PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Culture Pittsburgh’s Other First Jewish Mayor Wasn’t Named Sophie
Self-described “Old Jewish grandmother” Sophie Masloff was the first and only female mayor of Pittsburgh but was she, as has been widely-reported, the city’s first Jewish mayor? A week after the Forward ran a piece remembering Masloff, and repeating the claim that she was a Jewish as well as female first for the city, we…
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Culture What To Read About Anti-Semitism After Pittsburgh
The history of anti-Semitism is sprawling and ugly. But as Americans look to understand this unique prejudice in the aftermath of the massacre in Pittsburgh, a number of books and essays can serve as useful primers on the subject. The New York Times recently suggested three such titles: “(((SEMITISM))): Being Jewish in America in the…
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Culture 6 Questions For Jonathan Lethem
In more than one way Jonathan Lethem’s latest novel “The Feral Detective” is a return to basics. The book reengages with his bold first-person voice and his Raymond Chandler roots, but also tells a story about aching for reinvention in a simpler world. Its main character, Phoebe Siegler, quits her job at The New York…
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Culture Squirrel Hill’s Sophie Masloff Was Pittsburgh’s First Female Jewish Mayor
Pittsburgh’s Jewish history is receiving renewed attention in the wake of the October 28 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue. But while we mourn, we also acknowledge that there is much to celebrate about the community’s past. Did you know, for instance, that the first female Mayor of Pittsburgh was also Jewish?* Sophie Masloff,…
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Music Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’ Was Pretty Jewish Behind The Scenes
More like “Tangled Up in Jew.” In an October 31, 2018 piece for the New Yorker music journalist Jeff Slate revealed the early recording history of Bob Dylan’s 1975 album “Blood on the Tracks” and its little known Jewish connections. Slate, who wrote the liner notes for “More Blood, More Tracks,” the latest in Dylan’s…
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Culture Will The Pittsburgh Bloodbath Forge A Bond Between American Jews And Muslims?
Within hours of the October 27 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Muslim-American activists sprang into action. Tarek El-Messidi, founding director of the faith-based nonprofit Celebrate Mercy launched a “Muslims Unite for Pittsburgh Synagogue” campaign on LaunchGood, a Muslim fundraising website, with the goal of providing for the short-term needs of…
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Culture Russian Scientist In Antarctica Attacked Co-Worker For Spoiling Book Endings
By its nature Antarctica, has the lowest crime rate of any continent. Housing only a few thousand souls across approximately 66 research bases, spread far apart, the small population of mostly scientists doesn’t allow for many opportunities for extralegal activities. But this month a Russian scientist has been extradited back to his home country after…
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Fast Forward VIRAL PHOTO: Pittsburgh Boy In Kippah Gives Cookies To Police Officer
The boy is wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates kippah and glasses, and he’s sheltering in the arm of a Pittsburgh police officer to whom he’s given a Tupperware container full of what looks like homemade cookies. There’s also a handwritten note, from Lily, 6, and Mikey, 9: “Thank you for keeping the Jews in the neighborhood…
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