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A man seen from above wearing a blue yarmulke with the Star of David
Image: Rainer Jensen/dpa/picture allianceImage: Rainer Jensen/dpa/picture alliance

Judaism

Judaism is one of the world's oldest religions, consisting of theology, law and many cultural traditions. It originated with the Israelites, or Hebrews, in the Middle East during the second millennium B.C.

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All Content on this topic

A black and white photo shot in May 1945 with Monuments Men George Stout (left), Walker Hancock (center right), and Steven Kovalyak (right) during the excavation of Bernterode. The soldier standing between Stout and Hancock is a Sgt. Travese. Photo: Walker Hancock Collection

The art rescuers

During WWII, a special forces unit tracked down and preserved European cultural treasures.
November 11, 2013
A synonagogue destoryed in the German city of Chemnitz on Kristallnacht(9./10. November 1938); am 10. November sprengte man das noch stehen gebliebene Mauerwerk. / Zerstörung, zerstört, Reichskristallnacht, Kristallnacht, Nationalsozialismus, Drittes, Dritte Reich, third, NS-Regime, Faschismus, Judenverfolgung, Shoa, Holocaust, Genozid, Völkermord, Antisemitismus; Judentum, Juden, jews, jüdische Geschichte, Judaica, Judaika / Bildserie, Bild 1 von 3; siehe auch: 00642197, 00642198 / RTG14R

1938 pogrom remembered

On the 75th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom against Germany's Jewish citizens, Europe's leading rabbi has called for tolerance and pluralism. The 1938 pogrom devastated Jewish life and was a prelude to the Holocaust.
November 9, 2013
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt (Photo: Ronald Wittek / dapd)

'Not free of the past'

The President of the Conference of European Rabbis speaks to DW on the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
November 9, 2013
Britta Olényi (left) and Jasmin Hartmann look at the back of "Genien auf der Lichtlilien" Photo DW/Elisabeth Yorck von Wartenburg

A painting's provenance

Art historians across Germany work to determine what museum pieces were looted by the Nazis.
November 8, 2013
A yarmulke in Berlin. Foto: Sebastian Kahnert dpa/lbn

Anti-Semitism 'widespread' in EU

Anti-Semitism is "widespread" throughout the European Union, says the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). One fifth of Jewish respondents in the organization's survey said they'd experienced harassment in the past year.
November 8, 2013
Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a vote session at the Senate

Italy: 'Like Jews under Hitler'

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has stirred new controversy by likening his family situation to that of persecuted Jews living in Nazi Germany.
November 7, 2013
Image #: 25254181 An overview of new Jewish housing units in the Pisgat Zeev Settlement, north of Jerusalem, in the West Bank , November 5, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will build 5,000 new housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, after releasing 26 Palestinian prisoners last week. US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Israel tonight to hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders tomorrow. The Palestinians see Israeli settlements as a major obstacle in the peace negotiations. UPI/Debbie Hill /LANDOV Eingestellt von Martin Koch (mak)

Mideast peace talks glitch

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to have the courage to take risks in Mideast peace talks. But the two sides have already run into difficulties over Jewish settlements.
November 6, 2013
A women peeks through a fence next to the Old Cemetery and the Remuh Synagogue where new construction is underway. Over the last decade Poland has been debating revelations about Poles role during the Holocaust. These revelations have undermined the previous consensus that Poles were merely victims during WWII and committed crimes against Jews only when forced by the Nazis.

Poland rediscovers its Jewish roots

After being neglected for so long, Jewish culture in Poland is enjoying a revival.
November 4, 201310 images
Ultra-Orthodox Jews perform the Tashlich prayer while facing the Mediterranean Sea at sunset. (Photo: David Silverman)

Keeping women in the picture

The removal of ‘distracting’ female images in Israel has sparked a creative campaign.
October 19, 201306:03 min
David Crossland, Copyright: David Crossland

'The Jewish Candidate'

Germany is flat-out ignoring the threat of neo-Nazism, argues author David Crossland.
September 19, 2013
In this Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 file photo, head of Israel's parliamentary opposition (as she was at the time) Tzipi Livni attends a news conference at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. (Photo via Sebastian Scheiner, File/AP/dapd)

Quiet talks, 'dramatic decisions'

