This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture where you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music (including of course Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen), film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of…
Culture
-
Barbra Streisand’s brand-new duet with Bob Dylan is a whole lot different than you might think
Though Dylan and Streisand's voices may seem ill-suited to each other, the two complement each other gorgeously on 'The Very Thought of You'
-
The Day of the Shah’s Flight
Twenty-nine years ago, on February 1, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini landed in Tehran after a 25-year exile. Ten days later, he dissolved the monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran, nearly four weeks after the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, sick with lymphoma and unable to control his kingdom, had fled the country. For months…
-
Music Whoever Said That Rappers and Orthodox Jews Don’t Mix?
Okay, I’m not sure anyone’s actually said that — and now nobody’s going to be able to say it, because we have ironclad evidence to the contrary. TMZ.com reports that the rapper Pharrell — who collaborated with Snoop Dogg on the hit single “Drop It Like It’s Hot” — “was driving around Miami when he…
The Latest
-
January 25, 2008
100 Years Ago in the Forward Mamie Marcus has had a terrible life. She was born into an impoverished family in Boston 15 years ago, and her mother committed suicide when she was a baby. Marcus’s grandfather took her to Russia, where she lived a few good years until her grandfather, a widower, married a…
-
Film & TV But Will They Split the Jewish Vote?
The Academy Awards have been announced and two films with Jewish content received nods in the foreign-language category: “Beaufort” http://www.kino.com/beaufort/], a film about Israeli soldiers in Southern Lebanon by Israeli director Joseph Cedar, and the upcoming release “The Counterfeiters” based on the true story of Salomon Sorowitsch, known as “Hitler’s Jewish counterfeiter.” We previewed the…
-
Righteous Indignation: How Are We To Understand the Alleged Spinka Scandal?
The Hasidic Rebbe, or “Grand Rabbi,” is no ordinary Jewish spiritual leader. Unlike rabbis in other denominations, from Reform to the fervently Orthodox, the Rebbe in Hasidic communities is much more than a teacher, adjudicator of Jewish law and community leader. He is nothing less than a conduit between his followers and the Heavens; a…
-
People Of the Chapbook: Jewish Poets as Jewish Teachers
Not many people know it, but Jewish poetry is alive and well. The neglect is surprising, really, since we are, after all, the People of the Book, and we allegedly cherish our poets, from the ancients to Amichai. But perhaps it’s not so surprising, given our contemporary culture, which (poets laureate notwithstanding) relegates poetry to…
-
A History of Us: ‘The Jewish Americans’ Hits the High Notes
The Jewish Americans PBS, January 9, 16, 23 The Jewish Americans By Beth S. Wenger Doubleday, 388 pages,$40. About halfway through the first installment of David Grubin’s three-part documentary “The Jewish Americans,” a voice-over reads an 1862 letter from a northern Jewish officer, one Marcus Spiegel. In it, Spiegel explains to his wife why it…
-
The Return of Eduard and Fanni
Much has been written about efforts to reclaim art looted from Jewish families during the Holocaust. Many of these stories involve valuable works by such well-known artists as Gustav Klimt, Camille Pissarro and Egon Schiele. But this is a Holocaust art story of a different stripe. The paintings in question have little commercial value, but…
-
Amen
My daughter will not go to sleep without “amen.” It has become a habit. She says the word if I forget. We say together the shema, And amin m’amin. Sometimes we say it to the dog. Sometimes we say it to the bear, Or to the Eeyore toy — her favorite character, Which worries me….
-
In Thailand, an Unusual Exhibit
The recent history of photographer Yishay Garbasz’s family is a story of migration, elected and forced. Garbasz’s mother, Sala, was born in Berlin. She took refuge from the Nazis in Holland, was deported to concentration camps in Czechoslovakia and in Poland, and finally made her way to Palestine. His father, Jack, was sent to Australia…
-
Uh, What’s a Schwa?
In a discussion several days ago of the deletion in spoken American English of the word “of” in the expression “a couple of,” so that “a couple of friends” becomes “a couple friends,” New York Times language columnist William Safire wrote: “The couple of… merges into couple a (which I would spell coupluh). As I…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News No Jews allowed: White supremacists are building a segregated community in Arkansas, but is it legal?
- 2
Opinion Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go
- 3
News What a Mayor Mamdani would mean for New York Jews
- 4
Fast Forward Mamdani tells Colbert — and a national audience — why NYC Jews shouldn’t fear him as mayor
In Case You Missed It
-
Yiddish נײַער נומער „ייִדישלאַנד“ געווידמעט אַנטאָלאָגיע פֿון נײַע ייִדישע לידער New issue of ‘Yidishland’ devoted to anthology of new Yiddish poetry
יעדעס ליד אינעם בוך ווערט באַגלייט מיט זײַן רוסישער איבערזעצונג.
-
Fast Forward Danish man was helping Iran plan attacks on Jewish targets in Berlin, police say
-
News Zohran Mamdani has represented Astoria’s Jews for 4 years. What do they think of him?
-
Fast Forward State Dept. revokes visas for Bob Vylan following ‘death to the IDF’ chants at Glastonbury
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
