Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture. Here, you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music, film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of everything and everyone from The Rolling Stones to…
Culture
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The towering Jewish critic who taught me to grok art and hate Picasso
After Max Kozloff died at 91, a New York community came together to remember and to mourn
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The Unintended Consequences Of Promoting Democracy
Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy By Amitai Etzioni Yale University Press, 336 pages, $27.00 In the eyes of Amitai Etzioni, the Soviet Union’s relegation to the dustbin of history hasn’t changed the fact that what is left of the former empire remains the greatest threat to international security on the world stage….
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Host and Hosted
Noreen Jacks asks: “Can you please tell me if the Hebrew word for hospitality means the same as does the Greek philozenía or ‘love of strangers’? Is there a word for hospitality with the root of the Hebrew word nokhri, ‘stranger,’ in it?” No, there isn’t. The Hebrew word for hospitality is hakhnasat-orh.im. If we…
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One Big, Happy Family
Historically speaking, Jews have hardly been strangers to the art of drawing sharp distinctions among themselves. But according to a mounting body of scientific evidence, Jews — genetically speaking, at least — may have more in common than anyone previously suspected. A year ago, Michael Seldin, a geneticist at the University of California Davis School…
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Philanthropist Puts Genetic Diseases to The Test
As someone who has lost two daughters to familial dysautonomia, Lois Victor knows all too well the pain that can be wrought by genetic disease. But rather than wallow in her suffering, Victor decided to take action. She has been the driving force behind two major new centers specializing in Jewish genetic diseases, and by…
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Ashkenazim Prove Central in Pancreatic Cancer Study
Pancreatic cancer, an often fatal disorder affecting about 1% of the American population, is not usually considered a “Jewish” genetic disease, but researchers at the National Familial Pancreas Tumor Registry at Johns Hopkins University would beg to differ. The NFPTR operates a special sub-registry to specifically track pancreatic cancer patients and their relatives among the…
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Experts: Testing for Breast and Ovarian Cancers Still Lags
When Wendy Mailman’s mother, Eloyce, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last February, her concerned daughter immediately began scouring the Internet for information. Through medical sites and an ovarian cancer listserv, Mailman learned that women of Eastern European Jewish descent were at an increased risk for inheriting a predisposition for both breast and ovarian cancer. One…
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Author Enters Debate Over Jews and I.Q.
The Rev. William Sanchez of Albuquerque, N.M., has more than just the standard priest’s cross hanging from his neck. After a genetic test showed that some of his ancestors from Spain were Jewish, he took to wearing a Star of David, as well. Such is the “mystique of Judaism,” writes Jon Entine, author of the…
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PET Scan Aids in New Hyperinsulinism Cure
After 1-month-old Lily Meyers suffered two seizures in the span of two weeks, her parents faced a terribly daunting task: wading through the endless possibilities of what, exactly, was plaguing their daughter. With the aid of some new technology, however, Lily was not only properly diagnosed but also effectively cured. Rana and William Meyers eventually…
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Making Progress, Bit by (Rib)Bit
In their research on Fanconi anemia, Maureen Hoatlin and her four associates at the Oregon Health & Science University have been getting groundbreaking help from a small, slimy source. Hoatlin’s lab has shown that the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) has Fanconi genes and can be used to understand the complex set of proteins that…
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Can Testing Ever Be a Mistake?
Even when given the option of free or low-cost genetic testing, there are some who have consciously decided against it out of fear that the results could lead to discrimination from insurance companies or employers. Are such fears warranted? According to Noah Kauff, a geneticist at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, they are not. Of…
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Tay-Sachs Association Turns 50
When it was founded in 1957, the National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association was no more than a group of New York parents who had dedicated themselves to ending Tay-Sachs and the genetic diseases related to it. Tay-Sachs may still be around, but at the NTSAD’s 50th anniversary gala in October, the group will have…
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