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Winter Issue Also Explores the History and Evolution of Jewish Languages
(Washington, D.C., Nov. 17, 2021)—Israeli TV shows are being picked up by streaming services and winning a wide acceptance with global audiences. Shows like “Shtisel” on Netflix, about a fictional, ultra-Orthodox family, and Amazon’s “The Beauty and the Baker,” a rom-com about a supermodel in love with a baker, are just two Israeli-produced shows that have received rave reviews. In the Winter issue of B’nai B’rith Magazine, writer Dina Kraft explores the “secret sauce” of Israeli TV and its growing popularity around the world in her cover story, “Israel’s Golden Age of TV.” 

Also in this issue: We examine “Jewish languages,” from Yiddish to Ladino to Biblical and modern-day Hebrew, how they originated and have helped to define us in different places at different times. Read about Jewish tongues past and present in “Tongue Twisted: What Jewish Languages Say About Us,” by Beryl Lieff Benderly. 

Across the United States, synagogues in small towns are facing the challenges of shrinking Jewish populations and aging congregations. In “Small Town Synagogues: Struggling to Survive,” writer Jennifer Lovy explores the existential issues raised by such dramatic demographic changes. 

In 1944, the Jewish Italian Finzi family—among nearly 1,000 Italian Jews—escaped from Italy to New York, in large part thanks to the efforts of photojournalist Ruth Gruber. Eugene L. Meyer’s feature, “From the Fruits of War: The Artistic Garden of Eric Finzi,” tells the story of the Finzi family’s survival during World War II and how it has inspired physician and artist Eric Finzi, whose father and grandmother were among those rescued. 

In his feature “In Search of Kreplach: More than Just Jewish Ravioli,” Kenneth D. Ackerman explores the history of this delectable dumpling and his effort with his cousin Alice to revive this traditional family dish. 
In his final magazine column as B’nai B’rith’s president, Charles O. Kaufman looks back on his term and his involvement in B’nai B’rith’s work defending Israel at the U.N., among other significant accomplishments. 

B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin writes on the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, where Nazi officials agreed on the implementation of the “Final Solution” to exterminate European Jews and why it is more important than ever to continue to tell the story of the Holocaust as it fades from living memory. 
Read these stories and more in the winter issue of B’nai B’rith Magazine, available here.

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit bnaibrith.org.