines July 12, 2026

IAJGS Sponsors Virtual Meetups: Your Summer 2026 Guide to SIGs, BOFs & Research Groups A New York Times map tells America’s immigration story. Where are the Jews? Unusual and unique cemetery map was recently added to Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation website Family Search: New Free Historical Records from 25 Countries | July 2026 Update Recently Added and Updated Collections on Ancestry How a 198-year-old New Orleans synagogue became one of America’s fastest-growing Jewish communities A synagogue will soar above the Venice Biennale’s politics, and its lagoon Mozambique’s only synagogue has been keeping Judaism alive in the country for a century Traveling to Iceland? Europe’s smallest Jewish community gets a home of its own, complete with geothermal mikvah About 250 matzevot removed from a Jewish cemetery in Minsk Belarus will be cleaned and documented, then returned to the cemetery to create a lapidarium A Polish tour guide traces a demolished Jewish past Krakow Jewish Festival draws thousands amid renewed interest in Poland’s Jewish heritage From Inquisition to Jerusalem: My 500-Year Journey Home Italy advances law to compensate victims of Nazi-era art looting Holocaust survivor discovers his long-lost bar mitzvah Sefer Torah in Brondesbury Park Shul American Revolutionary War Veterans at Arlington ‘Secrets of Huqoq’ Galilee exhibition offers first glimpse into ancient Jewish village Dead Sea Scrolls The artist who proclaimed Jewish identity when it was even more dangerous than today The Jewish History Behind Cabo Verde's Cinderella Run The Jewish History Behind Dunkin Donuts He was a shy, retiring, Jewish record store manager. How did he come to manage the world’s biggest rock band? The Surprising History of Jewish Spaghetti For generations of Jews, this cookbook defined the journey from immigration to assimilation About The Weekly News Nosh The Weekly News Nosh (NewsNosh) is the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation’s weekly Jewish heritage news digest—a curated set of links for anyone interested in Jewish family history, Jewish history, and Jewish heritage. NewsNosh is published on Sundays and shared on our website and social media platforms. “A Family Without The Understanding Of Their Past History, Foundation And Ethnicity Is Like A Tree Without Roots.” Subscribe to receive NewsNosh every Sunday, directly in your inbox. Browse past issues of our Jewish heritage news digest in the NewsNosh archive.

L'DOR V'DOR WORLDWIDE JEWISH EVENT CALENDAR July 7, 2026

 Never miss opportunities to connect with the global Jewish community and Jewish heritage.

JDays is the global calendar of Jewish heritage, history, and family history events, podcasts, conferences, webinars, film screenings, social meet-ups, and more.

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THE WEEKLY NEWS NOSH - July 5, 2026

 

CLICK HERE TO READ NEWS NOSH Headlines July 5, 2026

Here’s how American Jewish orgs are marking 250 years of independence July 4th and the Jewish Faith National Library of Israel marks America’s 250th birthday The gift Jews gave to America on its 100th birthday in 1876 The 50 most interesting Jews in American history you’ve probably never heard of Free FamilySearch Webinars: July 2026 AI, chemistry research project aims to uncover origins of Dead Sea Scrolls The Jewish and Black Pioneers who Created the First Ambulance Emergency Service First time in 2,000 years: Israel carrying out conservation work at Tomb of the Patriarchs Family from Lithuania? Exploring Vilnius: the Jerusalem of Lithuania and its Jewish past Austria once denied its Nazi past. Now it sends young people abroad to confront it Holocaust Survivors’ Torment After Liberation The Woman Who Hid 100 Jews in Her Attic These Classic American Songs Were Written By Jewish Women Three rare ceramic tombstones are reinstalled after restoration in the historic Jewish cemetery in Tata, Hungary Audrey Gelman on Retelling the Forgotten Jewish History of German Folk Art The Israeli rescue operation that was tailor made for Hollywood B’nai B’rith honors Poles preserving Jewish heritage, combating antisemitism Speaking of Polish Jews: A New Gate Opens: Polish Jewry in an Era of Community and Connection The Army’s only airborne rabbi finds his congregation wherever he lands Synagogue in the Sahara Rabbinical seminaries boast highest enrollment in years, defying downward trend Maccabiah Games open in Jerusalem as global celebration of Jewish pride A scholar unpacks the slur that Jews were arsonists — and why it stuck ‘Digging Deep’ for legacies, author finds missing Jewish soccer players killed in Holocaust From Vietnamese Refugee to Israeli Soldier to Florida Restaurateur The Ultimate Jewish Guide to Hot Dogs