Comparing DNA Patterns of Sephardi, Ashkenazi & Kurdish Jews
Considering the diverse origins of the Israelites, the large numbers of conversions into and out of the Jewish community, and major disasters which have befallen Jewish communities throughout history, what is the genetic composition of Jewish communities today? In the days before genetic testing, the famous Jewish anthropologist Raphael Patai used cephalic indexes and blood [...]
The Long Journey of Gracia Mendes
Published by Central European University Press, Budapest-New York: 2003 Reviewed by Dolores Sloan It is easy to come under the spell of Gracia Nasi or Gracia Mendes, as Marianna Birnbaum prefers to call her. This figure from post-expulsion, sixteenth-century Sephardic history, inspirational and revered in her day by Jews and conversos alike, appeals to the [...]
Porto Synagogue, Built for Barros Basto’s Congregation, Comes Alive for Anusim Both Religious and Secular
On September 8 of 2005, the impressive Kadoorie synagogue (Mekor H’aim-fountain of life) in Porto, Portugal came alive with singing and dancing on the occasion of the dedication of a sefer torah donated by a rabbi whose grandfather was saved from the nazis by the then fledging anusim community founded by Captain Barros Basto in [...]
connect with us