A “portrait” uncovered decades ago from a 3,000 year old archeological site in the Sinai Desert provides evidence that early Jewish worshippers didn’t share the monotheistic beliefs of their descendants, according to Nir Hasson, who wrote a fascinating piece on the subject for Haaretz. What’s more, according to one archaeologist interviewed by Hasson, the findings…
Somewhere between the charoset and the matzo ball soup, the Passover Hagaddah makes a somewhat strange request: “In each generation, every person is obligated to see themselves as if they personally came forth from Egypt.” It’s not enough to merely remember that our ancestors were slaves in Egypt. We need to connect with that memory…
NEW YORK (JTA) — I have roamed the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Egyptian wing many times, marveling at sarcophagi, statues of Horus and Ra, and portraits of young men on ancient panels who gaze back at visitors, looking shockingly familiar and contemporary. But on a Sunday just before Passover, I viewed the artifacts as I’d…
On March 13, Jared Kushner and Jason D. Greenblatt held a White House summit on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with leaders from Israel, several Arab nations and Western countries — but there were no leaders from either the Palestinian Authority or Gaza in attendance. “We all know that none of this will be easy,”…
When André Aciman was 14 years old, his family was expelled from Egypt. He has returned only once, 30 years after his departure, he told me in January over coffee on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “I realized that I’ve always hated Egypt, I never liked it,” he said. Still, the experience of living in and…
(JTA) — An Egyptian intelligence officer asked influential talk show hosts in the country to downplay the significance of President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Capt. Ashraf al-Kholi said in the phone calls that Egypt would denounce the decision in public to keep it in line with the other Arab countries, but…
Historical gems around the globe, ranging from a Syrian bazaar and the last active synagogue in Alexandria to England’s Blackpool Piers and Alabama civil rights buildings, are threatened by war, disasters and urbanization, a monument conservation group said on Monday. The 25 of the world’s at-risk sites include rock art at Matobo Hills Cultural Landscape…
Keeping up with a tradition set by his predecessor, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah a-Sisi met Monday with Jewish leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The meeting, according to two participants, was friendly and both sides found a common ground in their wish to curb the activity of Hamas…
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