Sicilty, Italy
Marla Simon
Marla and Evan Simon enjoyed a trip to beautiful, scenic Sicily in May 2025. The bread and pasta were amazing, but so was the history. Pictured here is a remnant of Sicily’s past vibrant Jewish community, which numbered around 40,000 before the 1492 expulsion. This building in Taormina, once a synagogue, now serves as the town’s police station. Today, it’s estimated that only about 70 Jews remain on the island.
Charelston, SC
Scott and Amy Osband
The Osbands had the opportunity to visit Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in July 2025. Founded in 1749, KKBE is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in the United States. The congregation is nationally significant as the birthplace of Reform Judaism in the United States. It is located in the heart of beautiful Downtown Charleston.
Amherst, MA
Karp Family
The Karp Family recently went to the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA. From Stuart K.: "We saw this cool panorama with a history of the preservation of Yiddish books and the study of the language. We were lucky to get there for a guided tour of the center and learned a ton."
Great Synagogue of Copenhagen,
Denmark
The Pace Family
David and I make it a priority to visit Jewish sites when traveling abroad, and we try to meaningfully expose our children to our heritage and culture. Amelia and Ethan were the only children present on this particular tour and were given the special privilege of opening the ark. We were so proud of their participation and the respect they showed for the moment.
Cordoba, Spain
Keith and Sylvia Lewinstein
Around the corner from our hotel in the old Jewish quarter in Cordoba we stepped into the "Plaza de Maimonides" featuring a statue of the famous Sephardic rabbi, scholar and philosopher who was born in Cordoba in 1138. It felt serendipitous because we did not realize this when we booked our hotel.
Washington, DC
Rosen Family
We were happy to support a local Jewish business and enjoyed eating delicious Kosher chicken and brisket!
Holocaust Museum
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Janet Besser
In a moving visit this past June 2025, Janet Besser learned that virtually the entire Jewish Romaniote community of Macedonia, dating back to the Roman times, was killed in the Holocaust. These people were a significant part of the Jewish community well into the medieval period. The museum covers Macedonian Jewish history and the Holocaust more broadly. It was simple and very moving.
Oslo, Norway
The Wolfmans
There are so few Jews in Norway (about 2,000 in the country, less than in Needham!) that there is no local pro-Israel news at all. The few Jews in Oslo don’t feel safe counter protesting to the antisemitic demonstrations happening constantly in Oslo. Our time here made us realize how lucky we are to live in our (mostly) safe, vibrant Jewish community.
Outside Vilnius, Lithuania
Nina and Irwin Silverstein
On a trip to the Baltic Capitals, we visited a site where 70,000 Jews were murdered in the forest outside of Paneriai railway station by Lithuanian collaborators assisting the Nazis.
Warsaw, Poland
Arlene Bryer
During our travels through Poland to see the places where my parents grew up and were imprisoned, our family toured The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. One of the museum’s most remarkable exhibits is a nearly full-scale reconstruction of the Gwoździec Synagogue’s roof and ceiling, complete with its intricately hand-painted decorations.