For a mere 650 euros (about $710), you can purchase Wer einmal war (“Who Once Was”), a who’s who of the golden age of Viennese Jewry. The Austrian city was home to Sigmund Freud, Theodor Herzl, the economist Ludwig von Mises, the composer Arnold Schoenberg, and the writers Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth, along with countless other extraordinary figures. Giles MacDonogh writes:

Wer einmal war is a genealogy of the 500 leading Jewish families of Vienna between 1800 and 1938. . . . The author, Georg Gaugusch, is actually the owner of Jungmann und Neffe, Vienna’s most prominent tailor. It adjoins Sacher’s Hotel [famous home of the Sachertorte], between the two cultural poles of the Opera House and the Albertina [museum].

It surprises many to learn that Gaugusch is not Jewish; his family acquired the shop from Jews in the 1940s. The author is neither tailor nor historian: by training he’s a chemical engineer. In the cellars of the shop, however, he found an archive of its pre-war customers, many of whom were rich Jews. This he turned into a database, which became the starting point for the book. He befriended the archivist at the synagogue, Wolf-Erich Eckstein, who has been a pillar of support for him.

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.