Benjamin Ivry is a frequent Forward contributor.
Benjamin Ivry
By Benjamin Ivry
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The Schmooze ‘We Are Going to Pick Potatoes:’ The Shoah in Norway
Given the current stew of antisemitic hatred in Norway, it is hardly surprising that Holocaust studies from there are hardly a favored export, alongside herring and oil. Over 40 percent of Norway’s Jews were slaughtered during World War II, among the worst losses in Scandinavia at that time. While there is a modest, neglected Jewish…
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The Schmooze Oscar Niemeyer, Israel, and Two Jews Named Jacob
After a recent short hospital stay, the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer is back to work at age 102. Despite many reiterated online claims by Brazilian Jews to the contrary, Niemeyer is not Jewish. Of mixed German-Italian ancestry, Niemeyer did work with the Brazilian Jewish architect Elias Kaufman on his most famous project, Brazil’s capital city…
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The Schmooze Eva Mayer Schay: Surviving Exile and Sadistic Music Teachers
The monumentally traumatic exile of European Jews during Fascist times was paralleled in some ways by the inner trauma of Jewish music students saddled with sadistic teachers. This is the surprising conclusion of a discursive, artless new autobiography, more case history than memoir, “Of Exile and Music: A Twentieth Century Life” (Purdue University Press) by…
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The Schmooze Jews Onstage and in the Audience in 18th Century England
Fans of old time British music hall know that UK audiences have long been amused by Jewish caricatures, as presented onstage by 1930s comedians like Julian Rose, Issy Bonn, and Abe and Mawruss. Yet even a century earlier, Jews were also represented regularly in theaters, at a time of great social upheaval and waves of…
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Culture All Stories Are True
Three decades after his death at age 70, the art of socially involved Jewish American painter Ben Shahn has never been more widely admired and discussed. A brilliant catalog by Alejandro Anreus for the landmark 2001 exhibit at the Jersey City Museum, “Ben Shahn and ‘The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti,’” analyzed the artist’s extensive…
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The Schmooze In Israel, Not So Many Gay Days?
Since horrific headlines are often all that is seen in the English language media about the LGBT civil rights movement in Israel, on June 8, the JCC in Manhattan will offer a valuable corrective. The 2009 Israeli documentary “Gay Days,” directed by Yair Qedar, will be presented by two festivals — The JCC’s 6th Annual…
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The Schmooze Warm Sounds of Summer CD Roundup
As summer approaches with its memories of squalling kiddie camp performances, a dollop of sung sarcasm may seem timely. Fortunately, “The Tom Lehrer Collection” CD/DVD set now appears from Shout! Factory, featuring the veteran mathematician and song satirist in compositions like “I’m spending Hanukkah in Santa Monica.” For more serious listening, Hänssler Classic has just…
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The Schmooze Minsky and Machover at the World Science Festival
The much-hyped World Science Festival kicks off June 2 at Lincoln Center, and it’s still not too late to snap up a “Titanium Package,” which includes “tickets for 20 guests to VIP Reception, Performance (with exceptional seating), and Gala Reception” for the modest sum of only $100,000. Yes, $100,000, to see some Broadway-style performers, like…
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In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish טשיקאַוועסן: ייִדישע באַפֿעלקערונג איבער דער וועלט כּמעט 15 מיליאָן נפֿשותTidbits: Jewish world population is nearly 15 million
96 פּראָצענט פֿון די ייִדן איבער דער וועלט וווינען אין בלויז צען לענדער
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Fast Forward Federal judge orders Mahmoud Khalil to be released by Friday on $1 bond
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Fast Forward California ICE protests spark calls for ‘nonviolence’ from Jewish community leaders
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Fast Forward Outrage ensues after a Long Island high school study guide calls Zionism ‘extreme nationalism’
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