Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative

01/14/2026

Join my JewishGen talk Jan 14 at 2 PM Et
Sephardim in Colonial America

Sephardic Jews are the descendants of Iberian Jews who left Spain beginning in 1492. Fleeing persecution, many sought refuge in more tolerant regions and eventually made their way to the Americas. Settling in New Amsterdam (later New York) and Rhode Island, they formed the first American Jewish comm...

12/05/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1ZTF7yyg3x/

BJHI Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame Class on 2025 Induction
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bjhi-brooklyn-jewish-hall-of-fame-class-on-2025-induction-tickets-1975135704060?aff=oddtdtcreator
Thursday, December 11, 2025 12 Noon–2:00 PM
Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Courtroom
209 Joralemon St, Brooklyn, NY

11/24/2025

BJHI Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame Class on 2025 Induction
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bjhi-brooklyn-jewish-hall-of-fame-class-on-2025-induction-tickets-1975135704060?aff=oddtdtcreator
Thursday, December 11, 2025 12 Noon–2:00 PM
Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Courtroom
209 Joralemon St, Brooklyn, NY

05/25/2025

2,500 items belonging to executed spy Eli Cohen recovered from Syria by Mossad

Covert operation retrieves entire Syrian archive 60 years after his ex*****on in Damascus, includes passports, final will, letters, keys to his apartment

05/01/2025

Barbra Streisand Has a New Album Coming This Summer!

Barbra Streisand, a BJHI Jewish Hall of Fame recipient, will release her 37th studio album this summer—and it’s a follow-up to Partners, her Grammy-nominated duets album from 2014.

04/24/2025

Happy Birthday Barbra! Born in Brooklyn on April 24, 1942, Barbra Streisand, a BJHI Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame honoree, began her music career in the early 1960s, stringing together gigs at New York nightclubs while she auditioned for acting jobs. (She has, over the years, referred to herself as “an actor who sings.”

04/12/2025

Happy Passover
The Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative wishes you a Happy Passover. Wishes of peace, good health, prosperity and happiness to you and yours as we celebrate Passover.

04/10/2025

The Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative (BJHI) welcomes you to enjoy the video clip of Ron Schweiger, Brooklyn Historian and Ellen Levitt, Author of Lost Synagogues book series filmed at 2024 BJHI Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame ceremony.

BJHI Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame Class of 2022 is a special Class in which we inducted living legends of Brooklyn who have been nominated, who do not reside in NYC now, and clearly the Hall of Fame would not be complete without them: Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Elliot Gould, Janet Yellen, Mel....

04/10/2025

Where did you play handball, punchball, stoopball, stickball ?

04/09/2025

BJHI 2024 Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame video clip of the recipient, Rabbi Avi Greenstein who is the CEO of the Boro Park Jewish Community Council (BPJCC). Since 2016, Avi has improved access to social services to Boro Park. Come back soon for more video clips!

BJHI Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame Class of 2022 is a special Class in which we inducted living legends of Brooklyn who have been nominated, who do not reside in NYC now, and clearly the Hall of Fame would not be complete without them: Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Elliot Gould, Janet Yellen, Mel....

04/08/2025

BJHI 2024 Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame video clip of the recipient, Rabbi Aaron Raskin, an emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he inspires his congregation, which includes many prominent judges, lawyers, doctors and other community leaders, with his elegant, poignant ethical and spiritual guidance. Come back soon for more video clips!

BJHI Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame Class of 2022 is a special Class in which we inducted living legends of Brooklyn who have been nominated, who do not reside in NYC now, and clearly the Hall of Fame would not be complete without them: Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Elliot Gould, Janet Yellen, Mel....