The Jews of Italy

Polish Jews 

Before World War II, Warsaw was the second largest Jewish city in the world. After the Holocaust many survivors left Poland, but some stayed. In the last decades, young Polish people have discovered their Jewish roots which were often hidden by their parents and grandparents. I am one of them, and I want to share my family's story with you. I will also take you on a virtual tour of the Warsaw Ghetto remains and show you how Jewish life in Warsaw has revived.

Jews of Spain 

Jewish Bulgaria 

Jewish Finland

The Jewish minority of Finland, numbering approximately 1200 people, is organised into two centers in Helsinki and Turku, which makes it one of the northernmost Jewish communities in the world. Finland is one of the few countries with an Eastern European (Litvak) Jewish community that was unaffected by the Holocaust. Its double nature as an Orthodox-rooted yet progressive Jewish congregation also makes it unique.

Stories of Jewish Budapest

Budapest, the capital of Hungary, has one of the most fascinating Jewish cultures and history in Europe. It is a community that still flourishes in spite of the many difficulties it has had throughout its long history. I would like to invite you to a virtual tour, where I will share with you stories about this community, from the time of the Austrian empire, through the Holocaust and the communist era until our present time.

Greek Jewry

The presence of Jews in Greece dates back to antiquity. It was the epicenter of Sephardi culture and boasted a Greek-speaking Romaniote community as well as Jews that settled there from all across Europe. However the Holocaust decimated the community. Today Greek Jews are working to preserve their unique heritage. We will explore this ancient, diverse and unique culture that has spanned more than two millenia.

Jewish Barcelona

Jewish St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, capital of Russian Empire for 200 years, is known for its unique beauty and rich cultural heritage. It's my privilege to show you the beauty of my city and much more; we will look at St. Petersburg through a Jewish lens. I will also share with you my own family's story to illustrate the history and present-day life of our Jewish community.

Jewish Romania

Jews have been present in Romania since the Roman Empire. In modern times they were responsible for the successful economic development of the cities; nevertheless, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Communism marked Jewish existence in the past century. We will explore the many facets the Romanian Jewry is famous for and will also learn how Jewish life is celebrated and observed today in Romania.

 Jewish Life in Berlin

Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlin has returned to being a global center for artists, creatives, and others. This has led to an influx of Jews from around the world-- ex-Hasidim, Israelis, Russian speakers, Americans, etc.-- together creating new communities and forms of Jewish life and thought. This talk will explore post-War Jewish life in Berlin, with a special focus on the rich variety of Jewish life today.

Jewish life in France

France has the largest Jewish population in Europe. The history of French Jews successively alternated between periods of tolerance and prosperity and the ordeal of insecurity and anti-Semitism, with both phenomena sometimes coexisting in parallel. Paris born Emmanuelle will provide an overview of the Jewish presence in France from the Middle Ages to present day, while describing pluralistic Judaism in Francce today.

Jewish city tour of Riga

Latvia's capital is an architectural gem of gothic, renaissance, baroque and Art Nouveau buildings, and its Old Town was declared a UNESCO Heritage site in 1997. The Jewish history of Riga reaches as far back as the 13th century, but it wouldn't be for at least 200 more years that Jews would make an economic impact. Come and discover this hidden gem with us.        

To be a Jew in Estonia

This tour will take us through the 150 years of Jewish life in Estonia, the smallest of the Baltic countries. We will learn about the Jewish community's commercial success in the late 19th Century, we will talk about the Holocaust and the Communist repression that followed. Finally, we will look at today's community and discuss the current Estonian attitude towards Jews and Israel,

Balkan Sephardi Metropolises

As Sephardi Jews settled in the Ottoman Empire, Salonica became one of the most important centers of Jewish life. The city thus earned the moniker "Mother of Israel". Further inland, multiethnic Sarajevo was also home to a thriving Jewish community and was sometimes referred to as "Little Jerusalem". Our talk will highlight some of the most important figures and events from the two Jewish metropolises.

Vilnius: The Jerusalem of Lithuania

Lithuania became home to a Jewish community seven hundred years ago that suddenly was known as "Litvak". Why? When? What did it mean then and what does it mean today? In this talk I will use my own personal and family stories to illustrate the past and present of Vilnius and Lithuania, explaining the main reasons why Vilnius is famous in the Jewish world, and showing you the principal hallmarks of a Jewish tour in Vilnius.

