‘Oh Hello,’ Bernie Sanders, and the Rise of Old Jews Telling Truths
Why old Jewish men are at the forefront of popular culture, from the comedy stage to political arena.
Yo La Tengo's New Groove
A staple of the indie rock music scene, Yo La Tenga has the rare honor of inventing their own Jewish holiday tradition.
Q&A: Michael Ian Black on 'Doing it Right'
Speaking with The Arty Semite over the phone, Michael Ian Black paused and said: “That’s weird. I’m in the hotel hallway walking towards my room. On the carpet I see a pair of underwear and recognize them as my own. Now why in the world is a pair of my own underwear sitting in the middle of the hallway?” This is just another conundrum in Black’s daily life which, when he’s not working on a prematurely canceled Comedy Central series or writing sardonic tweets in 140 characters or less, revolves around his wife and two children at his home in Connecticut.
Friday Film: Maori-Jewish Director Taika Waititi
It was the highest grossing film ever in New Zealand, was nominated for the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury prize, and won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival that same year. Now, New Zealand director Taika Waititi’s “Boy” is making its New York premiere at the Angelika Film Center. Based on Waititi’s 2003 Academy Award nominated short film, “Two Cars, One Night,” “Boy” is a dramatic comedy set in 1984 in a community of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori people. The film follows the highly imaginative, Michael Jackson-obsessed “Boy” as he is reunited with his recently paroled father, played by Waititi.
Q&A: Brittany Engel-Adams on Dance and Israel
After taking just a two week workshop with choreographer Ohad Naharin, dancer Brittany Engel-Adams knew she had to move to Israel. Growing up in West Palm Beach, Florida, Engel-Adams, 22, started studying ballet at the age of 9. She attended the Bak Middle School of the Arts and Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, in addition to taking extra curricular classes at Ballet Florida. After graduating from high school, Engel-Adams was awarded a fellowship to New York’s acclaimed Ailey School, where she studied for two years before being asked to apprentice, and later dance with, the Ailey II Company.
A Girl Who Slays Dragons, but Stops for Shabbat
Mirka Hershberg is a normal 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl. She attends school, polishes the candlesticks for Shabbat, does her homework, gives tzedakah, fights trolls and dreams of slaying dragons.
