The Shavei Israel website is a great place to research the many fascinating Jewish communities that can be found in the farthest corners of the globe. We write about all kinds of Jewish groups, not only those with whom we are actively involved. In this...
When Gidon Elazar finished his mandatory military service, like so many other Israelis he had a hankering for travel. Setting his sights on the Far East, he spent much of his time in China. So began a decade-long fascination, one that continues today and that...
Shavei Israel’s mission is to reach out to “lost” and “hidden” Jews around the world. From Poland to Peru, Barcelona to Brazil, Shavei Israel helps descendants of Jews reconnect with the people and State of Israel. In addition to these groups, there are a number...
The signs were all around him, but it took 51 years for Mariusz Opałko to learn the truth about his Jewish heritage. Despite being surrounded by the mostly Jewish friends of his parents growing up, and even having a relative who was a famous klezmer...
Could a lost Jewish tribe be at the roots of Afghanistan’s Taliban? Some researchers say yes, and it’s just one of the fascinating – and perhaps inflammatory – stories we include in the “Other Communities” section of the Shavei Israel website, dedicated to Jewish groups...
Leah Jaya Bisquert Bertomeu coordinates the activities of Shavei Israel’s emissary to Spain, Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham. She and her family visited Belmonte, Portugal, earlier this year and Leah wrote a lovely description of the Belmonte community, its history, and the role that our emissary to...
After a two year break, Shavei Israel has resumed publishing a newsletter for the Bnei Menashe in Myanmar (Burma). The reason for the hiatus was due to the difficulty in finding someone at the main Shavei Israel center in Churanchandpur, India, who speaks Teddim, the...
Gila and Ariel Arditi are a Bnei Anousim couple from Colombia. With Shavei Israel's help, they moved to Israel in late 2010, enrolled in Shavei's Machon Miriam Spanish and Portuguese-language Conversion and Return Institute, and recently completed their conversion. But the biggest day was still...
Gila and Ariel Arditi, a Bnei Anousim couple from Colombia with a “West Side Story”-style romance and a hidden Jewish past, have just gotten re-married, this time in a full Jewish ceremony. The wedding, along with their aliyah to Israel, was made possible with help...
