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
-
Bellow and Nabokov are gone; their delightfully smug offspring lives on
It’s a brave writer who declares war on cliché. Eventually you’ll lose, probably by friendly fire, and even if you manage to ignore the bullets in your ass, someone else will be glad to poke at them. Most writers, knowing this full-well, try to avoid clichés without fighting them outright. Orwell may have scolded his…
-
From 1897 to 2020: Vote with fury, and with hope
This is the sixth installment of a special series exploring the Forward’s election coverage throughout its 123-year history. Click here to sign up to receive it through our email newsletter, and find our earlier installments here. On Oct. 13, 1897, six months after the Forward was founded, the fledgling paper issued its first major opinion…
-
November 12: What happens now? The U.S. election results and their implications
This talk will take place on Thursday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. PT. Register here. No matter who wins this historic election, the new administration will face huge challenges. Can the country be unified or does more division or even chaos lie ahead? What do the election results portend for U.S. Middle…
The Latest
-
Imagine, if you will, a sort of Yiddish ‘Brigadoon’
Imagine a village in Poland so isolated that it has escaped the horrors of 20th-century Jewish history. This is the challenging suspension-of-disbelief that Max Gross, a former Forward staff writer, requires of readers of “The Lost Shtetl.” Their reward is a wryly engaging picaresque novel that toggles between social satire and bittersweet romance. The town…
-
The Jewish James Bond stories Sean Connery likely never knew
Sean Connery, the Scottish actor who died on October 31 at age 90, may have been unaware that his celebrated film role as James Bond could possibly have included lines about how he preferred Manischewitz kosher wine, instead of martinis, shaken and not stirred. Rabbi Raphael Zarum of the London School of Jewish Studies has…
-
November 23: Faith and Gratitude in the time of COVID-19 – An Interfaith Discussion
This talk will take place on Monday, November 23 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Register here. How have different religious organizations weathered the pandemic? And what does the future hold for communities of faith? In honor of Thanksgiving, a universal day of gratitude, we hope you will join a group of young…
-
December 1: Anti-Racism – The Solution or Part of the Problem
This talk will take place on Tuesday, December 1 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT Register here. In the wake of the George Floyd murder, the call for racial justice and equality has become amplified and increasingly widespread across the nation. One solution has been the “anti-racist” philosophy, popularized by writers like Ibram…
-
Talmudic meme machine Shoshana Gottlieb is mixing parsha and pop culture on Instagram
Shoshana Gottlieb wants you to know she’s not an artist. Sure, she spends her free time crafting original graphics to post online. Sure, her work captures Jewish culture and tradition with a sharp but loving eye. And sure, she has a devoted following who come to her for inspiration and entertainment. Still, she says, “I’m…
-
Finally, the perfect board game for Jewish boomers
Finally, there’s something for those of us who qualify for Old People Shopping Hour and it isn’t about arthritis or urinary tract problems. It’s “Boom Again,” a board game designed for those 50 and up. If, like me, you miss pre-pandemic schmoozing, kibitzing and reminiscing, this is for you. The game goes like this: Questions…
-
Before Rabin, another Hebrew leader was assassinated — and the parallels are uncanny
November 4, the day after Election Day, will mark the 25th anniversary of the murder of Yitzhak Rabin. It’s an important day to remember and ponder. Important, because of who this Israeli prime minister was in his day, what he stood for and what his murder wrought. Important, because historical memory fades so quickly into…
-
In search of the lost time of a gay Jewish novelist
In a new book, Saul Friedländer shows how an analytical approach that made him an acclaimed Holocaust historian, can explicate a gay writer of Jewish origin. “Proustian Uncertainties,” concerns the French novelist Marcel Proust, whose “In Search of Lost Time” offers emotionally complex narration and memories linked to sexuality and Judaism. Perhaps surprisingly, this subject…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
- 2
Fast Forward First Puka Nacua, now Mookie Betts: Why do sports stars keep getting antisemitic around a Jewish streamer?
- 3
Fast Forward After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim
- 4
Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Holocaust survivor event features a Rob Reiner video address — recorded just weeks before his death
-
Fast Forward In Reykjavik, Hanukkah offers a chance for Iceland’s tiny, isolated Jewish community to come together
-
Opinion When my children decorate for Hanukkah, I don’t just see pride. I see pluralism in action.
-
Fast Forward ‘The most Australian name’: Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack, embodies a nation’s grief
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
