Michael Pomeranc, a New York hotelier, spent nearly three decades working to uncover the fate of his relatives who died in the Holocaust.

Source: Search for Family’s Lost History Leads to Mass Grave in Poland - The New York Times

A database project of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and research center, sheds new light on the Europewide transports to extermination.

Source: Mapping the Holocaust: How Jews Were Taken to Their Final Destinations - The New York Times

Time is almost up for consumers to tell the FDA what "natural" food means. It's an ancient philosophical question with no easy answers.

Source: What Is 'Natural' Food? A Riddle Wrapped In Notions Of Good And Evil : The Salt : NPR

Cities and towns are beginning to take steps to remember their once-thriving Jewish heritage, erecting memorials, holding commemorations and educating people about what happened during the Holocaust and World War II.

Source: Ukraine Seeks Ways to Recall Its Jewish Heritage - WSJ

At a time when "religious liberty" has become associated in the U.S. with the right to oppose LGBT protections and same-sex marriage, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reports on the "serious and sustained assault" on religious people and practices abroad. The organization cites attacks on Muslims in the Central African Republic and Burma to the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and the repression of all religious activity in North Korea.

Source: ...

“Isn’t it amazing?” says Holocaust survivor Lola Byron, who grew up understanding that “no one was supposed to know I was Jewish.” “So many Jewish young women feeling completely comfortable with where they are and what they’re doing and not having to hide and not having to do it on the sly. It’s a gift. It’s really a gift.” More →

Source: Holocaust Survivor Shabbat | April 29, 2016 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS

When the festival of Passover approaches, observant Jews search their homes for any yeast or leaven and then give it away, donate it to charity, burn it, or authorize a rabbi to sell it for them to a non-Jewish buyer. “People who don’t share our faith are helping Jewish people in the observance of their faith,” says Rabbi Yosef Landa of Chabad.org. More →

Source: Selling Chametz for Passover | April 22, 2016 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS

Earlier this week ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky ruled that marijuana is, in fact, kosher. That means that it can be consumed over the eight day celebration of Passover for medicinal purposes.

Source: Medical Marijuana: It's Kosher : NPR

The wine associated with Jewish tradition was once a huge crossover success. At one point, the typical drinker was described as an urban African-American man.

Source: 'Man, Oh Manischewitz': When The Jewish Wine Was Big With Gentiles, Too : The Salt : NPR

“We’re at a moment where we’ve adopted a new technology,” says MIT technology and society professor Sherry Turkle. “We’ve been vulnerable to its seduction, and we’re also ready to say this has led us not to a good place in terms of how it’s affected our relationships. It’s time for a change.” More →

Source: Digital Addiction | April 22, 2016 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS

As France grapples with radical Islam and a rise in anti-Semitic acts, a growing number of Jews are choosing to settle in the British capital.

Source: London Becomes a Leading Destination for French Jews After Attacks - The New York Times

A feast celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is a lens onto a fascinating food culture.

Source: Persian Cuisine, Fragrant and Rich With Symbolism - The New York Times

A bishop who invited Mr. Sanders to a conference said his focus on climate change and his attention to poor people were “very analogous to that of the pope.”

Source: As Bernie Sanders Heads to Vatican, a Visit With Pope Francis Seems in Doubt - The New York Times

More and more, Orthodox Jews are balancing the rituals of Passover with the indulgences of beach-front hotels to accommodate what are often large family reunions.

Source: Celebrating Passover, With All the Comforts of a Resort - The New York Times

The first volume of the first Italian translation of the Babylonian Talmud took dozens of scholars, linguists, philologists and editors five years to complete.

Source: Italians, Helped by an App, Translate the Talmud - The New York Times