Arts & Culture


Jan Koum, WhatsApp and the Meaning of 'The Walls Have Ears'

By Philologos

What is the origin of the expression ‘the walls have ears’? Philologos delves into Hebrew scholarship — and explains what it has to do with WhatsApp billionaire Jan Koum.Read More

A Coupla Jewish Writers Talk Theater, Drinking and Escaping the Midwest

By Joshua Furst

Playwright Brooke Berman chats with Joshua Furst over drinks about escaping the Midwest and her newest work, which is set in the racially torn Detroit of the late ’60s.Read More

Were They Heroes or Were They Collaborators?

By Benjamin Ivry

When the Nazis invaded France in 1940, the music world was split down the middle. A new book finds both villains and heroes in the story of the World War II occupation.Read More

Gary Shteyngart's Schechter School Tale of Woe

By Julie Wiener

If no ink is bad, then Gary Shteyngart may be one of the best things to happen to the Conservative movement’s Schechter Day School Network.Read More

Painting Inspires Dialogue Between Jews and Catholics in Poland

By Magda Teter

The Polish town of Sandomierz, known for anti-Semitic 18th-century painting, recently celebrated a Day of Judaism. What does this mean for Catholic-Jewish relations?Read More

A Talking Trove of Interviews as AJC Oral History Goes Online

By Jon Kalish

Want to hear what Hank Greenberg had to say about anti-Semitism? Or Bella Abzug’s views on sexual discrimination? Now that AJC’s oral history library is online, you can.Read More

The Surprising Jewish Flavor of Hayao Miyazaki, King of Japanese Animation

By Jay Michaelson

‘The Wind Rises’ will be the swan song of Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki. Reviewing the film, Jay Michaelson finds resonances with ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘The Last of the Just.’Read More

Is There an E.L. Doctorow in the House?

By Nan Goldberg

Throughout his career, E.l. Doctorow has written some of the best fiction critic Nan Goldberg has read. But his latest novel, ‘Andrew’s Brain,’ seems outdated and irrelevant.Read More

Remembering Alain Resnais and His Complex Relationship With Jews

By Benjamin Ivry

French film pioneer Alain Resnais, who died at 91, directed seminal films like ‘Last Year at Marienbad’ and ‘Hiroshima, Mon Amour.’ Benjamin Ivry looks back at his relationship to Jews.Read More

Is Mieczyslaw Weinberg's 'The Passenger' Only Holocaust Opera 'Worth Watching'

By Reuters

Violinist Linus Roth is the biggest fan of Polish-born Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg. He calls ‘The Passenger’ the ‘only Holocaust opera worth watching.’Read More




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