Ralph Seliger
By Ralph Seliger
-
Opinion A Century After World War I, We Don’t Put Ourselves on the Line for Beliefs
A century ago, as World War I began, many countries were willing (in the beginning, even eager) to expend their blood and treasure in the name of national pride and “glory.” We remember World War I as especially egregious in this regard, as both warring blocs were imperialistic; and considering the autocratic nature of Czarist…
-
Opinion Marshall Berman, Marxist Mentsch, Dies at 72
You’d notice Marshall Berman, if you saw him. Back when I commuted to the City College of New York from my parents’ apartment in the late 1960s, my father certainly did. He rushed into our apartment to excitedly report that “a hippie” was entering our next-door neighbor’s place, a colleague of Berman’s at CCNY. Berman…
-
The Schmooze An Israeli Filmmaker’s Lebanon Dream
Casually clad in a black tee shirt and jeans over his stocky 59-year-old frame, Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis radiates a warm friendliness. He responds to questions with rapid-fire musings that rise above the din of the lunchtime crowd at a popular Manhattan restaurant, in nearly unaccented American English. What brought him together with The Arty…
-
The Schmooze Australia’s Oscar Entry Revisits German Past
“Lore,” short for Hannelore and the title of a new film opening February 8, is the name of a strong-willed and idealistic teenager who tries to lead her four young siblings to safety through the war-ravaged and dangerous landscape of a German nation defeated in 1945. Her physical trek triggers an inner journey for this…
-
The Schmooze Why Oscar Nominee Doesn’t Represent Israel
Last year, in a nearly empty screening room, I saw what became an Academy Award finalist in the documentary category, “5 Broken Cameras.” I then interviewed filmmaker Guy Davidi about his background and his work on the film for The Arty Semite. Recently I had another email conversation with Davidi, discussing how he’s faring with…
-
The Schmooze An Israeli-Palestinian Accident of Birth
There’s a conceit among movie critics to be, well, critical. And “The Other Son,” a French film by director Lorraine Levy opening in the U.S. October 26, has its flaws. But it needs to be said upfront that, although it does not seem particularly realistic, the movie does a nice job on its own terms….
-
Opinion Norman Finkelstein Was the Moderate on Panel
The New School’s program, “The Jewish-American Relationship with Israel at the Crossroads,” raised my suspicions for two reasons: the one-sided composition of its panel and its scheduling from 4 to 6 PM on a Saturday afternoon. Was this meant as a deliberate slap at pro-Israel and religious Jews, I wondered? The announced panel featured the…
-
The Schmooze ‘Truthful Propaganda’ From Gaza
“Tears of Gaza,” a Norwegian documentary about the Gaza Strip under assault during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead of December 2008 and January 2009, is presented in Arabic with English subtitles. It may be characterized as “truthful propaganda.” There’s no reason to doubt most of what you see, but the film makes no apology for showing…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Trump’s NYC rally was a morally disgusting glimpse of the MAGA future
- 2
Opinion I’m a U.S. Navy veteran. Here’s why I’m protesting Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally
- 3
FIRST PERSON As a rabbi, he helped others mourn. So why wouldn’t his daughter say kaddish for him?
- 4
Film & TV He directed a film about the 1939 fascist MSG rally — here’s what he saw at Donald Trump’s
In Case You Missed It
-
Sports The Jewish Sport Report: After a thrilling World Series, a historic Jewish MLB offseason is on-deck
-
Fast Forward Argentina’s Javier Milei selects Jewish ambassador to replace foreign minister he fired
-
Culture ‘A Real Pain’ is Jesse Eisenberg’s love letter to Poland, the country his family left under duress
-
News When colleges shut down their ‘Gaza solidarity sukkahs,’ they prompted debates over anti-Zionist Jewish observance
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
