Learn about the complex history and contemporary restorations at Bayt Farhi, a Sephardic palace in Ottoman Damascus
Judaism in art
These eclectic buildings embody the close ties between Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures in medieval Spain.
Medieval synagogues in Toledo, Spain
Diarna digitally documents endangered Jewish sites—like this historic shrine near Damascus, now razed.
Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, Jobar (Syria)
This tiny book tells the complex story of the conflict between Christians and Jews in the Old and New Worlds.
The manuscripts of Luis de Carvajal
This Hebrew book copies an Arabic text that itself began life as a work of classical Greek philosophy.
Book of Morals of Philosophers
In the “Old New Synagogue,” desks surround a Torah plaform. Text outweighs image—only plants ornament the space.
Altneushul, Prague
The emperor Titus sacked the temple in Jerusalem and looted its most holy treasures.
The Spoils of Jerusalem, Arch of Titus
No splashes of wine stain this luxurious book! Its 56 miniatures illustrate the story of Passover.
The Golden Haggadah
Long ignored by historians, Jewish architecture employs a rich formal language that melds local styles.
Writing a history of Jewish architecture
Lacking any unifying authority, doctrine, or practice, Judaism is highly diverse.
Jewish history in the post-war period
The emancipation of European Jews from ghettos became a benchmark of sorts indicating a nation’s transformation from the medieval to the modern.
Jewish history 1750 to WW II
After the Roman world embraced Christianity, Jews faced persecution, mob violence, and Crusaders.
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