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have held another round of peace talks. Chief Israeli negotiator Tzipi Livni said there would be "dramatic decisions in the end," despite friction within the ruling coalition.
August 21, 2013

Poland's Jewish history

For decades, Poland's Jewish history had been somewhat of a taboo. Now, it's being rediscovered.
August 20, 2013
Berthold Beitz

ThyssenKrupp patriarch dies

Berthold Beitz, the patriarch of German heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp has died at the age of 99. The industrialist was also credited with saving Jewish workers from death camps during World War II.
July 31, 2013
Digitale Erinnerungskultur Bilderkammer Bruno Schulz

Journey into the past

Filmmaker Benjamin Geissler has created a virtual space to bring the incredible story of Bruno Schulz and the Holocaust to tangible life.
July 14, 201310 images

Ultra-Orthodox conscription?

A draft law that would make military service compulsory for most of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews has cleared the country's cabinet. Most ultra-Orthodox Jewish men are currently exempt from military service.
July 7, 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks in Amman, Jordan, 22 May 2013. EPA/JAMAL NASRALLAH

The Don Quixote of the Middle East

US Secretary of State Kerry wants to bring Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table.
June 27, 2013
Members of the Women of the Wall group pray at the Western Wall, Jerusalem (photo: Women of the Wall)

When religion and state collide

A clash of ideals at the Western Wall has led to an identity crisis for Israelis.
June 21, 2013
Fotolia #40197426 Klagemauer und Zitadelle von Süleyman

Israeli man killed at holy site

Israeli police say a security guard has shot dead a Jewish man mistaken for a Palestinian militant. The incident happened at Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites.
June 21, 2013
File picture dated 19 May 1993 of the electrified perimeter fence, accommodation blocks and a watchtower at Auschwitz. (Photo: EPA/STR +++(c) dpa)

Israel opens Auschwitz display

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled the Jewish state's new Holocaust display at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. An important feature is a book featuring the names of those murdered.
June 13, 2013
A computer generated image of the planned Jewish Museum in Cologne

Excavating Cologne

A controversial new museum is planned to the tell the history of Cologne's Jewish community.
June 5, 2013
A portrait of Richard Wagner (c) picture-alliance/akg-images

Wagner the anti-Semite

Wagner had a complex but ultimately hateful relationship with Jews that leaves a lasting mark.
May 31, 2013
***ACHTUNG: Keine Nutzungsrechte für Social Media!*** 7) Sri Varasithi Vinayagar Tempel Hinduistisches Thiruvilla Tempelfest Hattingen 2009 LWL-Industriemuseum Dortmund: Brigitte Kraemer Rechte: Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Industriekultur Nach Rücksprache mit der Künstlerin stelle ich Ihnen nun gern die Fotos für die Bildstrecke zur Verfügung. Wir stimmen der Verwendung im Internet zu. Die Bilder dürfen dafür Beschnitten werden. Die Bilder sind im Besitz und recht des LWL-Industriemuseums, Westfälischen Landesmuseums für Industriekultur, Dortmund. Als Nachweis ist "LWL-Industriemuseum, Dortmund. Foto: Brigitte Kraemer" an geeigenter Stelle zu führen. Breitgestellt durch: Dietmar Osses, Museumsleiter. LWL-Industriemuseum Zeche Hannover Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Industriekultur Günnigfelder Straße 251 44793 Bochum

Colors of worship

Religious diversity
May 29, 201310 images
The New Synagogue in Berlin

Jewish Berlin

The German capital is full of traces of German-Jewish culture, both past and present.
May 29, 2013
Visitors to the original Nazi-sponsored "Entartete Musik" exhibition (c) picture-alliance/dpa

'Degenerate' music

A current exhibition reviews and reconsiders a 1938 Nazi showcase of 'un-German' music.
May 24, 2013
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men attend a demonstration against plans to enlist men from their community into the military, near the recruitment offices in Jerusalem May 16, 2013. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protested in Jerusalem on Thursday against plans to enlist men from their community into the military, a proposal supported by the secular majority pushing for a more equal share of the burden on Israeli society. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) // eingestellt von kle

Vowing to defy army draft

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews have taken to the streets of Jerusalem in protest over plans by the Israeli government to enlist them in the military. Many are currently exempt on religious grounds.
May 17, 2013
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle delievers his speech during the 14th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in Budapest on May 6, 2013. The WJC opened in Budapest with hundreds of representatives of worldwide Jewish communities in attendance, even as Hungary has come under fire for rising anti-Semitism. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Westerwelle adresses WJC

