Benjamin Ivry is a frequent Forward contributor.
Benjamin Ivry
By Benjamin Ivry
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Culture Remembering Charles Krauthammer — Guardian Of Memory
Despite his status as influential political pundit, Charles Krauthammer, who died on June 21 at age 68, knew that no spirit should be nurtured on politics alone. Krauthammer’s rich and varied intellectual and esthetic diet was described in his “Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics” (2013) Some of his passions and…
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Culture Why Philip Roth Pissed Off So Many Jewish Readers
The novelist Philip Roth, who died on May 22 at age 85, was showered with honors for his 31 books. Yet from early in his career, he was also confronted by charges of anti-Semitism, even from professional critics who admired his literary talent. The vehemence of this opposition, which Roth countered energetically for most of…
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Culture Richard Goodwin, Speechwriter For LBJ, JFK and RFK, Dies At 86
Richard Goodwin, who died in Massachusetts on May 20 at age 86, was more than just a distinguished speechwriter for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Robert F. Kennedy. Goodwin furthered social progress with his brilliantly crafted words, coining the phrase “Great Society” to describe the Johnson’s government’s efforts to battle poverty and racial…
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Culture That Time Tom Wolfe Lampooned Leonard Bernstein And ‘Radical Chic’
The satiric novelist and essayist Tom Wolfe died on May 14 at age 88 in the midst of world-wide celebrations for the centenary of Leonard Bernstein. This timing might have appealed to Wolfe’s well-developed sense of irony, since he authored “Radical Chic,” a savage takedown of Bernstein first published in June 1970 by New York…
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Culture Why Do We Keep Honoring This Unrepentant Anti-Semite?
A new book from St. Martin’s Press by Susan Ronald, biographer of Adolf Hitler’s art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, details how Florence Gould (1895-1983 a society hostess born in America of French parents, was an egregious collaborator during the Nazi Occupation of Paris. Yet today, New Yorkers flock to the Florence Gould Hall at the French…
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Culture Why Should We Care About The Anti-Semitic Ravings Of Louis-Ferdinand Céline?
With anti-Semitic violence on the rise in France, now might not be the most opportune time to announce a reprint of some of the most violent Jew-hating writings of the 20th century. Yet in December 2017, les éditions Gallimard in Paris declared that this May, three anti-Semitic tracts written by the author Louis-Ferdinand Céline in…
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Culture Was Alan Gershwin Really George Gershwin’s Son?
Brooklyn-born Albert Schneider, who called himself Alan C. Gershwin, maintained the claim that he was an illegitimate son of the American Jewish songwriter George Gershwin (1898-1937) for decades until his death on February 27 at age 91. He never relented, despite the Gershwin family’s prompt denial of any such connection. Schneider/Gershwin, as he shall be…
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Culture The Mensch Behind ‘Batman’ Dies At 104
The Hollywood producer Benjamin Melniker, who died on February 26 at the age of 104, bought the screen rights to the DC Comics character Batman in 1979 and is credited as co-executive producer on every Batman film from Tim Burton’s 1989 effort to Batman Ninja (2018). His career proves that no comic book villains could…
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