Jewish Treats

The Jews of Cyprus

The history of the Jews in Cyprus is surprisingly "benign" given the island’s proximity to both Europe and the Holy Land. The third largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus was home to…

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Jewish Treats

Based in Burma

Today’s Jewish Treat presents the unexpected Jewish history of Myanmar (formerly Burma), which gained its independence from the United Kingdom on January 4, 1948.  A synagogue is…

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Jewish Treats

Cohen, Katz, Kagen

Meet a man named Cohen and it is fair to assume that he is a descendant of the priestly tribe, going all the way back to Aharon the High Priest. We all know that there are distinctly…

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Jewish Treats

The Jews of Panama

The history of the Jews in Panama is similar to Jewish history in other South and Central American countries. Conversos came to the region with Spanish settlers but, in time, became…

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Jewish Treats

On the Canadian Prairie

Thirty-three years old at the time of his immigration, Grodno-born Rabbi Israel Isaac Kahanovitch was called to Winnipeg, Manitoba, after spending a year in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He had…

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Jewish Treats

The Jews of Turkey: A Historical Overview

Given Turkey’s proximity to the Land of Israel, it is not surprising that there has been a Jewish presence in that country since at least the 4th century B.C.E, when the land was Roman…

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Jewish Treats

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…

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Jewish Treats

A Turn in History

While many people know that Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday, a fair number would struggle to tell you why the day is significant. On May 5, 1862, the Mexican Army was unexpectedly…

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Jewish Treats

Great Scots!

The story of the great masses of Eastern European Jews who arrived in New York and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is now more than conventional history, but an ingrained…

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Jewish Treats

A Hero in Hollywood

Like many of the Jews who found success in the early decades of Hollywood show business, Ben Hecht (1893 - 1964) was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. When Hecht was born, the family…

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