Germany’s foreign minister has told a meeting of the World Jewish Congress to condemn all forms of anti-Semitism. Guido Westerwelle said that such hatred was not in keeping with the values that the EU was founded upon.
May 6, 2013
Swedish diplomat and World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg, is shown in this undated photo. Russia for the first time conceded Friday, that Soviet authorities wrongfully persecuted Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Jews from being sent to Nazi concentration camps before dying in a Soviet prison. The Russian prosecutor-general's office posthumously rehabilitated Wallenberg, saying he was wrongfully imprisoned in a KGB jail for political reasons until he died more than a half-century ago, at the age of 34. (AP photo/Pressens Bild)

Australia honors Holocaust hero

A Swedish diplomat who assisted in saving several thousand Jews during the Holocaust has been given the distinction of becoming Australia's first honorary citizen. Many of the rescued Jews settled in Australia.
May 6, 2013
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivers a speech during the 14th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress in Budapest May 5, 2013. Hundreds of Jewish leaders gathered in Budapest for a three-day meeting to discuss a rise in far-right extremism and anti-Semitism in Europe, including Hungary. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh (HUNGARY - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) // eingestellt von se

Orban makes overtures to WJC

Hungary's prime minister told a Jewish assembly his government has declared "zero tolerance" on anti-Semitism. His speech didn't impress attendees who said he had failed to confront the country's largest far-right party.
May 6, 2013
Supporters of the radical nationalist party For A Better Hungary Movement 'Jobbik' wave a huge historical red-and-white Arpad Stripes flag during the party's commemoration marking the 55th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution and war of independence against communist rule and the Soviet Union in 1956, in Budapest, Hungary 23 October 2011. EPA/ZOLTAN MATHE **HUNGARY OUT**

Hungarian extremists protest

On the eve of a meeting of the World Jewish Congress in Budapest, far-right party Jobbik has accused Israel of buying Hungary up. Since entering parliament, it has hosted several such anti-Semitic protests (pictured).
May 5, 2013
Mani plays a tar, a Persian instrument said to be the precursor to the guitar

Journey of a lifetime

Persian musician Eyal Mani wanted one thing in life - to play music. Until a fateful trip to Israel.
May 1, 2013
Smoke rise after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip November 20, 2012 (Photo: REUTERS/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Israel launches attack on Gaza

The IDF has announced that aircraft hit targets in Gaza after militants fired rockets at southern Israel. Attacks from Gaza have declined since a campaign in November (pictured), but sporadic fire persists.
April 28, 2013
Cantor Joseph Malovany from New York sings the "El Malle Rachamim" prayer during a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, in Warsaw April 19, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Warsaw Uprising remembered

European and Israeli dignitaries and ageing survivors have marked the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. The Jewish armed revolt from inside a ghetto in 1943 against occupying Nazi troops was crushed after a month.
April 19, 2013
A part of scene on the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes is pictured in Warsaw April 17, 2013. The 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising will be commemorated on April 19, 2013. Picture taken April 17, 2013. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel (POLAND - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS SOCIETY)

Warsaw remembers uprising

European and Israeli dignitaries attended ceremonies in Poland on Friday to mark 70 years since the Warsaw Uprising.
April 19, 2013
DW/Rosalia Romaniec

70th anniversary

The first uprising against the Nazi regime began on April 19, 1943, when Jews fought German forces.
April 18, 2013

Controversial "Jew in a box" exhibition

Berlin's Jewish museum has recently opened a new exhibition entitled "The Whole Truth"…Everything you always wanted to know about Jews." It has been colloquially referred to though as "Jew in a Box" because it invites Jewish people to sit in a glass box to talk to visitors. But as David Levitz reports, it’s not yet clear whether it's doing more to challenge stereotypes or to reinforce them.
April 14, 201306:00 min

"Jew in a box" - utterly inappropriate?

