synagogue

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to ever set foot inside an American synagogue with his visit to New York's Park East Synagogue yesterday, the New York Times reports. Benedict, presented with matzo, a Seder plate and a Passover prayer book, spoke to the congregation of "building bridges...

(Newser) - Over 60 years after the Holocaust, anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, warns a State Department report. US embassies across the globe have noted that attacks on Jewish people, their property and institutions have risen in the last ten years. In 2006 more than 100 synagogues were vandalized, hundreds of...

(Newser) - Germany’s largest synagogue has re-opened its doors after a major restoration, welcoming political leaders and Holocaust survivors to its unveiling. Built over 100 years ago, the Berlin temple was burned on Kristallnacht but the structure survived Nazism, Communism and decades of neglect. Architects re-created the original appearance with the...