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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Oregon has finally scrapped its racist state song — thanks to a Jewish music teacher
Most of us think of Oregon as a liberal bastion, home to hipster baristas and organic farmers, a conception encouraged by shows like “Portlandia.” But much of Oregon is truer to its historical roots as a “whites-only utopia” that forbade Black residents and displaced its native tribes. It’s therefore unsurprising that the Oregon state song’s…
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Did Irving Berlin appropriate or celebrate Black music — or both?
While considered one of the greatest American songwriter of all time, Irving Berlin has a problematic reputation among progressives. One reason is that his songs have a strong association with seemingly uncritical patriotism, particularly “God Bless America.” Another reason is that Berlin had a seemingly problematic relationship with Black music. With his wildly successful ragtime…
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Are more teens getting nose jobs — and is TikTok to blame?
Surgery transformation videos are a genre unto themselves on TikTok. Nearly always set to a mashup called “Celebrate the Good Times,” the videos count down to the big day, switching frames every few beats as the numbers tick away until the big reveal when the beat drops. Dance music crescendos and the creator, usually a…
The Latest
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Why Tom Friedman is wrong — dangerously wrong — about Israel
It is astonishing to read a major newspaper assert that it is not necessary to understand the language someone speaks. “To understand the political drama playing out in Israel and the tentative formation of a national unity coalition to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, you don’t need to speak Hebrew,” opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman…
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Simone Biles’ GOAT leotard has a biblical precedent
Simone Biles is not being humble with her latest fashion statement — and who could blame her? The gymnast has 30 Olympic medals and continues to push her sport, and seemingly the laws of physics, to new heights. Because of her mastery, she has been called the GOAT, Greatest of All Time, and was recently…
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Why the new Israeli coalition seems like something out of an ‘Avengers’ movie
“Unusual,” “unprecedented” and “unlikely” are the commonly used adjectives to describe the uncommon coalition preparing to govern Israel. And their usage is perfectly understandable: If the current coalition survives the internal and external pressures it faces and takes office on June 14, it will truly be all of those un-words. Not only does the coalition…
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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…
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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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News ‘It’s the Jews’: San Diego mosque shooters decried ‘the universal enemy’ in hate-filled manifesto
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Film & TV Woody Allen’s biggest fans were easy marks for a fake monologue about antisemitism
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Yiddish World Inspired by a queer Bundist poet, this Jewish composer set her work to Yiddish music
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Fast Forward In Israel, an Arab-Jewish youth orchestra builds a new ‘East-West’ sound together