3K Tour of Jewish Lithuania

In my first talk we presented Jewish Vilnius. Now, get ready for the country's second-largest city, Kaunas, and the towns of Kedainiai and Kalvarija. Kaunas (Kovno) was 60% Jewish at the end of the XIX century. Using videos I will guide you through its main Jewish heritage sights. After that, we will jump to Kedainiai, (Keidan), Finally, the shtetl of Kalvarija.(Kalvarye), is definitely a must-see in this journey.

The Jews of Prague

Jews arrived to the Czechlands before the 9th century, and eventually Prague became home to once the largest Jewish community in the world. Its former Jewish Quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Did Hitler really build a "Museum of Extinct Race" in Prague? Why is the story of interwar Czechoslovakia key to modern Jewish identity? We will also cover the renaissance of a community that almost ceased to exist.

Jewish Heritage of Hungary

Jews of Belarus

Belarus' Jewish story is rich, vital, traumatic, fascinating and barely spoken of. Jews here were part of the broader Lithuanian (Litvak) culture. Come on the journey through time and explore the story of Jewish Belarus across the centuries, its rich history with artists like Chagall and Rabbis like Gaon of Vilnius. Learn from the Jewish activists offering support, training and aid to Belarusian communities today.

Jewish Amsterdam

One of the few original Portuguese Jews left in Amsterdam describes what Jewish Amsterdam was like in the 17th century when the city was the center of the Jewish world, offering the best Jewish education, housing the biggest Rabbis and home to the largest synagogue in the world. Find out how this community was shaped and how it shaped its environment. How much was lost during World War II and what is left now.

Jewish Lisbon and Portugal

Join me on a virtual tour through the Jewish heritage of Lisbon, Portugal; a presence that dates back to the Roman era. This visit will allow you to understand the living Jewish community in Lisbon and learn about their history, their traditions and their everyday life. We will make a detour in our journey to learn about the almost vanished world of the Jews of Belmonte and about the rapidly growing community of Porto.

Jewish Moscow

Moscow is home to the largest Jewish community in Russia, numbering some 250,000 people. Today Jewish life here flourishes and the community is known for its rich religious and cultural life. But it was not the same in the past. Our talk will cover the period of about 140-150 years, from the time when Jews were first allowed to settle in Moscow to the present day.    

The Jews of Scandinavia

A Jewish History of Ireland

The Irish-Jewish community has been a small but influential part of Irish society from the moment they first set foot in the medieval capital of Dublin in 1171 to the modern day. After over 800 years of permanent residence the Irish-Jews have left behind a rich history and culture that will be explored in this presentation centered on the story of the city's former Jewish quarter known locally as "Little Jerusalem".

The Jews of London

Join us on a journey through the streets and alleys of London to discover the history of the Jews in England. From the arrival of a Jewish community from Normandy in 1066/67 to the Kindertransport children of 1938/39, Jews have played essential roles in the unfolding drama of British history. On our journey, we will reveal the little-known Jewish associations of some of London's most famous landmarks.

The Jews of Ukraine

The Jews of Crimea

The peninsula of Crimea, on the northern shore of the Black Sea, has been historically a land of different peoples and contested borders. Two different Jewish communities also lived here side by side for a very long time: traditional Ashkenazi Jews and Karaites. We are going to learn the differences between traditional (Rabbinic) and Karaite (Non-rabbinic) Jews. Then we will discuss their history and traditions, we will look at the Synagogues, praying homes and cemeteries.

Jewish Denmark

This conversation explores the history of Jewish Copenhagen. We'll explore important locations throughout the city, such as the Great Synagogue. We'll discuss World War ll and understand how the community were saved from the Holocaust. We'll learn about Jewish life in Copenhagen today, the issue of antisemitism, and the terror attack on a synagogue in 2015. This presentation will deepen participants' understanding  what it means to be Jewish in Denmark.

Jewish Bessarabia

Today Moldova is still a home to some 15,000 - 20,000 Jews. Historically, this land was known as Bessarabia. Along the tour we will visit some of the typical Jewish towns and we will also walk along the streets of Kishinev, once a city with at least 50,000 Jews (more than 40% of the city's population). We will look at the past and present and also discuss the future of Kishinev's Jewish community.

