Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The Jews of Lebanon

I'm always on the lookout for interesting new blogs, especially if they touch upon subjects that are dear to my heart. During today's daily blog read, while scrolling through Blogging the Middle East, I found a gem.

The Jews of Lebanon strives to "reestablish a connection between Lebanese of the Jewish faith around the world with their country of Lebanon." More than just a blog, it also includes photo galleries and information about Lebanese-Jewish sites worldwide, in addition to photos and maps showing different aspects of Jewish life in Lebanon today. One of the things that I find most interesting, is that the blog was created by a non-Jewish Lebanese university student named Aaron, and you can read more about his intentions here.

I've always been interested in Jewish communities around the world, especially those in Arab countries. Of those, I am fascinated by those Jewish communities that still exist today in Arab countries. We periodically receive news and information regarding the Jewish community in Iran (where, incidentally, my husband was born, hence my affinity for many things Persian, especially the food!), but in general, little is known about the Jewish communities in some of the other neighboring countries. This is why I am so excited to have found The Jews of Lebanon, and am grateful that Lebanon is a country that allows such freedom of expression - a rarity in this part of the world.