Benjamin Ivry is a frequent Forward contributor.
Benjamin Ivry
By Benjamin Ivry
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Culture Walter Mondale’s keen understanding of Jewish history
Walter Mondale, who died April 19 at age 93, was celebrated for his contributions to The Camp David Accords, political agreements signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1978. At the time, Mondale, previously a longtime senator from Minnesota, was serving as US vice president during the presidency of…
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Culture How an antisemite like Baudelaire influenced generations of Jewish writers
According to researcher Brett Bowles, Charles Baudelaire, who was born 200 years ago April 9, 1821, was a raging antisemite. In an article from 2000, Bowles noted that in “My Heart Laid Bare” (Mon cœur mis à nu), a posthumously published book of fragmentary observations, the author of the collection “The Flowers of Evil” declared:…
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Culture Just how Jewish were ‘The Arabian Nights?’
How many of the “1001 Nights” were Jewish ones? Last month marked the bicentenary of the birth of Richard F. Burton, the Victorian translator of “The Arabian Nights,” or “1001 Nights,” the medieval compendium of tales in Arabic about the storyteller Scheherazade, Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sindbad. The stories date back over centuries across a…
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Culture George Segal brought Jewishness to the screen — even when he was playing non-Jews
George Segal, who died on Mar. 23 at age 87, had a singular screen impact as an explicitly and implicitly Jewish actor starting in the 1960s. Remembered best by younger audiences for delivering sitcom lines at rapid fire tempo in the series “Just Shoot Me!” (1997–2003) and “The Goldbergs” (2013–2021), Segal was an infinitely more…
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Culture For Barney Zumoff, a giant and a mentsch
Barnett Zumoff, who died at age 94 on Mar. 21, was one of the rare people who inspire awe by the sheer range of skills at which they operate at a high level. A noted clinical and research physician with many significant publications, Zumoff achieved the rank of Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force…
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Culture The rise and fall of James Levine
The American conductor James Levine, who died on Mar. 9 at age 77, drew on Jewish musical heritage to inspire his achievement, until multiple accusations of abuse justifiably ended his career. Born in Cincinnati to parents who attended the Isaac M. Wise Temple, a pioneering synagogue for Reform Judaism, Levine was a child prodigy musician…
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Culture Remembering Yaphet Kotto, charismatic actor and proud Jew
Yaphet Kotto, who died on March 15 at age 81, used prolonged experience with Hebrew liturgy as a way to separate reality from dreams. Born in New York to a Panamanian and West Indian mother who converted to Judaism to marry his father, a Cameroonian who was raised Jewish, Kotto had a sustained film and…
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Culture Norman Lear deserves his Golden Globe award — does America deserve him?
A lifetime achievement award will be presented to the American Jewish TV producer Norman Lear at this year’s Golden Globes ceremonies on Feb. 28, and it may be time to wonder whether Lear’s fierce optimism was fully deserved by the nation he has devoted himself to for almost a century. Born in 1922, Lear was…
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