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העמוד הפותח את תרגום אגרת אריסטיאס מתוך המהדורה המקורית של "מאור עיניים", מנטובה, איטליה 1574

One Italian Earthquake That’s Been Stirring Judaism for 500 Years

Throughout most of Jewish history, Jewish scholars and authors contributed in all genres but one: they wrote Halacha and Agadah, poetry, lamentations, songs of joy, holidays poems, ethics, Kabbala and “Sod” (mystery) literature – you can find Jewish authors everywhere in written culture. But there was one field which they have been avoiding until the 19th century – historiography. Unlike their neighbors, whether Muslim or Christian – Jews avoided writing chronicles of their history, and used to describe important events within other written genres. This tendency did have, however, one interesting exception – no, we are not going to tell[]

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דיוקן של בנימין זאב הרצל עם מלאך המחזיק את הדגל הציוני בהוצאת הקרן הקיימת לישראל, קלן, גרמניה שנות ה-1900 (בית התפוצות, המרכז לתיעוד חזותי ע"ש אוסטר, באדיבות רות ראובן)

The 1901 Case: How Herzl Tried to Bribe the Sultan

The kind of bribe a leader receives or offers can reveal a lot on his set of values. Think, for example, about the elephant granted by Sultan Harun Al Rashid to Charles the Great, or the shoes that “Norman” the hustler bought for Prime Minister Micha Eshel in Yossef Cedar’s film, or the cash packed envelopes that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received as bribe. Our story begins in the summer of 1901. Theodor Herzl had a brilliant idea: to give the Turkish Sultan a present, not just any present, but the cutting edge of technology back then: a typing machine with[]

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הקיסר נפוליאון בונפרטה מעניק את כתב האמנסיפציה ליהודי צרפת

From Acre to Alsace: How Napoleon Invented the Chief Rabbinate

A well-known Jewish folk story, recounted whenever there is a need to emphasize what a lover of Jews Napoleon Bonaparte was, takes place during the failed campaign to the Land of Israel. It is told that Napoleon landed with his troops on Tisha B’Av. Upon hearing the Jews lamenting, he asked why, and when they explained to him that they were mourning for the destruction of their temple in 70ac, he said that if this people is mourning their temple after 1700 years, such a people so attached to their history, will indeed be restored to their land and have[]

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Visit of the President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament

The President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament, H.E. Wolfgang Sobotka, accompanied by a high level delegation, visited The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot today.  Among the distinguished participants in the delegation were H.E Martin Weiss, Austrian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Martin Engelberg, member of the national Council, Mr. Harald Dossi, Secretary General of the Austrian Parliament and Ms. Hannah Lessing, Secretary General of the National Fund of Austria. The guests were welcomed on their arrival by H.E. Ron Prosor, formerly Israel Ambassador to the United Nations and member of the Beit Hatfutsot Board of[]

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חיילים יהודים בצבא הצרפתי בתקופת מלחמת העולם הראשונה, אלג'יריה, 1916. (בית התפוצות, המרכז לתיעוד חזותי ע"ש אוסטר, באדיבות ג'ראר קו-אל, ישראל)

Jews and Occupation: How One Hand-Fan Started French Colonialism

Anti-Semites, the people who brought us The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the belief that any evil is caused by Jewish fortune, would probably rejoice at knowing that while the English branch of the Rothschild family funded the English wars against Napoleon in early 19th century, two wealthy Jewish families from Algeria supported Napoleon in his wars against the English. These guys would probably say: “well, Jewish money sticks to yet some more Jewish money”. The French occupation of Algeria lasted for 130 years and we all know how it ended, from dozens of periodical works: tens of thousands[]

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“At 70: Treasures of Museums in Israel” – Special Exhibition at the Knesset

The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot was honored to take part in a unique exhibition, displayed at the Knesset: “At 70: Treasures of Museums in Israel”. This exhibition, initiated by The Association of Museums in Israel and the Knesset, featured the videos from the highly acclaimed media exhibition “Operation Moses: 30 Years After”. Speaker of the Knesset, MK Yuli Edelstein greeted the distinguished guests among them representatives from the Culture and Sports office, curators, artists and museum professionals.  

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עטיפת הספר של ווילי מייזל, "מהפכת הכדורגל"

How Hugo Meisel Invented Football as We Know It

How Jews imported football into Austria – that is some strange tale. It happened after the Austrian branch of the Rothschilds hired a group of English gardeners to maintain the lawns at their mansion. The workers brought along both a football and a strong passion for the unfamiliar game. The first football match in Austria took place on the magnificent lawns of the Rothchild mansion. But with all due respect to the noble banking dynasty, the man who made the most significant contribution to Austrian and European football was another Jew, who ironically chose to leave banking behind. Hugu Meisel[]

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Sunday
10am-5pm
Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
10am-5pm
Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Regular
52
Israeli Senior citizens
26
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42
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Free entrance
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free entrance (please show I.D.)

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