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January 4, 2017

Rediscovered after a Mysterious Theft: the Oldest Document of Jewish Life in the New World

A crypto-Jew’s diary, written so as to be hidden from the Inquisition.

Currently on display at the New-York Historical Society is a tiny diary composed by Luis de Carvajal the Younger, a Spanish-born crypto-Jew who settled in Mexico as a teenager. The diary was stolen from the Mexican National Archives in 1932, resurfaced in late 2015, and was purchased by an American Jewish philanthropist who has restored it to the Mexican government following an agreement first to allow it to be exhibited in New York. Joseph Berger writes:

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January 4, 2017

  1. Don’t Let Iran Rule the High Seas

    The U.S. must show its resolve.

  2. Britain’s Betrayal of Israel

    Friends don’t kick friends in the back.

  3. Rediscovered after a Mysterious Theft: the Oldest Document of Jewish Life in the New World

    A crypto-Jew’s diary, written so as to be hidden from the Inquisition.

  4. A Protestant’s Reflections on the Jewish Message of Christmas

    For whatever reason, God made people in tribes and nations.

  5. On Hanukkah, Israeli Spelunkers Discover Ancient Etchings of a Menorah and a Cross

    Rare finds.