One person who was not so enamoured with the idea of this new exhibition is correspondent Alexa Dvorson, who is Jewish and has lived in Germany for over 25 years. Whilst she welcomes dialogue she said the new exhibition had her looking for the nearest exit.
April 14, 201303:09 min
In this March 22, 2013 file photo, Israeli Ido Porat prepares to be the first person acting as the 'Jew in a glass box', on the first day of the exhibition "The Whole Truth, everything you always wanted to know about Jews" at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Not the 'Whole Truth'

An exhibition causes controversy at the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
April 12, 2013
Israeli citizen Ido Porat sits in a glass cabinet at the exhibition "The Whole Truth" at Berlin's Jewish Museum

The whole truth?

A bold exhibition at Berlin's Jewish Museum takes Jewish-German ties to task.
April 12, 2013
Chief Rabbi of France Gilles Bernheim (photo via Reuters)

Rabbi quits over plagiarism

The Grand Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, has resigned after admitting to plagiarism in two books and exaggerating his educational background. The scandal has shocked France's 600,000-strong Jewish community.
April 11, 2013
Foto: A man wears a kippah with a star sewn on the top(Foto: picture-alliance/dpa)

Giving Earth a rest

A Tel Aviv environmental anthropologist says many Jewish rituals are connected to nature.
April 9, 2013
Students of Ozar Hatorah Jewish school lead silent march to honor shooting victims

Jump in anti-Semitism

A new report from Israel shows a near one-third rise in anti-Semitic violence and vandalism worldwide in 2012. Researchers have pointed the finger at copycat attacks in France and popularity of extreme-right groups.
April 7, 2013
Muslim men praying

Eco-Islam pioneer: 'Every single thing we do affects others'

It’s not enough to simply pray for a better environment, you have to stand up and take action, says Fazlun Khalid, one of the world’s leading eco-theologians. He believes religion can help save the planet.
April 2, 2013
Ancient Indian philospher Adi Shankara

Hinduism in nature

A personal experience: learning about Hinduism’s multiple facets.
April 2, 2013
A Pakistani man praying during the Jummatul Wida (Last Friday of Ramadan) in Karachi on Friday 28 October 2005. EPA/AKHTAR SOOMRO +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Preaching for the climate

Today’s dialogue surrounding climate change has started to take on religious undertones.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 2, 2013
The spires of a church and a cross

Church and the climate

Theologian Markus Vogt tells Global Ideas how the church and climate protection go together.
April 2, 2013
SA men putting up posters against Jews in 1933. pixel

Targeting Jews

On April 1 1933 the Nazis began systematically boycotting Jewish businesses across Germany.
March 30, 2013
A stepping stone in Berlin memorializing Paula Dienstag

Miniature memorials

One man faces his family's history, 70 years after his grandmother's death in Auschwitz.
HistoryMarch 27, 2013
File picture shows a boy at a demonstration rally of supporters of the extreme right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) against Islamisation in Germany, in Duisburg March 28, 2010. Germany is set to take a major step towards banning the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) on December 5, 2012, when regional politicians formally recommend going ahead with the hotly-disputed legal proceedings. On Wednesday, the interior ministers of Germany's 16 states are widely expected to recommend pursuing a ban, which involves filing a case with the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Picture taken March 28, 2010.

No federal bid for NPD ban

The German government has decided not to attempt to get the far-right NPD party banned by the country’s top court. The decision came due to the refusal of the junior partners in the coalition to back the move.
March 18, 2013
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) turns around as new Knesset member Yair Lapid shakes hands with the Israeli leader during a swearing-in ceremony in the Knesset (Photo: EPA/JIM HOLLANDER)

Netanyahu fixes coalition deal

Israeli's leading political parties have signed a coalition agreement after weeks of wrangling. Premier Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance is to lead a broad power grouping that includes centrists and nationalists.
March 15, 2013
Israel gedenkt des Mordes an Rabin Caption: An unidentified man recites prayers as he stands near Israelis flags blowing in a stiff wind at the grave of assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (black stone) and his wife, Leah (white stone), during a ceremony on Mt. Herzli cemetery in Jerusalem on Friday, 04 November 2005 marking the tenth anniversary since his assassination. A wreath of red roses in the shape of a heart is on the stone terrace before the tombstones. Yitzhak Rabin was gunned down by an extremist right-wing Jew after a Peace rally in Tel Aviv on November 4, 1995. EPA/JIM HOLLANDER +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Coalition agreed in Israel

Agreement on a new coalition government in Israel has been reached after weeks of negotiations, according a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The coalition includes three political parties.
March 14, 2013