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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Life “Meet a Jew” pop-up combats two epidemics: coronavirus and anti-Semitism
At lunchtime on a recent Thursday before the city came to a standstill due to coronavirus fears, 42nd Street was awash with New Yorkers in single-minded pursuit of kale salads and Mediterranean grain bowls. Even at the best of times, it’s difficult to interrupt the powerful flow of this daily migration. In recent weeks, as…
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The Schmooze Behind the scenes with a rabbi in HBO’s ‘Plot Against America’
Ethan Herschenfeld is so accustomed to playing Jewish tough guys that when he recorded his first comedy album, he named it “Thug Thug Jew”. Now he’s cutting a much menschier figure in the Jewish cinematic event of the spring: a new adaptation of Philip Roth’s “The Plot Against America,” a speculative novel about what might…
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News Online anti-Semitism thrives around coronavirus, even on mainstream platforms
The first Jewish coronavirus case was announced on March 3, but as early as January, Jews have been blamed online for spreading the virus, said Alex Friedfeld, an investigative researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. Jonathan Sarna, a professor of Jewish-American History at Brandeis University, said this latest public health-related conspiracy theory reflects…
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Life Some of our favorite 2020 Purim costumes
For centuries, Purim has been a time of Jewish togetherness. Hand-shaking, hamentaschen-sharing, dance-floor-germ-exchanging togetherness. But with new cases of coronavirus cropping up every day, Purim parades are a risky endeavor. Costume parties have given way to self-quarantine, and communities are conducting Megillah readings via Zoom. With fear and uncertainty (and viral particles) in the air,…
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Culture What to watch if you’re quarantined with coronavirus
With coronavirus cases on the rise and over 2,000 people in quarantine in New York City alone, it’s looking increasingly likely that many of us will have to spend some quality time at home in the next few weeks. Wondering how not to go crazy while eating canned goods in your closet-sized bedroom? The answer,…
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Life Unsung Women | Gluckl of Hameln, the original Yiddish tell-all writer
Editor’s note: For Women’s History Month, the Forward presents “Unsung Women,” a special project showcasing Jewish women — from biblical times to our modern moment — whose stories have rarely been told. Who she was: Gluckel of Hameln Where and when: Germany, circa 1646 — 1724 What we know: Gluckel was a woman determined to…
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Life Unsung Women | Felice Schragenheim, bravely partisan, openly queer
Editor’s note: For Women’s History Month, the Forward presents “Unsung Women,” a special project showcasing Jewish women — from biblical times to our modern moment — whose stories have rarely been told. Who she was: Felice Schragenheim Where and when: Germany, 1922-1944 What we know: Born to a leftist Jewish family in Berlin, Felice Schragenheim…
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Life What we talk about when we talk about the Purim story
It’s very hard, I discovered while writing the Forward’s guide to celebrating Purim, to write a straightforward summary of the Purim story. Did the Persian king Ahasuerus command his wife, Vashti, to appear before his friends or dance for them naked (the text relates that he asked her to “display her beauty”)? Did she refuse…
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