Fundamentally Freund

Shavei Israel has expanded its popular Na’aseh Venishma series of booklets on Jewish tradition and law to Chinese. Our first ever booklet for the Jewish community in Kaifeng, China, is now in print – and it arrived just in time for the High Holy Days....

In a world that is increasingly hostile to all we hold dear, it would be comforting to know that we have a large cadre of amigos whose friendship we can count on in our hour of need. Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund discusses the possible...

Dipping an apple in a bowl of honey and blowing the shofar are two of the most iconic images of the Jewish New Year. But those customs are nothing short of miraculous when they take place so far from Israel or other large Diaspora Jewish...

Shavei Israel Chairman visited the Jews of Kaifeng, China last week. In this column that originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post, he reports on his visit, and on the remarkable history - and future - of one of the most far flung and remarkable Jewish...

Just in time for Purim, when we celebrate the ancient deliverance of the Jewish people, a long-suffering Jewish community has received some remarkably good tidings. After nearly a decade of bureaucratic torment and agony, the remaining Subbotnik Jews of the former Soviet Union will at...

Are Spanish King Ferdinand and his wife Queen Isabella burning with rage? Over five centuries after they cruelly expelled the country’s Jews in 1492, Spain now finds itself clamoring for their return. The Spanish government has approved a draft bill offering citizenship to descendants of...

It was after 3:00 a.m. on Thursday of last week, in the small airport outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, and the group of 38 travelers was exhausted. Young and old, these members of the Bnei Menashe community, which traces its descent to a lost tribe of...

The Isaac Cardoso Center for Jewish Interpretation in Trancoso, Portugal, was formally dedicated this weekend with a special "guest" - a new Torah scroll, the first to make its home in Trancoso in nearly 500 years. More than 60 people attended the dedication, including the...

[caption id="attachment_10330" align="alignleft" width="300"] Two Bnei Menashe show their brand new Israeli identity cards while still in India[/caption] Fundamentally Freund: The return of the Bnei Menashe to our people is a tangible reminder of the power of Jewish memory to overcome all obstacles, and the inevitability...