Shtetl: A Jewish Universe

A shtetl is often defined as a small self-contained Jewish market town, But this definition does not explain its importance and influence on Jewish life and culture. This talk will help us find our own answers to many questions about the phenomenon of the shtetl like: What was so unique about it? What made the life of the Jewish community there so special? What did shtetls look like and who actually lived there? We will also discuss food, traditions, language, beliefs, jobs, etc

Jewish Krakow

The Jews of Galicia

Lviv, the city that changed hands so many times: from Russia to Poland, from Poland to Austria, then back to Poland, then to USSR and finally to independent Ukraine. In the best times, there were about 100 synagogues, and Jewish religious, business and intellectual life flourished here over the centuries. Brody, today a small town, was once one of the most important Jewish centers in Europe. We invite you to travel around Galicia and discuss the uniqueness of its Jewish history.

Turkish Jews

The history of the Jews in Anatolia started 2400 years ago with the arrival of Romaniot, Mizrahim and Karaits followed later by Ashkenazim and Sephardic Jews. We will examine ancient synagogues, Jewish settlements and cemeteries as well as important events of the two World Wars. Sephardic cuisine, music, Judeo Spanish language, and ethnographic will be explained. Finally we will explore today's vibrant Jewish life.

Remember Baghdad

In 2015 Edwin Shuker flew to Baghdad with a film crew for a documentary that was being produced about the story of Jews in Iraq. He revisited his childhood home, which he had not seen since he escaped to England with his family when he was young. Over the course of the trip and production Edwin vividly relived his life and the life of 2000 years of Jewish history in Iraq. In this talk he will share that life with you.

The Jews of Yemen

The Jewish community of Yemen has existed since antiquity, but today comprises less than 50 affiliated members. The past century saw the largest waves of immigration to Israel, among which my grandmother took part. Through conversations with her, I learned both of her personal ordeal as a child thrust into the unknown, as well as the changing way of life for Yemenites in Israel.

The Jews of Iran

Iran's Jewish community is one of the oldest in the world. This talk examines the lesser-known parts of its history. Through music, languages, foods, writings, and stories, the Jews of Iran have forged a culture at once Persian and Jewish, with traditions and aesthetics uniquely their own. We will use the knowledge of the past to discuss how their heritage can be preserved.

The Jews of Mosul, Iraq

Jewish Tunisia

Tunisia, the former seat of Cartaghe's empire, has been home to different Jewish communities for more than 2000 years. Its central location at a crossroads of civilizations led to multiple influences in food, culture, language and identity. Rafram will take us through the different elements of the complex Jewish layer of Tunisia,  how Jewish life looks today and about his work as a visual artist, which blends biography and Jewish identity in contemporary Tunisia.

Growing up Jewish in Uganda

The Abayudaya community was founded by a tribal chief who converted himself and many of his followers to Judaism in 1919. One hundred years later, there are nine synagogues in different Ugandan villages, three Jewish schools, and the community continues to grow. I will share the history of my community, as well as my own family story and journey to rabbinical school.

The story of Moroccan Jewry

The Jews of Kurdistan

From Ethiopia to Israel

Ethiopian Jews lived for centuries isolated from other Jewish communities. In the later part of the 20th century most of them immigrated to Israel. We will embark on a journey from Ethiopia to Israel and learn about the Jewish Ethiopian community's way of life, traditions identity, strengths, and activism. We will also talk about the reality of life in Israel for the immigrants and for the second generation of Israeli-Ethiopians.

A Tale of Three Kingdoms

The Jews of Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain, identified in biblical times as the place of the Garden of Eden, has one of the smallest Jewish communities in the world. But this resilient collective can claim to be the only indigenous Jews left in the Persian Gulf. Since the signature of the Abraham Accords establishing diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Israel, a new era has begun, creating an atmosphere of coexistence absolutely exceptional in the Middle East.

Jewish Africa

The Jews of Egypt

The Jews of South Africa

The Bukharian Jews

The experience of the native Jews of Central Asia - Bukharian Jews - is situated at a unique intersection of Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian-speaking Jewish identities. We will explore the eclectic story of this millennia-old Jewish community, discovering the ways in which Bukharian Jews have developed their multifaceted and rich culture, while also shedding light on how their journey fits into the broader historical saga of the Jewish people.

