In this article, which appeared originally in the Makor Rishon Weekend Magazine, reporter Zvika Klein tells the story of the descendants of the Sabbatean "Donmeh" sect that converted to Islam in the 17th century in the wake of their false messiah from Smyrna (Izmir), but...
Spain on Friday granted citizenship to 4,302 people whose Jewish ancestors fled after being told in 1492 to convert to Catholicism or go into exile ahead of the Spanish Inquisition that saw many Jews burned at the stake....
In a world that is increasingly hostile to all we hold dear, it would be comforting to know that we have a large cadre of amigos whose friendship we can count on in our hour of need. Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund discusses the possible...
Sandra Luz Patarroyo is a Colombian artist with Bnei Anousim roots. Several months ago, she contacted Shavei Israel with a proposal: to create an online calendar for the Bnei Anousim community showing all the Jewish holidays, the weekly Torah portion of the week and both...
Shavei Israel’s emissary to Brazil, Rabbi Yeshayahu Bin Nun, has been keeping busy since he started visiting Bnei Anousim communities in South America’s largest country earlier this summer. He's sent us pictures from two of the communities he’s visited recently in the beach resort town...
The Krakow Jewish Community Center last month hosted the largest Shabbat dinner in the city since World War II. Some 500 people – including local Polish Jews, tourists and non-Jewish volunteers – made Kiddush, said the motzei before breaking bread together, and sang Shabbat zemirot...
As her group sloshed through the waters of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Sandra from Warsaw reflected on the remarkable journey that had brought her to Jerusalem for a two-week seminar sponsored by Shavei Israel. “I come from a Catholic family,” she explains. “I only began to discover...
Earlier this year, on a bright and sunny Jerusalem day, a young boy and his family celebrated a rousing – if somewhat belated – victory over the Spanish Inquisition and its henchmen. Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund tells the story of Baruch Israel's bar mitzvah...
Shortly before 6 a.m, Benji Tungnung is rushing to make it in time for Slichot services. In the days leading up to the start of the Jewish New Year, scenes similar to the one above play out in cities throughout the country. But for Tungnung,...
When Miriam and Rabbi Dawid Szychowski agreed to move back to Poland, where Dawid was hired to take on the job of Shavei Israel’s newest emissary to Lodz, Miriam had one major concern: where would her three young children go to school? Miriam’s answer: she...
