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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Fast Forward Sally Rooney clarifies: She’s boycotting Israel, not the Hebrew language.
On Tuesday, celebrated Irish novelist Sally Rooney clarified her stance on Hebrew translations of her new novel “Beautiful World, Where Are You.” “The Hebrew-language translation rights to my new novel are still available,” Rooney wrote in a statement the Forward received from her agent, Tracy Bohan, on Tuesday following reports that she had declined to…
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Culture He read over 27,000 comics — and now he knows everything about the Marvel universe
While Marvel comics are famous for their hyperbole, it’s no exaggeration to refer to them collectively as the “Biggest Story Ever Told.” It’s possible only one man knows the entire tale so far. With over half a million pages over innumerable lines and iterations, the Marvel canon is, per Eisner Award-winning writer Douglas Wolk, “the…
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Culture In Tammy Faye Starlite’s Israeli chanteuse, a remembrance of Judaism — and pop culture — past
It’s unclear what circumstances brought Tamar, the mononymous Israeli chanteuse, to the dining room of Pangea in the East Village this October, but it is her feeling that the venue is quite lucky to have her. “Normally I play great concert halls,” Tamar told the crowd Thursday, “Like Leonard’s of Great Neck.” Decked out with…
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Culture In Russia, a Jewish couple dubbed ‘Spartacus.’ In Israel, they’re doing phone sex and voicing air-raid alerts.
When the Iron Curtain fell and Soviet refuseniks were finally allowed to settle in Israel, many found some novel worries, and some familiar ones, waiting on the other side. While they looked for work, these Jews found themselves navigating a new country and a new language. But, amid the stress of assimilation they still had…
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Culture Sarah Silverman, let’s not use the word ‘Jewface’
Sarah Silverman has once more weighed in on a perennial debate in the world of casting: who gets to play a Jew? It’s a slippery question, and also the name of a parlor game a friend of mine likes to play. Per this friend’s rules, Zachary Levi, a non-Jew who changed his last name from…
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Culture Jon Stewart’s new show is not very funny — it is a mitzvah
The title of Jon Stewart’s new show might have had a double-meaning for almost anyone else. “The Problem with Jon Stewart” sounds like the beginning of a rant by your conservative uncle, or maybe a gripe from a pedantic comedy critic. In its current usage, there is little publicly problematic about the diminutive host, beloved…
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Culture For Your Eyes Only: A casting memo for Jewish James Bonds
Relax on the speculation, everyone. Even you, The Onion. Bond producer Barbara Broccoli announced that she is allowing Daniel Craig a one-year valedictory period before the search commences for a new 007 in 2022. Fittingly, that means the casting department at MGM needs to wait till the end of shmita to replace the legendary spy,…
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Culture SNL taps spooky, subversive Jewish comedian Sarah Sherman
What’s the best way to get a featured player spot on SNL? For new cast member Sarah Sherman, the secret sauce was posting an unsolicited audition tape, where, pinky raised to the corner of her mouth like Dr. Evil, she did impressions of everyone from Donald Trump to the infernal “Little Lad” from that one…
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Books This graphic history of Jerusalem is a big hit. But its Jews have hooked noses
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Culture Is now really the best time for a cutesy Jewish summer camp movie?
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Fast Forward Australia cancels Kanye West’s visa over controversial ‘Heil Hitler’ song: ‘We don’t need that in Australia’
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Yiddish טשיקאַוועסן: האָספּיץ־וואָלונטירס פֿונדאַציע שענקט שפּײַזקאַרטלעך צו אָרעמע פּאַציענטןTidbits: Hospice volunteer’s foundation donates grocery gift cards to poor patients
במשך פֿון זיבן יאָר האָט דזשעף לויִס אַוועקגעגעבן צען טויזנט שפּײַזקאַרטלעך.
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