Jews in Mauritius
In the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of Africa, is the island nation of Mauritius. Despite the general absence of Jews in Mauritius in the past, there is enough of a Jewish community…
The Harts of Quebec
The first Jewish settlers in the area now known as Quebec (but which was referred to as “Lower Canada” by the British) arrived with the British soldiers during the “French and Indian War”…
White Papers
For those who have studied the history of the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, the term “White Paper” is at once familiar and ambiguous. It is commonly understood that…
The Jewish National Council
In the early twentieth century, the land of Israel went from being part of the Ottoman Empire to being a holding of the British. As immigration was continuing to increase and strengthen…
Situation in the Suez
The Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and thus to the Indian Ocean, was built in the 1860s through a French-Egyptian partnership. In 1875, debt forced the…
Musical Politicians in Victoria, B.C.
Lumley and Selim Franklin moved to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1858, during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. The Jewish community was just starting to grow, and the first synagogue, Temple…
A Revolutionary in Georgia
Mordecai Sheftall (1737-1797), the son of Benjamin and Perla Sheftall, emigrants from England, was born in Savannah, Georgia. A successful self-made merchant-come-landholder, Mordecai was…
White Papers
For those who have studied the history of the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, the term “White Paper” is at once familiar and ambiguous. It is commonly understood that…
White Papers
For those who have studied the history of the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, the term “White Paper” is at once familiar and ambiguous. It is commonly understood that…
The Erev Shabbat Israeli Declaration of Independence
Israeli independence is celebrated on the Hebrew date of the 5th of Iyar, rather than on the corresponding secular date of May 14th. In order to avoid any potential desecration of the…