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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Facebook extends its suspension of Trump — and changes its whole philosophy on platforming politicians
Facebook announced Friday that its ban on former president Donald Trump, instated after he encouraged the crowd who subsequently attacked the Capitol on January 6, would last at least until 2023. More importantly, the company also announced that it would change its policy on platforming politicians, meaning other world leaders may also be more limited…
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A racist secret society crowned Ellie Kemper queen. But what on earth is the Veiled Prophet?
You may have forgotten about “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” one of Netflix’s first original series, until its star, Ellie Kemper, started trending on Twitter for being crowned a debutante princess — by an organization with white supremacist ties. Kemper was crowned with the rather flowery title of Queen of Love and Beauty at the Fair…
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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a book about Superman’s complete Jewish history!
A lot of people know that Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were Jewish. But according to Roy Schwartz – author of “Is Superman Circumcised?: The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero” – the question of Superman’s Jewishness hasn’t been discussed deeply enough. “Many things that are relevant and interesting have been…
The Latest
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Despite war and political unrest, at the Mediterranean Biennale, the art must go on
The fourth Mediterranean Biennale presents works by 60 international artists in public spaces across Haifa and Sakhnin Valley. The exhibition joins art world superstars, rising stars and emerging voices from countries that are rarely seen in Israeli museums and galleries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Bahrain. In response to the pandemic, curators Avital Bar Shay…
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Theater Stephen Tobolowsky has a Talmud story to tell you
For over a decade Stephen Tobolowsky has been sharing stories. Have you heard the one about his Talmud collection? The 70-year-old actor, known for his turns as a folksy insurance salesman in “Groundhog Day” and a hapless tech sociopath in “Silicon Valley,” has written two books, hosts a podcast and is now debuting an audio…
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Shira Haas talks collaging, quarantine routine, and learning Russian for her latest film
Shira Haas and Ruthy Pribar wanted to make sure I wasn’t filming our interview. That’s because they were curled up on a couch in Pribar’s Tel Aviv apartment, sharing the same blanket. They may be two of the Israeli film industry’s most exciting up-and-comers, and they certainly spent much of the last year racking up…
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For the grandfather of micro-drawing, it’s truly a small world after all
The pandemic seems to have changed the world so that it now looks a lot more like the one artist Jacob El Hanani has always lived in. The 74-year-old Moroccan-born, Israeli-raised, New York-steeped “grandfather of micro-drawing,” has been tending to his intricate and painstakingly drawn canvases for over 45 years, in the same Soho loft…
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Why the latest White House ceremony is delighting Jewish scholars and librarians
The White House’s new science adviser was sworn in Wednesday using a copy of Pirkei Avot, or Ethics of the Fathers, from the year 1492 — a pivotal moment in Jewish history and world history. The choice delighted Judaica librarians and scholars around the world. Dr. Eric Lander, the director of the White House Office…
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The Jewish story that ‘Son of the South’ left on the cutting room floor
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — The funniest line in the true-life story behind the Spike Lee-executive produced Civil Rights movement biopic, “Son of the South,” is in Yiddish. But it didn’t make the final cut. That’s because the Jewish half of what could have been a hilarious-yet-gripping buddy film was largely written out. In real life, the…
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Books This nonagenarian knows more about the cellphone than you — because he invented it
After working from home for over a year, I still have no idea how Zoom backgrounds work, which means the various strangers I interview can look past me to see my ailing succulents, unopened prestige cookbooks and a childhood’s worth of participation trophies. Unlike me, a supposed “digital native,” Martin Cooper is old enough that…
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Joe Manchin’s filibuster-sized Talmudic trolley problem — and ours
Last week, the GOP may have filibustered the future of American democracy. Senate Republicans used this parliamentary tactic to prevent the creation of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. When the vote fell short of 60 — the threshold needed to pass the measure — the Democratic senator from West Virginia,…
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Fast Forward UCLA student government condemns campus Hillel for hosting former hostage
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Fast Forward Trump extends ceasefire with Iran, even after Iran balks at new round of negotiations
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Fast Forward Alan Dershowitz quits Democratic Party, calling it ‘most anti-Israel party in U.S. history’
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