What is the last place you would expect to see a young Jewish-American woman singing in Yiddish on the local version of American Idol? How about Mongolia?! Amalia Rubin, who lives in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar and teaches English there, sang her rendition of the iconic Yiddish song “Der Rebbe Elimelech” on that nation’s televised…
Some scholars believe Jews began to arrive in Kaifeng, China, as early as 960 C.E. (Northern Song Dynasty), while others place the date at 618 C.E. (Tang Dynasty). The first synagogue in the community reportedly was built in the year 1163. (The image is a model of a synagogue in Kaifeng.) Early Jewish inhabitants most…
If you think Jewish cuisine is only composed of brisket, corned beef, matzo balls, kishka and the like, think again. Sephardic Jews — who originated in Spain and Portugal but were scattered in a Diaspora of their own — have their own distinctive, rich culinary traditions. (Pictured above: date-filled ma’moul, small shortbread pastries.) Sephardic cuisine…
Corned beef piled high on rye — that’s the signature sandwich of Jewish-American delicatessen…
WOW! FACTS
Inventor of the mobile phone, “Father of the Internet,” inventor of the video game cosole, inventor fo the laser, inventor of the gramophone, creator of the Barbie Doll, creator of the cruise ship, “Father of Immunology,” inventor fo the modern condom (!), a prime minister of the U.K., a three-time prime minister of France, a president of Switzerland and the primary financier of the American Revolution?
We knew you could guess… all of them are (or were) Jews!
To learn about these and many more AmazingJews, watch a compilation put together by JewOfTheWeek.net in 2015 and posted on YouTube. >>
Nobel Prizes
Although Jews are less than two-tenths of one percent of the world’s population, more than 20% of Nobel Prize winners have been Jewish. Source: Google
Polio Vaccine
Millions and millions of people worldwide have been spared the ravages of poliomyelitis — including paralysis and even death — thanks to research conducted by Jewish scientist Dr. Jonas Salk and his team. The Salk vaccine entered widespread use in the U.S. in 1955. Source: Wikipedia
Miss Liberty
The words “…give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” on the Statue of Liberty were written by Emma Lazarus, a Jew. Source: BuzzFeed
Blue Jeans
Levi Strauss, an immigrant from Germany, invented his blue jeans in 1873. Source: BuzzFeed
Start-Up Nation
Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world. It has the highest rate of entrepreneurship among women and people over 55 in the world. Source: BuzzFeed