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 Why Yo-Yo Ma Is Fighting To Save Louis Kahn’s Floating Concert Hall
The late architect Louis Kahn is renowned for his impact on landscapes and cityscapes around the world, from the United States to Israel to Bangladesh. But one of his most moving creations, “Point Counterpoint II” was designed to live on the water. The bad news: It’s in immediate danger of being destroyed. The good news:…
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Culture Sam Shepard, Playwright Of Biblical Proportions, Dies At 73
Sam Shepard, a playwright and actor whose work helped revolutionize American theater, died on July 30 at his home in Kentucky from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 73 years old. Shepard, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his play “Buried Child” and was nominated for an Academy…
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Culture Donald Trump Is Bad At Doodling. Which Presidents Were Better?
As a wise Twitter commentator yesterday observed, we’ve lived through, uh, less stressful times. WHAT A MONTH TODAY HAS BEEN — this b (@BryanByczek) July 27, 2017 But now it’s Friday, and you can rely, probably, on having health care until at least next week. Let’s unwind with an assessment of how President Trump is…
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The Schmooze Jews Who Fought Hitler, ‘Menashe’ And More To Read, Watch And Do This Weekend
Personally, I think President Trump’s communications director Anthony Scaramucci’s graphic rant to The New Yorker is the only entertainment I’ll need this weekend. Should you be looking for something less lurid and politically disheartening, check out our recommendations below. 1) Watch The much-anticipated Yiddish-language film “Menashe,” which chronicles the struggle of a Hasidic widower to…
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Culture Michiko Kakutani, Formative New York Times Book Critic, Reviews 8 Jewish Writers
Michiko Kakutani, who as The New York Times’s longtime chief book critic earned both admiration and the ire novelists to whom she dished out less-than-favorable reviews — said novelists tended to be white, male, and accustomed to praise; make of that what you will — is stepping down from her post. As the Times announced…
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Culture ‘To The End Of The Land’ Shows The Dream Of Israel — And Its End
A chorus of actors in IDF fatigues raced to the bare white walls framing the stage. Minutes later, when they stepped away, those walls were covered in childlike drawings of a bucolic countryside: Hills, trees, birds, a stream. It was the rare theatrical choice that evokes real wonder, but in “To the End of the…
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Fast Forward Paul Auster, Arundhati Roy Lead Man Booker Prize Longlist
Paul Auster’s gargantuan novel “4 3 2 1” is one of 13 novels to make the longlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize. The list, a who’s-who of contemporary literature, also includes previous Man Booker-winner Arundhati Roy for her sophomore novel “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness,” Colson Whitehead for his Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Underground Railroad,”…
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Culture How Yitzhak Rabin’s Assassination Left Amos Gitai Searching For The Right Words
Last week, following a one-night-only Manhattan performance of Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai’s “Yitzhak Rabin: Chronicle of an Assassination,” I asked a friend what she’d thought of the performance. She wondered, hesitantly, if there needed to be quite so many gunshots. I knew to expect them. The multi-media performance wasn’t Gitai’s first take on the 1995…
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