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toys

'Playmakers,' by author Michael Kimmel. (Courtesy)
September 1, 2026, 2:37 am
Toy story: From teddy bears to Tiddlywinks, how Jews helped shape American childhood
New book ‘Playmakers’ by sociologist Michael Kimmel looks at how children of Jewish immigrants built the dolls, games, books and comics that became cultural touchstones in the US
By Rich Tenorio
Henry Orenstein (second from left) at the launch of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament in 2004. (Stephen Lovekin/FilmMagic/Getty Images via JTA)
December 16, 2021, 11:26 pm
Transformers toys inventor Henry Orenstein, a Holocaust survivor, dies aged 98
After the success of his bestselling toy line created in the ’80s, Orenstein continued with many other inventions, and eventually became a star poker player
By Shira Hanau
The popular 'pop-it' fidget toy created by Theo and Ora Coster. (Wikimedia commons/ CC-SA 4.0/ RuslanABOBA)
September 13, 2021, 10:43 pm
Anne Frank’s Israeli classmate behind popular breast-inspired fidget toy
Husband-and-wife duo Theo and Ora Coster created over 150 toys and games, including Guess Who? Now, their GoPop! toy has sold millions of units and is a hit among TikTok users
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Children playing on a makeshift pirate ship with Playmobil figures, at the Jerusalems Botanical Gardens, July 15, 2019. (Joshua Davidovich/Times of Israel)
July 17, 2019, 10:08 am
At Botanical Gardens, Playmobil plants its plastic flag
There’s no stopping to smell the flowers as children romp through the green landscape themed to tie-in with cherished playset and upcoming feature-length film
By Joshua Davidovich
Alice Cohn poses in front of the building in which she hid from the Nazis, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The photo was taken after the liberation of Europe in 1945. (Courtesy: National Holocaust Museum)
January 3, 2018, 5:02 am
How artist beat ‘foolproof’ Nazi system to forge Dutch ID papers, save 350 lives
Resistance work of Alice Cohn, expertly faking documents while in hiding, detailed in exhibit at National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam
By Matt Lebovic
In this photo illustration, a woman holds a fidget spinner, May 5, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP)
May 11, 2017, 6:02 am
Fidget spinners deemed kosher for Shabbat
Still, rabbis at Jerusalem technology and Jewish law institute say popular toy should be kept out of synagogues
By JTA
In this photo illustration, a woman holds a fidget spinner, May 5, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP)
May 8, 2017, 5:56 am
Hot new kids’ toy has roots with Palestinian rock-throwers
Catherine Hettinger, inventor of original fidget spinner, wanted to find a way to distract children from violence
By ToI Staff
The talking doll 'My Friend Cayla' on display at a 2014 toy fair in London. German regulators banned the internet-connected doll, warning on February 17, 2017 that it was a de facto 'spying device'. (AFP PHOTO/LEON NEAL)
February 17, 2017, 11:23 pm
Germany bans internet-connected ‘spying’ doll
Federal agency overseeing controls on surveillance devices urges parents urged to disable interactive toy
By AFP
In this photograph taken on February 3, 2017, a prototype figurine replica of US President Donald Trump, made by toymaker Dragon in Dream (DiD), is displayed in Hong Kong toy shop Seven. (AFP/Anthony Wallace)
February 4, 2017, 8:52 am
Hong Kong doll maker toys with Trump
Company with a history of creating figurines of controversial world leaders launches replica of US president with replaceable heads and hands
By AFP
A Magic 8 Ball 'brimming with Jewish wisdom.' (Courtesy)
September 21, 2016, 5:16 pm
Will the ‘Jewish’ Magic 8 Ball fly off the shelves?
Kickstarter campaign runs through end of September for Wisdom Ball that’s ‘cheaper than therapy, and probably the most perfect gift ever created’
By Yaakov Schwartz
File: An Aegean Airlines flight arrives at London's Heathrow Airport (Public domain/Wikipedia/Adrian Pingstone)
May 31, 2016, 7:40 pm
Israeli doll sparks bomb scare on Cyprus flight
Box marked ‘booba,’ Hebrew for doll, mistaken by airline cleaner as ‘bomba,’ the Greek word for bomb
By ToI Staff
In this Nov. 10, 2003 file photo, customers pass a statue of a teddy bear and a doorman dressed as a toy soldier as they enter the FAO Schwarz on Fifth Avenue in New York. The store is closing its doors for good on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, though it may reopen elsewhere in midtown Manhattan. (AP Photo/Rich Kareckas, File)
July 16, 2015, 12:43 pm
After 145 years, toy emporium FAO Schwarz closes
Iconic store, where Tom Hanks famously danced on the floor piano in ‘Big,’ was founded by Jewish-German immigrant
By AP and ToI Staff
Lauren Blanchard
June 9, 2015, 4:24 pm
Lauren Blanchard
E.T. comes home
A ‘toy’ robot developed by an Israeli firm is taking on more ‘adult’ roles
The Hoffman boys pose next to their father's creation, Mensch on a Bench. (courtesy)
December 10, 2014, 1:46 am
Hanukkah toy Mensch on a Bench goes mainstream
You’ll now find the plush rabbi in Target stores… and even on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’
By Deena Yellin
Toy WWII German soldiers from toy maker Cobi (screen capture: Cobi)
December 5, 2014, 6:21 am
Polish firm to keep making Nazi toys
Cobi Toys CEO argues smiling figurines are ‘fun’ way to learn about history
By Lazar Berman
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