Return of the Golden Bride to Yiddish Theater

A classic Yiddish operetta has been just brought back to life. The Golden Bride is a Yiddish romantic comedy that premiered in New York back in the roaring 20's. Known in Yiddish as Di Goldene Kale, the opera was popular with the Jewish diaspora through the 1940's, but lost in the time following World War II. It has been brought back to life through the labor of music archeologisst and the support of the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene.  It tells the story of Goldele, a poor girl from a Russian shtetl who inherits a fortune from her estranged father. She embarks on a mission in the new world to find both her long-lost mother and her husband-to-be.

Yazidis find refuge in Nebraska

Lincoln, Nebraska is home to the largest Yazidi community in the United States.

The Yazidis are ethnically a Kurdish group but differ from other Kurds in that they practice Yazidism. Their religion in an ancient faith that integrates elements of Islam with Zoroastrianism and Mithraism. Their distinct faith has made them the target of persecution by Muslim neighbors throughout history, and the attacks are surfacing again as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) gains control of Northwestern Iraq, the location of the Yazidi homeland.

Many Yazidis have found refuge in Lincoln, Nebraska, which is now home to the largest Yazidi community in the United States. As the prospects of returning to their homeland now look grim, the community seeks to form a burial ground here in the US.