Week 5

Nothing much has changed with my internship. I'm still working hard on my research project. I've started writing my questions to ask my relatives when I interview them, and  I plan on sending them ahead of time when I finish so that they can prepare for the interview. "Jews, God, and History" has been interesting. It is certainly a very atypical look at history and is worded in a way uncommon to most other History books. "Jews, God and History" focuses mainly on ancient history so I'm more than halfway through the book and I've just reached the middle ages. Interestingly enough, it seems the first ghettos, sequestered villages in which Jews were forced to live, appeared then. The Museum is currently showing a wedding Gown and Ketubah (a marriage document exclusive to Jewish marriages) exhibit and I took lots of pictures. I find it interesting that to get married, Jews had to have both a regular marriage license, and a Ketubah. I will upload the pictures very soon!

Week 4

I've just begun reading "Jews, God and History" by Max I. Dimont. This book is quite different from "Semites and Anti-Semites". "Jews, God and History" Focuses mainly on the ancient history of the Jewish people. However, it is still ver interesting and relevant. "Jews, God and History" also covers many theological and religious topics, so it is not a purely historical book. It often presents different interpretations and theories about biblical stories and verses, such as a Theory presented by Sigmund Freud that Moses was an actual descendant pf the Pharaoh who thought himself a spiritual leader and whose belief happened to coincide with those of the Jewish slaves. While that particular theory is not overtly relevant to my project, the book has still provided an excellent overview of Jewish history and beliefs.
In other news I have bought my tickets and made my travel plans. I will be flying to Denver first, then to Seattle, then I will fly to Philadelphia and take a train to Baltimore. I'm excited to travel the Nation and visit my relatives.
My internship has been the same as usual. I am still doing research on Holocaust Survivors in Tucson. The further I work, the harder the work becomes, there a certain names that I have been unable to find any information on, still, I'm glad to be working on this project.

Week 3

I've just finished reading "Semites and Anti-Semites" by Bernard Lewis. It was very interesting, perhaps the most interesting aspect featured in the book was the transition of Anti-Semitism from a religious hatred to a racial hatred, and how, in general, certain groups of people began to perceive Jews as a race rather than a religion. My internship is still going smoothly, and I'm still working on my Holocaust History project. I've been reading and listening to many oral histories, and I find that such a personal view of history brings a whole new interpretation to past events, even if they were well documented.