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
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‘Jesusland’ won’t be good for the Jews. But the ‘United States of Canada’ might be good for bagels.
In a coup to graphic design sure to baffle cartographers, Andrew Torba, CEO of the far-right social media platform Gab, has laid out new borders for the United States, which he re-dubbed “Jesusland.” In case you were wondering what Gab CEO Andrew Torba wants, take a look. He posted this 3 hours ago. pic.twitter.com/kDotd9waW6 —…
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The secret Jewish history of Mars
Last week’s landing of NASA’s Perseverance rover on the Martian surface reminds us of how life on Mars has long been an object of fascination here on Earth, from ancient times through David Bowie up until today. The Perseverance mission is just the latest to explore whether or not conditions in the Martian past or…
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Why does this podcast stand out from all the others?
The phrase “good girl” is always popping up on “Appearances,” Sharon Mashihi’s new narrative podcast. Family members often use that phrase to describe Melanie Barzadeh, the show’s fictional protagonist, even though she’s not really a “good girl” — at least, not by the standards of the Iranian-Jewish enclave in which she grew up. Unmarried in…
The Latest
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The 9 Bible characters who should be canceled
Can Bible characters be “canceled?” This dire fate was suggested by Bill Hemmer, of Fox News, as the natural continuation of criticism of American presidents. “I tell ya, if they start canceling these American presidents, they’re going to come after Bible characters next — mark my words, right?” he warned. The topic under discussion was…
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Attention Gina Carano: Jews weren’t passive, ‘gentle’ victims. They were fighters too.
Say what you will about Gina Carano, she’s a fighter. The ousted “Mandalorian” actor, who began her career in mixed martial arts before pivoting to drama (with mixed results) made this point clear on Sunday in a YouTube interview with right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro, her first since being fired for invoking the Holocaust in a…
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How Ted Cruz and Rick Perry have redefined Texas chutzpah
In his book “The Joys of Yiddish,” Leo Rosten famously defines chutzpah as “gall” or “effrontery.” By way of illustrating this quality, he retells a story. A man has murdered his father and mother. Hauled into court, the parricide throws himself on the mercy of the judge because…wait for it…he’s an orphan. I know —…
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Facing corruption charges, Bibi turns to TikTok
Bibi Netanyahu is on TikTok. There are videos of him throwing a snowball into the camera to celebrate Jerusalem’s snowy conditions, or urging Israelis to get vaccinated, though they don’t seem to have caught on too well — while, as an international leader, he has managed to get verified, he only has 217.4K followers, far…
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Sketches of Emile Zola and Alfred Dreyfus’ trials open a window to a scandalous past
History fated Emile Zola and Alfred Dreyfus to forever be footnotes in each other’s stories. Dreyfus, a military officer wrongly convicted of treason, sparked an antisemitism scandal that split French society into factions. Zola, the celebrated writer who penned the famed pro-Dreyfus open letter “J’Accuse,” would face legal trouble of his own for doing so….
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Pfizer’s CEO tells his parents’ Holocaust story
The modern miracle of the Pfizer vaccine has an equally remarkable backstory. Dr. Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer who shepherded the vaccine’s development, spoke about the “fantastic luck” of his family history on Thursday. It’s a tale of defying the odds and one whose lessons he keeps with him. In a Zoom discussion for…
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The first blind female rabbi is making sure she won’t be the last
I met Rabbi Lauren Tuchman at a Shabbat lunch, a year or two ago; I arrived late, missing half the meal and all of the introductions. I was still figuring out who everyone was when Tuchman began to lead the table in Shabbat songs from a binder filled with Braille pages. Tuchman, who was ordained…
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Forget ‘Cruella,’ meet young Fruma-Sarah. The Jewish character origin stories you definitely don’t need.
In answer to the question no one asked, Disney will soon make us privy to how exactly Cruella de Vil became so cruel and devilish. Sadly, it appears that it has less to do with a Dalmatian bite and a wasting smoking addiction than the‘70s, Sex Pistols London, Manic Panic hair dye and the stifling…
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