Given the current situation worldwide, the Romanian Cultural Institute (RCI) in Tel Aviv adapts its cultural activity to the present realities and will organize, for the next period, the “Romanian Cafe” series of events online, via its official Facebook page.
The next event held within the "Romanian Cafe" online, held in English, will take place on May 21st, starting with 17:30 hours, via live streaming on the official Facebook page of RCI Tel Aviv
and will include Prof. Dan Michman, researcher at the Museum Yad Vashem, historian Raphael Vago (professor at Tel Aviv University) and Peninah Zilberman, founder of the Tarbut Sighet Foundation and promoter of the preservation of the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Romania.
To mark 76 years since the deportation of Jews from Maramureș region, RCI Tel Aviv is organizing the online conference "Memory and historical aspects on the Holocaust in Romania", in which Professor Vago will present the general historical framework, making a comparative analysis of the regimes in Romania and Hungary and their respective treatment of Jewish population during the war, while Prof. Michman will talk about the issue of ghettos, in a presentation called "Ghettos, Open Ghettos, Ghettos in Romania, Open Ghettos in Romania: Complexities of History, Memory and Compensation”.
At the same time, Peninah Zilberman will talk about the work of preserving the memory of the approximately 40,000 Maramureș Jews who lived in the region before the Holocaust, carried out through the Tarbut Sighet Foundation.
Born in Romania, Raphael Vago is the founder of the Center for Russian Eastern European Studies at Tel Aviv University, which he coordinated between 1982-1986. With a doctorate in Romanian-Hungarian relations from 1944-1977, his research interests include the Holocaust and modern forms of Antisemitism, minorities in Europe, post-communist systems, European integration and minorities in Europe. At the same time, he authored numerous articled and conducted several studies.
Professor Dan Michman is the head of the International Holocaust Research Institute and the chair of the Holocaust Study Department. He is also Emeritus Professor of Modern Jewish History and Chair of the Arnold and Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research. He obtained his doctorate with a dissertation on "Jewish Refugees from Germany in The Netherlands, 1933–1940”. He has published numerous books and articles in a variety of languages on the history of Dutch and Belgian Judaism, Israeli society, and especially on various aspects of the Holocaust — historiography, ghettos, elements of Jewish community and religious life, and more.
Born in Haifa to Romanian parents and Holocaust survivors, Peninah Zilberman, former director of the Holocaust Museum in Toronto, leads an intense activity of educating the general public about the Holocaust in the Maramureș area, through thematic conferences, meetings that bring together descendants of Holocaust survivors in Romania, as well as guided historical tours in Sighetul Marmației, which offers those interested the opportunity to discover traces of the important heritage left by the Jewish community in the area, all organized under the umbrella of the Tarbut Sighet Foundation, which was founded in 2014.
Photo provided by the Romanian Cultural Institute (RCI) in Tel Aviv
FIRST-EVER VIRTUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
In this period of coronavirus in which public gatherings are not possible, the Israel Antiquities Authority is pleased to invite the public to participate in the first-ever international conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls taking place May 17 – May 20, 2020.
More than three dozen scholars from around the world will gather online to share new research and discoveries on the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the public is invited to participate from the comfort of home. Registration is required for each day and capacity is limited.
Hear from scholars and experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority, University of Haifa, Yeshiva University, University of Manchester, Hebrew University, Yale University, University of Nebraska, University of Groningen, Bar Ilan University, Brite Divinity School, Catholic University of America, University of Maryland, University of Birmingham, New York University, University of Vienna, McMaster University, University of North Carolina, University of Toronto, Oxford University, University of Notre Dame, Uppsala University, University of Kansas, and Universität Göttingen.
Please note that some lectures may assume a background in Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship.
Session topics include: Canon and Authority; Archaeology, Realia and Science; Interpreting Dead Sea Scrolls Texts; Science, Technology and the Scrolls; Ideology and Theology; Qumran and the Sect; Hebrew Bible and its Interpretation; Cave 11 and the Temple Scroll; Law and Liturgy
This virtual conference is presented free to the public by the Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority in collaboration with NYU, Global Network for Advanced Research in Jewish Studies & the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies.
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
DAY 1: Sunday, May 17 (REGISTRATION LINK FOR DAY 1 BELOW)
1:00-2:30 PM EDT: Plenary Session
Chair and Opening Remarks - Alex Jassen, New York University
Welcome- Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority & Joe Uziel, Curator and Head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit
Contributions of the Israel Antiquities Authority to the Preservation and Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls - Pnina Shor, Israel Antiquities Authority
Where are We in the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? - Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University
2:30-3:00 PM EDT: Break
3:30-5:00 PM EDT: Canon and Authority
Before the Canon - The Role of Extra-biblical Literature in Second Temple Judaism - Armin Lange, University of Vienna
The Canon and the Canonical Process: The Evidence of the Scrolls - Eugene Ulrich, University of Notre Dame
Scribes as Authors in the Dead Sea Scrolls - Molly Zahn, University of Kansas
DAY 3: Tuesday, May 19 (REGISTRATION LINK FOR DAY 3 BELOW)
9:00-10:30 AM EDT: Science, Technology and the Scrolls
Researching the DSS with Imaging Technologies - Orit Rosengarten, Israel Antiquities Authority
Modern Forgeries: The Scientific Analysis of Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in the Museum of the Bible Collection - Colette Loll, Art Fraud Insights, LLC
The Hands that Wrote the Bible. Digital Palaeography of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Identifying and Dating Manuscripts - Mladen Popović and Maruf Dhali, University of Groningen
10:30-11:00AM EDT: BREAK
11:00 AM-12:30 PM EDT: Ideology and Theology
Virtue Signaling in the Dead Sea Scrolls - Charlotte Hempel, University of Birmingham
Metaphysics of Financial Relations in Qumran Wisdom - Jonathan Ben-Dov, Haifa University
Patterns of Prayer in the Dead Sea Scrolls - George Brooke, University of Manchester
12:30-1:00 PM EDT: BREAK
1:00-3:00 PM EDT: Qumran and the Sect
Women in the Sectarian Texts from Qumran - Esther Chazon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Reconstructing the Life and Message of Jesus - Cecilia Wassén, Uppsala University
Why NOT the Essenes: How to Talk about the Dead Sea Sectarians - Maxine Grossman, University of Maryland
The Sectarian Movement and Qumran - John Collins, Yale University
For any questions about the schedule or registration process, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The EcoMotion 2020 week launches today (May 18th) and the virtual summit main event will be held tomorrow May 19th to address cutting-edge transportation technologies, the Smart Mobility Industry, Autonomous
Driving Technology and the future of transportation.
