Dr. Ruth Calderon is a 56-year-old Israeli academic and politician who, between 2013 and 2015, was a member of the Knesset for the Yesh Atid party. What differentiates Calderon from other non-Orthodox Israeli thinkers and activists is that she is highly educated in…
When it comes to zany antics, slapstick shticks and hilarious hijinks, no one on the American comedy scene has ever matched, let alone surpassed, the genius of the Three Stooges. The original troupe consisted of Moe Howard (Moses Harry Horwitz); Larry Fine (Louis Feinberg)…
From 2011 to 2016, two Hasidic women in Brooklyn, New York — Perl Wolf and Dalia Shusterman (pictured above, from left to right) — became religious, cultural and musical trailblazers in their community by creating and performing in an all-female, all ultra-Orthodox alternative/indie rock band called Bulletproof Stockings. In light of religious prohibitions about women…
The city of Manchester, England, is reported to have the fastest growing Jewish community in Europe. It is a vibrant, close-knit and highly diverse community. Here is just some of what you’ll see in this “Strictly Kosher” documentary: a lively and colorful cast of characters; shabbos dinner with a family; a bris (circumcision); dedicating a…
This segment from the PBS series “Religion & Ethics Newsweekly,” posted on YouTube, profiles six converts to Judaism — five women and one man — who converted through all three of the main streams of the religion. The sole male convert in the segment, Orthodox Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz (pictured above), first underwent a Reform conversion…
Longtime writer Calvin Trillin, now 82, certainly fits in this section of AmazingJews — but he could just as easily go into the Hilarious Jews section. He is especially known for his excellent sense of humor, which he has attributed to being a Jew. His book Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny…
In the mid 1940s, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann — a Jewish refugee who escaped Nazi Germany and settled in the U.K. — pioneered radical approaches to treating paralyzed people. Before Guttmann, such individuals basically were left to die in medical facilities. Guttmann took a very different approach, insisting the patients become as physically active as possible.…
This article unexpectedly comes from India-based website TopYaps.com and was written by Digvijaya Singh. In brief, here are the 10 noted Jewish computer scientists (some still with us and some deceased): Leonard Kleinrock: winner of the National Medal of Science for his contributions to packet switching and modern data networks; George Kameny: co-developer of the…
World-renowned fashion magnate Ralph Lauren began life 78 years ago in the Bronx, New York. As a youth, he attended a Jewish day school and later a Talmudic yeshiva. In 1967, he founded the Ralph Lauren Corporation, initially with a line of designer men’s ties. A year later, he launched his first complete line of…
Attorney Jill Wine-Banks, 74, often appears on MSNBC to provide her insights into the ongoing investigation by special prosecutor Robert Mueller — among other topics. She is noted for giving cogent analyses of the issue involved and for making complex legal subjects understandable to the average layperson. Wine-Banks’ expertise stems from an impressive and trailblazing…
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