History

Games of chance and society in the Middle East

A historical look at how chance-based games shaped culture, law, and society in the Middle East.
Israeli cabinet minister and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is consoled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he attends the funeral of his son Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, an Israeli solider, who was killed in northern Gaza during the ground operation by Israel's military in Gaza.

Was Netanyahu chosen by God, or judged too harshly by man? - opinion

Kai Wegner (L,CDU), Governing Mayor of Berlin, Manja Schreiner (C,CDU), Senator for Mobility, Transport, and Christian Gaebler (L,SPD), Senator for Urban Development, view a public housing construction project

Outcry in Germany over controversial plans to demolish Nazi bunker for luxury apartment building

 Demonstrators hold signs against what they describe as international silence over sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women during the attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, at a protest in Jerusalem, November 27, 2023.

Breaking the individual to break the collective - opinion


Memory depends on truth: The stories of Holocaust victims must be preserved - opinion

When asked what would happen when there are no more Holocaust survivors to tell their stories, Elie Wiesel replied, “Maybe you are the only hope I have – make it come true.”

Polish-born Holocaust survivor Meyer Hack shows his prisoner number tattooed on his arm during a news conference at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem June 15, 2009.

Two Holocaust remembrance days: Why Israel’s is different - opinion

For the Jewish people, the Holocaust was a definitive warning against complacency.

A HOLOCAUST survivor lights a torch during a ceremony held at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, as Israel marks annual Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Greece’s Antikythera Mechanism upends timelines of technology

Researchers call the Antikythera Mechanism a 'computer' that 'breaks' the chronology of history, citing newly decoded functions uncovered long after its shipwreck.

 Did desiNew insights on the Antikythera Mechanism.

Memory depends on truth: Why post-truth culture endangers Holocaust remembrance - opinion

Why we must defend truth if we want to preserve the memory of the Holocaust.

Entrance to Auschwitz I, the main concentration camp, Poland, 1940-1945.

Perpetual Jewish family traits: Jewish genealogy, history explored by Am haZikaron Institute

Using an exact-sciences approach endorsed by a committee of 55 Nobel laureates, Am haZikaron can reveal the unique characteristics of one’s clan that have been preserved for centuries.

A SECTION of Jonathan Vidgop’s family tree on the walls of the Am haZikaron office in Tel Aviv.

From Vilna to Eretz Yisrael: One Holocaust survivor's journey to Israel

Dov Levin escaped the Kovno Ghetto, fought in the forests, and crossed war-torn Europe alone to reach Israel - documenting every step of a journey defined by loss, resilience, and purpose.

The Ninth Fort Memorial for Kovno Ghetto Jews executed by the Nazis, in Kaunus (Kovno), Lithuania.

Letters of love and survival: A Holocaust love story preserved at Yad Vashem

A young Orthodox couple in Hungary exchanged messages that sustained them through forced labor, ghettos, brazen escapes, and months in hiding.

(L-R): MEIR HIRSCHFELD, 1936. IDIT PAPA, 1942

From Harbin to Hollywood: The tale of two talented Jewish sisters in China's 'Ice City'

Once home to a thriving Jewish community, Harbin now preserves its past through music - and the enduring legacy of the Schoenfeld sisters.

CHINA’S ‘ICE CITY’: The giant snowman at Harbin Musical Park, a city landmark. Tourists enjoy Harbin’s Ice and Snow World (L) and the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.

As war reshapes the region, Kurds returns to center stage - opinion

As war with Iran deepens, the long-ignored Kurdish question emerges as a decisive factor in the region’s future.

Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026.

A Passover tribute: Kindness from a Jerusalem neighborhood pharmacy

Every year as Seder approaches, we all look for inspiration in how to make our Seder even richer than the year before.

Mrs. Glassman enjoys a cup of coffee at one of the Jerusalem cafés she frequented