The Bene-Israel of India

The Bene-Israel is the largest Jewish historical community from the Indian sub-continent.  We will explore their history, culture and heritage. How did it all began? What part did they take in the history of today's India and Pakistan? What was their role under British colonial rule, and in the creation of the Bollywood film industry? Of some 100,000 Bene Israel at the turn of the 21st century, less than 4,000 remain in India. The great majority have immigrated to Israel, UK, USA and Australia.

The Jews of Georgia

Travel with us to the Caucasus Mountains and get acquainted with a diverse Jewish world, one that still sings in Georgian, Yiddish, Ladino and Jukhuri. All these languages were spoken by Georgia's Jewish communities, something which made the country one of the most unique locations in the Jewish world. From its peak of 100,000 members, today the Georgian Jewish population comprises only a few thousand people.

The Jews of the Silk Road

Follow in the footsteps of the Jewish merchants on the Silk Road and discover the ancient network of trade routes that were for centuries crucial to Eurasian cultural interaction. Understand the impact and contribution that Central Asia's Jews of today's Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan made towards the development of this ancient path, and learn about their presence in this area for over 2000 years.

Jewish Life in China

Jews of Burma

This is the story of the Burmese Jewish - a community that once flourished but quickly ceased to exist. In its short history, the Burmese Jewish community went through the archetypical Jewish narrative, with inner rifts and the mortal danger from the outside. Its members either immigrated or assimilated, but is there still hope for the revival of Jewish life in this distant South-East Asian country?

Kavkazi "Mountain Jews"

Recalling Jewish Calcutta

The Jews in Argentina

The presence of Jews in Argentina goes back to the expulsion from Spain. In the late 19th century, masses of Ashkenazi immigrants fleeing Russia and Eastern Europe settled the country, becoming one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. Despite waves of antisemitism, xenophobia and terrorism, Jews have become fully integrated in most sectors of the society.

A Virtual Tour of Jewish Harlem

Join us on a virtual walk by the former sites of Jewish religious life in the remarkable urban settlement of Harlem, which from 1870 -1930 was the third largest Jewish community in the world. View important landmarks and talk about legendary people of this often-forgotten segment of Jewish history, starting with its origins as a community for the very rich, and covering its glory days as a major center of Jewish life in New York.

Jewish Heritage of Brazil

In Brazil we can find one of the largest Jewish communities in Latin America, with presence in different regions, each with distinct stories. In this talk we will introduce you to the Jewish history of Brazil from colonial times to present. Travel with us to Rio, São Paulo and Recife, and discover with images and videos the most emblematic Jewish landmarks of these cities.

The Jews of Cuba

Jews of Jamaica

Jewish Mexico

I invite you to a visual tour through the history of the Jews in Mexico, focused mostly on the twentieth century, when the current community was formed, but touching on episodes from the sixteenth century, when Crypto-Jews first arrived. It will be a visual feast thanks to the incredible historical photos and documents I received from immigrant families.

Curaçao's Jewish History

Jews of Belarus

Belarus' Jewish story is rich, vital, traumatic, fascinating and barely spoken of. Jews here were part of the broader Lithuanian (Litvak) culture. Come on the journey through time and explore the story of Jewish Belarus across the centuries, its rich history with artists like Chagall and Rabbis like Gaon of Vilnius. Learn from the Jewish activists offering support, training and aid to Belarusian communities today.

Jews of Siberia

Siberia is always bitterly cold, and dangerous, brown bears walk its streets - as the popular stereotype says. But is it really so? In this talk we'll learn about life on this vast territory during the last 400 years. Jews of the Pale of Settlement tried to escape to America, to Palestine - but some of them chose Siberia. Others were forced to go. We'll explore when and how Jews got to Siberia, where they settled and what they did there.

Jewish city tour of Riga

The Jews of Georgia

Travel with us to the Caucasus Mountains and get acquainted with a diverse Jewish world, one that still sings in Georgian, Yiddish, Ladino and Jukhuri. All these languages were spoken by Georgia's Jewish communities, something which made the country one of the most unique locations in the Jewish world. From its peak of 100,000 members, today the Georgian Jewish population comprises only a few thousand people.

The Bukharian Jews

Kavkazi "Mountain Jews"

Kavkazi Jews live in Azerbaijan and the Russian Republics of the North Caucasus. They remained under the sphere of Persian influence until 1812, when the lands of the Caucasus were ceded to Tsarist Russia, to be later absorbed into the Soviet Union. This talk will feature an overview of Kavkazi Jewish origins, history, and the way in which the diaspora is making efforts to preserve their heritage today.

