What's a Mensch Doing on 'Iron Chef'?
Micah Wexler will face off against Bobby Flay on The Food Network’s ‘Iron Chef.’ Could a member of the tribe be TV’s next big foodie thing?
Going Talmudic on Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong is accused of systematically cheating by using performance-enhancing drugs. Could the cycling legend’s transgressions be justified under Jewish law?
Do Jews Win the Anxiety Sweepstakes?
Dan Smith’s second book, “Monkey Mind,” is a warm and painful look into his life-long struggle with anxiety and paradox. The same dogged interrogation of his psyche which antagonizes and often undermines him is redirected here in service of understanding and healing. What results is a patient, emotional and often funny catalogue of how he became such a mess of insight. The Arty Semite caught Smith on a good day, as he was gearing up for the book’s July 3 release, and as he made his daughter lunch.
From ‘Chip ’n Dale’ to ‘Assassin’s Creed’
Micah Kelber profiles a Jewish writer of video game narratives, Jeffrey Yohalem, whose “Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood,” has sold more than 7.2 million copies.
Small Nations Stick Together at the Israeli Jazz Festival
So, what was a non-Jewish, non-Israeli Cuban doing organizing the NYC Israeli Jazz Festival, anyway?
Holding Leaders Accountable for Kotel Violence Against Women
These days, we’re hearing about more ultra-Orthodox men who are turning to increasingly hateful tactics to prevent women from praying as they wish on their side of the Western Wall’s mechitza. Recently, they hurled chairs over the divider, even before the women had a chance to begin their davening. Once the police were called, the chair-throwing stopped; two men were arrested.
Gate to Identity
Moore’s bold writing shows that she isn’t afraid of very much. Her style includes the kind of things that other less courageous authors shy away from: playing with words, using exclamation points, combining sadness with silliness, mixing jadedness and profundity, hammering the truth of despair into a reader’s bones. Here she employs her subtler skills to portray an absence: a Jewish mother who fades from sight but pervades the themes of the book.
We Will Not Stop Dancing
Last August a gunman entered the Aguda building in Tel Aviv and opened fire on the crowd at Bar Noar, a safe space for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. He killed two and wounded a number of others before escaping without trace or identification.
Hip Hopping Mad in the Holy Land: Sagol 59
In “The Land of No Hop” the rapper Sagol 59 (Khen Rotem) lays out evidence to justify his belief that despite a number of successful Israeli hip hop groups, the genre has not yet been born in Israel.
Urban Desert Holy Land Hip-Hop
The hip-hop bravado of Soulico, the Israeli DJ collective, comes with an undercurrent of adorable self-consciousness. Although the members are veterans of the business, they seem surprised by their breakthrough with an album and an American tour. Their affect is an excited, ?Can you believe it?? Because of the vibrant complexity they create, you shouldn?t be surprised by feelings of happy mindlessness on the dance floor. But if you do decide to pay attention, the album lends itself to bigger ideas and more important questions.