On April 1, the National Archives made the data from the 1950 U.S. census available online to the public. Andrew Silverstein explains the sorts of information historians of American Jewry, and genealogists, hope to find therein:

This census is of special interest to American Jews, showing life in the years after the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel. It captures recently arrived Jewish refugees from Europe’s displaced-persons camps settling into their new country, while upwardly mobile Jews were moving to the suburbs and populating new Jewish centers in places like California and Florida.

Unlike other genealogical records like birth and death certificates and immigration documents, the census shows people in their everyday lives—except for Jewish Americans in 1950 because that year’s census started on Passover. When mid-century Jewish Americans opened the door to let in the prophet Elijah during their seder, they may have been greeted by a census taker with pen and paper in hand.

Still, many Jewish households would have been tallied during the week following Passover. Answers to the census question “How many hours did he work last week?” could reveal if the respondent took days off for Passover, which could give insight into the irreligious observance and economic position.

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.