Irene Katz Connelly is a staff writer at the Forward. You can contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @katz_conn.
Irene Katz Connelly
By Irene Katz Connelly
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Culture You’ve probably never heard about the world’s first female rabbi. Sigal Samuel wants to change that
If you think female rabbis are a modern phenomenon, Sigal Samuel is here to change your mind — just like she changed hers. Samuel grew up in an Orthodox community where the idea of female clergy was considered deeply untraditional. So when, deep in an “internet rabbit hole,” she stumbled on the story of the…
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Culture The Bernie Sanders meme was an antidote to political branding — until it became a commodity
When my boyfriend sent me the first of hundreds of Bernie Sanders mittens memes I have consumed in the past 10 days, I was watching inauguration coverage and writing about Ella Emhoff’s coat. I knew there were going to be a lot of great coats, and I enjoyed every minute I spent thinking about them:…
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Culture Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ final book wins big at National Jewish Book Awards
The National Jewish Book Awards selected the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ “Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times” as the most notable Jewish book of 2020. Sacks, a prolific author and a leader in modern Jewish thought, has won several prizes at the awards program, which the Jewish Book Council has operated since 1950….
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Culture How celebrated illustrator Peter Sís found a Holocaust hero in his own backyard
The day after Donald Trump won the 2016 election, the author and illustrator Peter Sís met with his editor to discuss a new book. The former president’s rise was already drawing comparisons to the crises of the 20th century. Still, Sís couldn’t have predicted that he would finish his latest work, a children’s tale of…
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Culture She didn’t go to Hebrew school, but she she made an extremely accurate movie about it — a conversation with Olivia Peace
The most important scenes in “Tahara” take place where the best shul drama goes down: the ladies’ lounge. Possibly the most important amenity a synagogue can offer, the ladies’ lounge features way too many wicker baskets, a selection of castoff artwork incorporating the phrase “tikkun olam” and a well-worn couch conducive to dawdling and dishing…
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The Schmooze Everything bagel-flavored ice cream now exists and we don’t know what to think
This morning, I ate an everything bagel that was exactly what an everything bagel should be. Slathered in cream cheese. Garnished with a judicious sprinkle of caraway seeds. Slightly crispy from the freezer. (Is it even an everything bagel if you didn’t buy it in bulk?) Most importantly, not a dessert. Unfortunately, many Americans will…
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Culture In Brighton Beach, a gay teen seeks easy answers and finds only enigmas
When “Minyan” debuted in late February 2020, you were probably hoarding toilet paper or stocking up on the wrong kind of canned goods. In other words, doing anything but paying attention to the latest in indie Jewish cinema. That’s a shame. The film, which is getting something of a do-over at this year’s all-virtual New…
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The Schmooze Here’s what the Jews of the Biden-Harris clans did, said and wore on Inauguration Day
President Joe Biden, who took office on Wednesday morning, is not Jewish. Neither is Vice President Kamala Harris. But between the two of them, they have an astonishing collection of Jewish relatives — most of whom schlepped to Washington, D.C., statement coats in tow, for the presidential inauguration. Harris is married to Forward-certified “hot Jewish…
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