Jewish history

Outrage after Jewish custodian of tomb of Esther, Mordechai in Iran faces antisemitic abuse

An Uzbek national was filmed making antisemitic remarks to Nejad Rassad, the Jewish custodian of the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, Iran.

The Tomb of Esther and Mordechai
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, cast their vote during elections for the Likud Central Committee, at the Jerusalem International Convention Center, Nov. 25, 2025.

Jewish voting: How ancient Jewish tradition helped shape modern democracy - opinion

Workers and volunteers on an archaeological dig sift through dirt at Alexandrion/Sartaba in the Jordan Valley.

Jewish educators should stop relying on archaeology to prove Israel’s history - opinion

The Rova

Jerusalem offers NIS 160 family pass to six Jewish Quarter heritage sites this summer


UNESCO joins Palestinians in rewriting Jewish history in Judea and Samaria - opinion

This year, the PA submitted a long list of obviously and undeniably Jewish historical sites to the World Heritage List at UNESCO, rebranding the sites as “Palestinian” or “Islamic” heritage locations

The dramatic mountaintop site rising 650 meters above the Jordan Valley

Ceuta and Melilla: Europe's most fortified border also serves as a Jewish religious boundary

DIASPORA AFFAIRS: Spain’s Ceuta and Melilla have become the center of a migration crisis, reviving geopolitical tensions while highlighting a crossroads of Jewish history and culture.

RABBI AARON PERETZ reviews the security fence on the border between Melilla and Morocco, accompanied by agents of the Civil Guard, last July.

At sunrise in an ancient Golan synagogue, the debate over sovereignty feels absurd - opinion

Zionism, at its foundation, is the return of an indigenous people to the hills, springs, and sacred sites that shaped its civilization long before anyone called it a nation-state.

Sunrise at Dir Aziz, a fourth-century synagogue in the Golan Heights.

Moldova beyond the crowds: Jewish heritage, wine and Transnistria

Moldova combines Jewish history, cave monasteries, lively markets and celebrated wineries, while Transnistria offers a striking journey into Soviet nostalgia.

STATUES OF Lenin front governmental buildings in Tiraspol.

Middle Israel: How 'The Odyssey' echoes the Jewish story of homecoming - opinion

Written roughly in the time of Isaiah, The Odyssey had nothing to do with the Jews. Its narrative, however, sure is relevant to the Jews, as their own narrative comes under assault. 

JEWISH IMMIGRANTS from Europe arrive in Haifa in 1929. Drawing on Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of ‘The Odyssey,’ the writer explores why the Jewish return to Zion remains one of history’s enduring homecoming narratives.

Brilliant Hebrew calendar: More than just dates - opinion

Thanks to the Hebrew calendar, Jewish history is never abandoned or forgotten. Jews celebrate or commemorate – from destruction to rebirth.

Worshipers are seen at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Tisha B'Av.

Tisha B'Av's warning: Has Israel reached the point of no return? - opinion

The point of no return in the destruction of the Temple, that we mourn for on Tisha B’Av, actually took place on the eve of Tamuz 17, in what is known in the Talmud as the burning of the barns. 

People walk in the Old City of Jerusalem on March 8, 2026.

Between the straits: On Tisha B’Av, Israel must confront its own internal fanaticism - opinion

This year, we will fast and observe the customs of our national day of mourning. We will go through the motions, yet the conclusion is unavoidable: we have forgotten.

Yair Golan addresses the crowd at the Democrats Party primaries in Tel Aviv on July 20, 2026.

Middle Israel: How Jews and Palestinians became masters of historical denial

Had the Jews studied their history impartially, they would've understood centuries before Herzl that regaining their land and restoring their power is their task, not God's.

Palestinian women walk past a mural of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Hebron on the 21st anniversary of Arafat’s death. Ruth Wasserman Lande argues that the Palestinian narrative was created by the Soviet Union.

The foreign policy lesson hidden in Lamentations - opinion

Jewish tradition attributes Lamentations to the prophet Jeremiah, who was persecuted in part because he warned against relying on Egypt. He thought Babylon would determine Judea's fate.

Worshipers are seen at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Tisha B'Av.