Talya Zax is the Forward’s opinion editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @TalyaZax.
Talya ZaxOpinion Editor
By Talya Zax
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Culture Elena Ferrante’s Jewish Inspiration
When Hitler traveled to Rome to meet with Mussolini in 1938, Elsa Morante stood by her window with a pot of boiling oil on the stove. The duo’s parade route was going to pass directly below her apartment, and she was planning to dump the scalding liquid on their heads as they went by. She…
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The Schmooze Shulem Deen and Daniel Torday Are Jewish Book Awards Winners
The Jewish Book Council has announced the winners of its 2015 National Jewish Book Awards. The awards, celebrating their 65th year, span a wide variety of Jewish texts both popular and scholarly, from American Jewish Studies to Children’s Literature to Sephardic Culture. Highlights from the 19 categories include the award for “Jewish Book of the…
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The Schmooze David Bowie’s Favorite Jewish Authors — From Bellow to Weschler
While fans are marking David Bowie’s death by revisiting the decades of art he created in his life, we thought it’d be interesting to take a look Bowie’s list of his 100 favorite books, released as part of a 2013 exhibit on the artist’s career at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Bowie’s literary interests, like…
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Film & TV These Are the Films To See at the 25th New York Jewish Film Festival
Starting January 13, Lincoln Center will play host to the New York Jewish Film Festival for the 25th time. “We’re taking the opportunity to look back at some of the highlights of films that premiered over the 25 years,” said Aviva Weintraub, the festival’s director. That retrospective takes the form of nine films that were…
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The Schmooze 16 Jewish Pop Culture Predictions for 2016
Since it’s the season for 2016 predictions, we bring our own: 1) A Clickhole-originated petition to have Mel Brooks replace the current voice of the New York Subway system will, after gaining surprising grassroots power, succeed, to the joy of New Yorkers and tourists alike. 2) Lil Dicky, the not-so-serious rapper responsible for bringing us…
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The Schmooze Mandy Patinkin Schools Ted Cruz on ‘Princess Bride’ in Essay
Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz suffered a blow last week when Mandy Patinkin, who played the beloved character Inigo Montoya in 1987 movie “The Princess Bride,” published an dissing Cruz’s use of his former character’s quotes on the campaign trail. Cruz has been quoting “The Princess Bride” over the past few weeks – even acting out…
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News New Poll Reveals Evangelical Christians Fuel Republican Support For Israel
A new poll has revealed a powerful force behind partisan divides in public opinion on Israel: the Evangelical right. It’s generally assumed to be a political fact that Republican voters and candidates are more unilaterally supportive of Israel than their Democratic counterparts. But the poll, released by Dr. Shibley Telhami, a non-resident Senior Fellow at…
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Culture A ‘Golden’ Trip Back to the World of Yiddish Theater
When Jacob Pavlovich Adler — a founding father of New York City’s Yiddish Theater District and one of its greatest stars — died in 1926, The New York Times estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 mourners lined the streets for his funeral. The turnout was likely even greater than that, in the same year, for…
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Opinion Is starvation in Gaza really Israel’s fault? The facts are clear
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News That whites-only, no Jews allowed Arkansas community is legal, says state’s attorney general. How?
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Film & TV How Jon Stewart evolved on Israel — at least on ‘The Daily Show’
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Opinion I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel
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Opinion A beloved peace activist was killed in the West Bank. Can his death finally teach us empathy?
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Opinion As an Israeli political scientist, I resisted thinking this war was a genocide. Here’s what changed my mind
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Opinion Israelis want out of the Gaza war. But all the exit routes feel like traps
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Fast Forward Antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein are proliferating — and entering the mainstream
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