Peter Birkenhead
By Peter Birkenhead
-
Culture When 250 Orthodox Jewish immigrants worked as extras for Cecil B. DeMille
Editor’s Note: On the occasion of Cecil B. DeMille’s 140th birthday, we’re revisiting this article from 2019. Among the thousands of extras Cecil B. DeMille hired for his original, silent version of “The Ten Commandments” were 250 Orthodox Jewish immigrants, newly arrived in Los Angeles from Eastern Europe The director hoped that they would lend…
-
Opinion The ‘lost cause’ myth is everywhere in our culture. Now is the time to expose it – for a more just America
When the Civil War ended, there were no truth and reconciliation commissions formed to process memories, no Nuremberg Trials to enable reflection, no Great Emancipator to free the future from the past — only ghosts, and the ravenous politics of memory. The need for national reckoning was quickly subordinated to the political imperative of reunification,…
-
Culture When 250 Orthodox Jewish Immigrants Worked As Extras For Cecil B. DeMille
Among the thousands of extras Cecil B. DeMille hired for his original, silent version of “The Ten Commandments” were 250 Orthodox Jewish immigrants, newly arrived in Los Angeles from Eastern Europe The director hoped that they would lend a sense of human verisimilitude to the project: “We believed rightly that, both in appearance and in…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Why I resigned as chairman of Amnesty Israel
- 2
News Scoop: Internal Project Esther documents describe conspiracy of Jewish ‘masterminds’ seeking to dismantle Western values
- 3
Opinion We’re watching Israel self-destruct — at the hands of its own leaders and citizens
- 4
Culture In ‘Wicked,’ the power of propaganda takes center stage
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Challenges and opportunities for the Jewish members of the 119th Congress
-
Fast Forward Despite war, these American Jewish athletes are choosing to pursue their careers in Israel
-
Fast Forward Biden signs law that could lead to US Jewish history museum joining the Smithsonian
-
Fast Forward As Anthony Weiner eyes a political comeback, can he count on Jewish voters?
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
