Lakewood Elementary neighbourhood school sign in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Multiple languages including Hebrew

Lakewood Elementary neighbourhood school sign in Durham, North Carolina, USA in February 2020. Multiple languages including Hebrew

A statue of Jesus Christ on the Cross with a golden inscription in Hebrew letters on the Charles Bridge across the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic

A statue of Jesus Christ on the Cross with a golden inscription in Hebrew letters on the Charles Bridge across the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic in January 2014

A plaque in Hebrew by a section of the Berlin Wall in Berlin, Germany

A  plaque in Hebrew by a section of the Berlin Wall in Berlin, Germany in February 2014, Ben Wagin

A statue with Hebrew writing of Christ crucified on the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic

A statue with Hebrew writing of Christ crucified on the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic in February 2014. Entitled the Crucifix and the Calvary. (sousoší Kříže s Kalvárií) This sculpture is one of the most historically interesting sculptures on the bridge, which gradually gained its present appearance throughout many centuries. The original wooden crucifix was installed at this place soon after 1361 and probably destroyed by the Hussites in 1419. A new crucifix with a wooden corpus was erected in 1629 but was severely damaged by the Swedes towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The remnants of this crucifix can be found in the lapidarium of the National Museum in Prague. This was replaced by another wooden Calvary which, in turn, was replaced with a metal version in 1657. Bought in Dresden, this crucifix was originally made in 1629 by H. Hillger based upon a design by W. E. Brohn. In 1666, two lead figures were added, but these were replaced in 1861 by the present sandstone statues by Emanuel Max, portraying the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist.

The golden Hebrew text on the crucifix was added in 1696. In 1696, the Prague authorities accused a local Jewish leader, one Elias Backoffen, of blasphemy. As his punishment he was ordered to raise the funds for purchasing of gold-plated Hebrew letters, placed around the head of the statue, spelling out "Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord of Hosts," the Kedusha from the Hebrew prayer and originating in the vision from the Book of Isaiah. The inscription was a symbolic humiliation and degradation of Prague Jews, forcing them to pay for a set of golden letters referring to God and hung around the neck of the statue of Christ (information from Steven Plaut, The "Vav" from the Charles Bridge). A bronze tablet with explanatory text in Czech, English and Hebrew was mounted under the statue by the City of Prague in 2000. The tablet's placement came after an American Rabbi, Ronald Brown of Temple Beth Am in Merrick, New York was passing over the bridge and noted the possibly offensive nature of the placing of the text. Upon a direct request to the mayor, the tablet was soon placed off to the side of the statue.

A sign in the back of a pick-up with Hebrew writing on it seen in Chiang Mai, Thailand

A sign in the back of a pick-up with Hebrew writing on it seen in Chiang Mai, Thailand in June 2011

Israeli chocolate eaten in Johannesburg, South Africa

Israeli chocolate eaten in Johannesburg, South Africa in February 2015

A plaque in the Jewish quarter in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 2014. "In deference to the Czechoslovak Republic for her support during the War of Independence of Israel in 1948, in training pilots, paratroopers and other members of the air and land forces, and for the delivery of arms and military equipment"

A plaque in the Jewish quarter in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 2014. "In deference to the Czechoslovak Republic for her support during the War of Independence of Israel in 1948, in training pilots, paratroopers and other members of the air and land forces, and for the delivery of arms and military equipment"

Graves in the historic Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic, pt 2

Graves in the historic Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 2014

Graves in the historic Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic, pt 1

Graves in the historic Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 2014

Thank you Czechoslovakia!

Plaque in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 2014. "In deference to the Czechoslovak Republic for her support during the War of Independence of Israel in 1948, in training pilots, paratroopers and other members of the air and land forces, and for the delivery of arms and military equipment

The Jewish synagogue in Launceston, Tasmania

The Jewish synagogue in Launceston, Tasmania in May 2013

Hebrew clock in Prague

A Jewish synagogue in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 2014. Note the clock with Hebrew letters

Israeli food in Chiang Mai

Sababa Israeli restaurant on Chang Klang road in Chiang Mai, Thailand in June 2011

Hebrew tombstone

Tombstone for a Jewish boy who died on 8 April 1885 aged 3 years and 6 months in Queenstown, New Zealand in November 201. Aaron Van De Walde, parents Joseph and Rebecca

Hebrew restaurant

A sign in Hebrew for an Israeli restaurant in Pai, northern Thailand, taken in December 2009

Reiki

An ad in Hebrew for Reiki, photographed in Pai, northern Thailand, taken in December 2009

Chabad House in Bangkok

Sign for Chabad House at Khao San Road, Bangkok, October 2008