History

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

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

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

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

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.

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


Parashat Vayetze: 'Wise people, be careful with your words’

If we were truly aware of the power embedded in our words, in casual conversation, in a sentence spoken in anger or sarcasm, we would be far more cautious.

Close-up of letter cubes spelling "Words Have Power" (illustrative)

Defense Minister Israel Katz is a strategic liability that Israel cannot afford - opinion

Israel's defense minister does not have the skills that his job demands. The kind of strategizing that Ben-Gurion, Eshkol, and Arens did in their jobs is beyond Katz’s abilities

Defence Minister Israel Katz inspects a missile at the Tel Nof Air Force base in March.

Steinmeier becomes first German head of state to visit Guernica since 1937 Nazi bombing

The German president laid a wreath at a cemetery housing a mausoleum built in 1973 for hundreds of victims of the bombings.

Spain's King Felipe welcomes German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a ceremony at the Royal Palace, in Madrid, Spain, November 26, 2025.

Drafts of Ben-Gurion's 'Revolution of the Spirit' speech unveiled in honor of first PM's death

“This document is an invitation to rethink ‘the day after’ and what is required of us in our own day,” Director General of the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, Eitan Donitz, said.

Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion

AI opens vast trove of medieval Jewish records from the Cairo Geniza

The Cairo Geniza, the biggest collection of medieval Jewish documents in the world, has been the object of countless hours of study by scholars for more than a century.

A researcher of MiDRASH, a project dedicated to analysing the National Library of Israel’s digital database of all known Hebrew manuscripts using Machine Learning, including manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza, holds up a 12th century fragment of a Yom Kippur liturgy in Jerusalem November 24, 2025.

After being lost for centuries, Spanish gold coin from 1609 breaks European auction record

The unique 339-gram piece sold for 2,817,500 Swiss francs ($3.49 million).

The Segovian Centen, the first 100-escudo coin weighing 339.35 grams of gold, struck by King Philip III in 1609, during a preview ahead of its sale starting at 2,000,000 Swiss francs ($2,478,000 USD) in Geneva, Switzerland, November 24, 2025.

Rare prehistoric Atlantic sturgeon washes ashore in South Carolina

A rare federally protected Atlantic sturgeon fish found in Hilton Head, South Carolina, is drawing attention from marine experts.

Pre-historic giant sturgeon fish at Hilton Head.

Givat Mordechai: Where students, scholars, and history meet

A neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem that has evolved from a Mizrachi pioneer project into a hub for young families, students, and one of the haredi world’s most prestigious yeshivot.

Aeriel view of Givat Mordechai. The neighborhood founded by a Chicago pioneer has evolved into a modern mix of Religious Zionists, haredi, and secular residents.

What makes Jerusalem tick? Simon Sebag Montefiore, Matti Friedman talk past, present, future

Simon Sebag Montefiore and acclaimed journalist Matti Friedman delved into how Jerusalem – both city and symbol – functions as a stage for sweeping historical narratives.

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore in conversation with journalist Matti Friedman at the National Library of Israel, in Jerusalem on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

Saudi Arabia opens Ancient Kingdoms Festival 2025 in AlUla

The event is part of the AlUla Moments schedule, a government-supported initiative aimed at expanding cultural tourism and encouraging deeper engagement with the area’s archaeological heritage. 

 3D reconstruction of the Late Iron Age western enclosure in Dumat al-Jandal walled oasis