Jewish St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, capital of Russian Empire for 200 years, is known for its unique beauty and rich cultural heritage. It's my privilege to show you the beauty of my city and much more; we will look at St. Petersburg through a Jewish lens. I will also share with you my own family's story to illustrate the history and present-day life of our Jewish community.

To be a Jew in Estonia

This tour will take us through the 150 years of Jewish life in Estonia, the smallest of the Baltic countries. We will learn about the Jewish community's commercial success in the late 19th Century, we will talk about the Holocaust and the Communist repression that followed. Finally, we will look at today's community and discuss the current Estonian attitude towards Jews and Israel,

Vilnius: The Jerusalem of Lithuania

Lithuania became home to a Jewish community seven hundred years ago that suddenly was known as "Litvak". Why? When? What did it mean then and what does it mean today? In this talk I will use my own personal and family stories to illustrate the past and present of Vilnius and Lithuania, explaining the main reasons why Vilnius is famous in the Jewish world, and showing you the principal hallmarks of a Jewish tour in Vilnius.

3K Tour of Jewish Lithuania

In my first talk we presented Jewish Vilnius. Now, get ready for the country's second-largest city, Kaunas, and the towns of Kedainiai and Kalvarija. Kaunas (Kovno) was 60% Jewish at the end of the XIX century. Using videos I will guide you through its main Jewish heritage sights. After that, we will jump to Kedainiai, (Keidan), Finally, the shtetl of Kalvarija.(Kalvarye), is definitely a must-see in this journey.

Jewish Moscow

The Jews of Ukraine

We invite you to visit the heart and the key cities of Ukraine, Kiev and Odessa, to explore their Jewish Heritage. Jews have been living in Kiev since 8th century. Over the years, Kiev was home to Jewish scholars and Rabbis, writers and Zionists, business, cultural and political leaders. Kiev Jewish community has experienced the times of amazing prosperity and tragic devastation. Odessa; most Russian-speaking Jews will name it as a Jewish capital of former USSR.

The Jews of Galicia

Lviv, the city that changed hands so many times: from Russia to Poland, from Poland to Austria, then back to Poland, then to USSR and finally to independent Ukraine. In the best times, there were about 100 synagogues, and Jewish religious, business and intellectual life flourished here over the centuries. Brody, today a small town, was once one of the most important Jewish centers in Europe. We invite you to travel around Galicia and discuss the uniqueness of its Jewish history.

The Jews of Crimea

The peninsula of Crimea, on the northern shore of the Black Sea, has been historically a land of different peoples and contested borders. Two different Jewish communities also lived here side by side for a very long time: traditional Ashkenazi Jews and Karaites. We are going to learn the differences between traditional (Rabbinic) and Karaite (Non-rabbinic) Jews. Then we will discuss their history and traditions, we will look at the Synagogues, praying homes and cemeteries.

Jewish Bessarabia

Today Moldova is still a home to some 15,000 - 20,000 Jews. Historically, this land was known as Bessarabia. Along the tour we will visit some of the typical Jewish towns and we will also walk along the streets of Kishinev, once a city with at least 50,000 Jews (more than 40% of the city's population). We will look at the past and present and also discuss the future of Kishinev's Jewish community.

Music of Sefarad

Sefarad is both a geographical place and a concept - it's Spain and Portugal, and it's the centuries and continents of the Sephardic diaspora. Old ballads with hypnotizing stories, irresistible wedding songs, the popular love songs and songs of daily life will be presented both live and in archival recordings, with photos and stories of the Sephardim who kept this tradition alive against all odds. 

Jewish Food Traditions 

Jewish names around the world

Jewish Languages Today

Throughout history, Jews around the world have spoken many languages. In this multimedia session, you will learn what these languages have had in common and how they are currently shifting. The past two centuries have led to major changes in the linguistic profile of Jewish communities. Several long-standing Jewish languages have become endangered and new Jewish language varieties are developing.

Music and History of Klezmer

The Beauty & Magic of Yiddish

Music among the Crypto-Jews

After the expulsion of Jews from Portugal, some stayed as Crypto-Jews. The early 20th century saw the "discovery" of the Jews of Belmonte and the northeast region of Tras-os-Montes, who had lived in isolation with few cultural contacts with the outside world. I will introduce the people I interviewed, and explain how songs and recited prayers work in both the religious and secular contexts.

Desert Roots