EcoMotion is a joint venture of the Israel Innovation Institute, the Smart Mobility Initiative of the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Economy, and the Israeli Automotive & High-tech industries.
This year the Arizona Commerce Authority and the newly launched Arizona Israel Trade and Investment Office have partnered with EcoMotion to develop new
platforms, collaborations, and opportunities in order to expand the horizons of an increasingly mobile world.
Under Governor Doug Ducey's leadership, Arizona has become one of the most advanced U.S. states in promoting and implementing innovative transportation technologies, including launching the first of its kind Institute for Automated Mobility in Arizona.
The EcoMotion Week is expected to attract more than 4,000 attendees, 40 partners, 50 speakers and 170 startups with innovative solutions. It is a platform for startups and major corporations in the Mobility sector
from Israel and around the world to connect with one another.
Among the senior Attendees at the conference: Prof. Amnon Shashua, President and CEO of Mobileye and Senior VP, Intel Corporation; Dominic Papa, leading the Smart State Initiative at the Arizona Commerce Authority; Hakan Samuelsson, CEO Volvo Cars, Aicha Evans, CEO Zoox as well as world's leading companies.
The conference will also be attended by the Israeli auto-tech company NoTraffic, which has developed technology for streamlining traffic light scheduling to reduce accidents and traffic congestion; NoTraffic is currently conducting pilots at 3 locations in the state of Arizona, USA
The Israel Antiquities Authority Reveals Rare Coin from the Bar-Kochba Revolt Discovered at the Foot of the Temple Mount, in Honor of Lag B’Omer
In honor of Lag B’Omer, the Israel Antiquities Authority presents this rare bronze coin from the period of the Bar Kokhba revolt (circa 132 CE) was discovered in archaeological excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the William Davidson Archaeological Park, under the supervision of the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, Ltd. located between the Temple Mount and the City of David. The excavations are conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the Ir David Foundation (Elad), which operates the site.
The obverse of the coin is decorated with a cluster of grapes and the inscription “Year Two of the Freedom of Israel” and the reverse side features a palm tree and the inscription “Jerusalem.”
Coins from the period of the Bar Kokhba revolt, which declared the rebels’ purpose - to liberate Jerusalem from Roman occupation after the destruction of the city - are well-known in archeology. Discovering such coins helps researchers map out the revolt, which took place approximately 1,900 years ago. It is interesting to note that the rebels minted these revolt coins on Roman regime coins with stripped or damaged faces, possibly out of defiance of the Roman occupation. The revolt coins featured the Temple facade, trumpets, a harp/violin, as well as the inscriptions: “Redemption of Israel” and “Freedom of Israel.”
Dr. Donald Tzvi Ariel, Head of the Coin Department at the Israel Antiquities Authority, examined over 22,000 coins discovered in archaeological excavations in the area of the Old City in Jerusalem. This examination revealed that only four of the coins are dated to the period of the Bar Kokhba revolt. This is a very small number, even more so when compared to the large number of Bar Kokhba coins that have been found outside of Jerusalem. The recently discovered coin is the only Bar Kokhba coin found in the area on which the word “Jerusalem” appears.
Despite their desire to do so, the Bar Kokhba rebels failed to breach the boundaries of ancient Jerusalem. This fact gives rise to the question of how four coins from the revolt period still managed to make their way into the city. The excavators, archaeologists Moran Hagbi and Dr. Joe Uziel of the Israel Antiquities Authority, raise the possibility that the coins were brought to Jerusalem (where the Legion camp was seemingly posted), by Roman legionnaires of the Tenth Legion, who participated in suppressing the revolt and saved the coins they found on the battlefields as souvenirs.
In the archaeological and historical research based on the testimony of the Roman historian Cassius Dio, it is accepted that the Bar Kokhba revolt broke out in 132 CE, after Emperor Hadrian declared the establishment of a Roman colony called “Aelia Capitolina.” This colony was built on the ruins of Jewish Jerusalem and began with the construction of a temple dedicated to the god Jupiter on the Temple Mount.
The establishment of the Roman city and the construction of an idolatrous temple in place of the Jewish Temple, in addition to restrictive religious decrees, distressed the Jewish population that had remained in Judea. This launched a widespread revolt against the Roman government under the leadership of Shimon Ben-Kosiba, known as “Bar Kokhba.” The revolt itself lasted about five years, causing heavy casualties among the Roman legions - so much so that they had to deploy large military units from around the Roman Empire to complete their ranks. The revolt ended with the destruction of hundreds of Jewish communities and villages that took part in the revolt. However, Bar Kokhba remains etched into the memory of the Jewish nation as a historical hero.
Photo: Bar Kokhba Revolt Coin inscribed with the word "Jerusalem" and a picture of a date palm
