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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The Schmooze WATCH: Gal Gadot tries eggnog; Jimmy Fallon gags at gefilte fish
On the fifth night of Hanukkah, Jimmy Fallon and Gal Gadot, in the spirit of interfaith exchange, foisted two seasonal acquired tastes on one another — we pity their palates. In this installment of the popular internet genre of “let’s watch this person eat some foreign food,” the “Wonder Woman 1984” star was given a…
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Culture Why the mayor of Ramallah does it all
Musa Hadid, the middle-aged, mustachioed and overextended mayor of Ramallah is meeting with staff to discuss a Christmas tree lighting. Among the details to be ironed out: several Santas rappelling down buildings, a flash mob and zeppelins. Well, not really zeppelins. An aide suggests that this word sets up expectations that would be tough to…
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Culture Tinker, tailor, soldier, philosemite – John le Carré’s strange relationship with Jews
John le Carré, the prolific espionage author and former MI5 spy, died Saturday Dec. 12 at the age of 89. His bibliography of nearly 60 years long outlived its major subject — the Cold War — and expanded to explore geopolitical conflicts that have yet to be resolved. In 1983, he turned his attention to…
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Culture Smokey Robinson stumped about how to say ‘Hanukkah’
Some say the Jews control the entertainment industry. If that’s the case, riddle me this: How could Motown legend Smokey Robinson, a six-decade veteran of major record labels, not know how to pronounce Hanukkah — or even have any idea what it is? We can thank Twitter user Jeff Jacobson for an unforgettable record of…
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Culture Louise Glück’s ‘minstrel show’ Nobel speech draws ire
On Dec. 7, newly-minted laureate Louise Glück delivered her Nobel acceptance speech outside of her Massachusetts home. In it, the poet expressed her lifelong interest in a kind of confessional poem, in which the speaker intimately addresses the reader. And in making her point, she lauded a work many found tone-deaf in the current climate,…
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Culture Oh, great, Benjamin Netanyahu performed a duet with an Israeli pop star
Whenever a head of state sings, it’s a risky endeavor. How does one look fun without sacrificing the dignity of the office? Or, on the flip side, austere and on-pitch enough to honor a serious occasion? President Obama is the leader who’s pulled it off most successfully in recent memory: At various points in his…
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Music How a search for Jewish inclusion helped create ‘Puppy for Hanukkah’
By now we all know Daveed Diggs’ “Puppy for Hanukkah” is a certified bop. But it was also meant to be something more than just a fun ode to the Festival of Lights. If you wade your way through the effusive social media comments — and some parents playfully cursing the Walt Disney Company for…
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Culture How ‘Big Mouth’ became bigger than me
When we last left our heroes, a sinkhole had swallowed much of the state of Florida. They escaped unscathed, parting a tidal wave with the help of a Menopause Banshee voiced by Carol Kane. Of course it was “Big Mouth” — and a Passover episode. The animated series, which debuted its fourth season on Netflix…
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