JACOB JR. - BENLEUMI NEWS יעקב ג 'וניור. הבינלאומי חדשות

Thrusday, Tishrei 25, 5777. October 27, 2016. Shalom! World. The American architect Daniel Libeskind (Jewsih polish roots) created a both fascinating and oppressive structure for the Jewish Museum Berlin, an expressive  building, through whose aura and design the horrid fate of the Jewish population in Germany is always present. Libeskind wanted to make this "fouth dimension" visible and thereby laid the foundation for the success of the Jewish Museum Berlin - known worldwide, received enthusiastically by the public and magnet for visitors its opening in 2001. Rarely is architecture such a phisical experience, and rarely does the theoretical concept of a building so intensely pervade the exhibits and those who view them. This post makes the philosophy hidden behind the silver façade comprehensible; it draws attention to the numerous metaphors of German-Jewish history contained in the concrete and steel structure and it sheds light on the complex cultural and...

Thrusday, Tishrei 18, 5777. October 20, 2016.  Shalom! World. Nuremberg lies in the sandy plain of the central Franconian basin and is sometimes referred to as the "secret capital" of Bavaria and is in fact with almost 500,000 inhabitants the second largest city in that state. The river Pegnitz divides the old town into its Sebald and Lorenz districts, named after the town's two main churches. Above both rises the medieval castle, the city's "crown." Perhaps or just because the soil around is unfavorable to agricultural pursuits, Nuremberg has developed rather from the hard work and business sense its citizens have prossessed, characteristics which were present even in the middle Ages Germany's most important centers.   HANS SACHS In the "jewel case of the German Empire," famous artists as Albrecht Dürer and Hans Sachs, Veit Stob and Peter Vischer, Martin Behaim and Peter Henlein flourished. The name Nuremberg itself...

Sunday, Elul 22, 5776. September 25, 2016. Shalom! World. Rothenburg ob der Tauber/Germany There has been, in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, since the 12th Century, a Jewish community with all facilities such as a cemetery, Synagogue, mikveh and community center. In 1180 the first Rothenburg Jew was named. In the 13th Century 500 to 600 Jews lived in the city. The spiritual leader of contemporary Judaism in Germany, Rabbi Meir ben Baruch (1220-1293) had lived for many years in Rothenburg. But in Rothenburg the relationship with Jewish citizens, as in many cities and towns, was frequently marked by misunderstandings and cruel assaults. In the so-called "beef-tracking" in 1298 about 450 Jews in the city were killed, their bodies burned at the cemetery. Pogrom Memorial Stone - July 1298. 450 Jews were killed. This stone commemorates the so-called "Rintfleisch-Pogrom" which almost extinguished the entire Jewish community in July 1298. Under the pretext o...

Thursday, Elul 19, 5776. September 22, 2016. Shalom! World. The former benedictine monastery, founded in 1101 by the moravian princes, Oldrich Brnensky and Litold Znoejmsky, is located  in the north-west part of the town above the left bank of the Jihlava  River. It was rebuilt as a castle  in the 16th century and was owned by the Oernstein, Osovsky and Wallenstein families. Today it is the residence of the Vysocina Museum. Shalom! Aleichem. Cultural Support:  Jacob Jr B.A.C.E, avec L'Integration d'Association avec Israel et dans le Monde/Cz.

Sunday,  Elul 15, 5776. September 18, 2016. Shalom! World. After more than a decade of intense lobbying, the city fathers of the Czech Republic's Pilsen municipality have made a decision to return the majestic Synagogue in their care to its rightful owners, the city's Jews.  Seized by the Communists in 1973, the Synagogue - originally completed in 1893- had been shut down and then woefully neglected, ultimately failling into disrepair.  The city fathers reclaimed it and began restoration in 1995, working slowly to rehabilitate the beautifully sculpted architecture until it shined again in 1998.  But then, instead of returning the Synagogue to Pilsen's Jewish community, inexplicably, authorities reopened the buiding as an art museum and concert hall. The Great Synagogue of Pilsen is justifiably renowned throughout the world, in continous use from the time it was built in 1893 until its seizure by the Communists, except for the years of...