PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
-
Culture This Jewish family was nominated for more Oscars than any other
There is no name in film music that carries as much cachet as “Newman.” I can prove it: you probably don’t know which Newman I’m talking about. While John Williams has an impressive 52 Oscar nominations, the Newman family, collectively, have 95. Here are more numbers. This year alone, two Newmans, cousins Thomas and Randy,…
-
Culture How Leo Hurwitz, hounded by McCarthy, changed documentary film
One proof of documentarian Leo Hurwitz’s genius is how he continued working and innovating even while he was blacklisted. As America was in the fever of the red panic, the leftist filmmaker — perhaps best-remembered for capturing the syndicated TV footage Adolf Eichmann’s 1961 trial in Jerusalem — was still in demand, though officially barred…
-
Culture At a Holocaust play reading, a Jewish community divided
On Thursday night at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Theater of War presented excerpts from Peter Weiss’s “The Investigation,” culled from transcripts of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials from the 1960s. The script’s content ranges from clinical descriptions of Nazi horrors to stirring, if understated, testimony on the banality…
-
Culture Deborah Lipstadt, Etgar Keret and Ilya Kaminsky take home National Jewish Book Awards
Updated, January 17, 4:32 pm: This story has been updated to include a list to the complete list of winners of the 2019 awards. Short tales of whimsy, a new translation of the Bible, unsung American matriarchs and two rousing calls to combat the so-called “oldest hatred:” These are the winners of the 69th Annual…
-
Culture The Kafkaesque story of how Kafka’s “Trial” got cancelled
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the Adam Mickiewicz Institute’s response to NYU Skirball’s statement that “The Trial” was cancelled due to its decision to withdraw funds. A stage adaptation of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial,” which was set to debut in New York at the NYU Skirball Center March 7, has been…
-
Culture She was the first Jewish actor to win an Oscar
Each year, the Oscars are a who’s who of Jews. We are routinely represented in winners, losers, hosts and weird kissers (cough, cough Adrien Brody.) Too often, the awards go to boychiks. This year, with no women nominees for director (either Jewish or gentile), we wondered who was was the first Jewish woman to take…
-
Culture OscarsSoBoring: What the nominees tell us about 2020
The first weeks of 2020 already feel like a retread of lowlights from years past. A calamitous environmental crisis, an impeachment trial and a teaser of a new, ill-advised war in the Middle East. And then there are the Oscar nominees. This year, like just about every year, shows an Academy unwilling to embrace new…
-
Culture How a Jewish New Yorker documented Muslim life under Trump
A week into his presidency, Donald Trump made good on a campaign promise to block Muslims from entering the United States. With Executive Order 13769, the Trump administration suspended entry from seven Muslim-majority countries. But the travel ban didn’t just affect residents of those countries — it had sweeping implications for America’s 3.45 million Muslims,…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
- 2
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 3
Culture Cardinals are Catholic not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
- 4
News Why Zohran Mamdani believes he’ll win over Jewish voters, as Israel critic surges to second behind Cuomo in NYC mayoral race
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Sholom Lipskar, influential Chabad rabbi who reshaped Florida community, dies at 78
-
Fast Forward Murders of two Israelis in Los Angeles appear unrelated as speculation mounts
-
Fast Forward Campus encampments return one year later, and pro-Palestinian protests spark 15 arrests
-
Fast Forward Israeli left-wing group suspended at University of Haifa after protesting the war in Gaza
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
