Benjamin Ivry is a frequent Forward contributor.
Benjamin Ivry
By Benjamin Ivry
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Culture Why Are the Chinese So Obsessed With the Jews?
In China today, shoppers snap up self-help books about how be smart, rich, and have successful children supposedly by imitating Jews. At least ten universities in China offer Jewish Studies programs. This popularity is in spite of, or due to, the fact that there are almost no Jews in China. “The Image of Jews in…
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Culture Irving Gottesman and the Subtlety of Genetic Psychology
Irving Gottesman, a professor of psychology and modern pioneer in the study of the genetics of schizophrenia who died on June 29 at age 85, exemplified the saying attributed to Albert Einstein: “Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not.” Accepting complexities and contradictions in research without losing his unruffled good humor, the Cleveland-born…
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Culture Remembering the Iranian Film Master With a Devoted Israeli Following
The Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, who died on July 4 at age 76, trod a fine line as a humanist director living in an Islamic Republic that is committed to destroying the state of Israel. By contrast, his pacific, abstract, philosophical, deliberately-paced creations featured people driving through traffic jams, up difficult inclines, and past natural…
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Culture Unmasking the Invisible Jews of Budapest
To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Clothes make the man. Invisible people have little or no influence on society.” Yet Hungarian Jews, because they assimilated into society to the point that most overt Jewish qualities vanished, made a significant cultural impact. This is one thesis of a new book, “The Invisible Jewish Budapest”. Its author, Mary Gluck,…
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Culture Why ‘Night’ Will Be Remembered as Elie Wiesel’s Greatest Work
The Romanian-born Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel, who died on July 2 at age 87, will be remembered for many accomplishments. Above all, his memoir “Night.” (1960) Translated from a 1955 French edition — an earlier, longer Yiddish memoir with differences in substance and style was also published — “Night” focuses on the stench, torture,…
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Culture Remembering Scientist Simon Ramo — Oldest Man To Ever Receive a Patent
The American physicist, engineer, and entrepreneur Simon Ramo, who died on June 27 at the age of 103, drew lifelong inspiration from music and sports for his widespread achievements. Remembered for his pioneering work in microwave and missile technology and often called the father of the Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Ramo co-created two Fortune 500…
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Culture Remembering Michael Herr, Unparalleled Chronicler of Vietnam
In “First Kill,” a 2001 Dutch documentary film, Michael Herr, who died on June 23 at age 76, reflected on his unlikely fame as author of the novelized memoir “Dispatches” and co-screenwriter of the films “Full Metal Jacket” and “Apocalypse Now,” all about the Vietnam War: “I’m a nice middle class Jewish boy. I’m not…
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Culture Recalling Viktor Korchnoi — He Woulda Coulda Shoulda Been Our Chess Champion
The Russian Jewish chess grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi, who died on June 6 at age 85, proved that if an opponent brings in a psychic to defeat you, you can destroy the adversary by letting loose gurus. This was the surreal scenario in the 1978 chess World Championship match in Baguio City, Philippines, as described in…
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