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
-
Socially distancing? Join the Forward’s book club, and connect.
Dear reader: I hope you’ll join me in a new project we’re launching: The Forward Book Club. For me, it’s a way to combine something I love (reading) with something I crave (connection in a time of crisis). We’re going to start with a book that’s perfect for this moment: “The Bread Givers,” by Anzia…
-
Daily distraction: 92nd Street Y online, free yoga, Jewish Museum audio tour
It’s Wednesday, and we’re halfway through this first — for many of us — week of socially distancing. Every day is an achievement, and every day deserves a reward. Here are some options to consider today. 1) Browse archived performances from the 92nd Street Y. The 92nd Street Y, one of New York’s most beloved cultural…
-
I’m a rabbi and a lifelong reader. These are the books I’m turning to for comfort.
As we as a society take steps to stem the novel coronavirus outbreak, we have plenty of enforced time at home. But although your body may be stuck inside, your mind can still roam the universe. This is a time to read: long books you’ve never gotten to, or new kinds of books you never…
The Latest
-
How the Jews Made America Irish
Editor’s Note: This article was first published in the Forward on March 17, 2014. Even with St. Patrick’s Day upon us, it’s hard to say just when and where the first major alliance between the Jews and the Irish was forged in this country, but the Chicago office of Dankmar Adler, architect and engineer, back…
-
Daily distraction: Ben Platt’s dance party, the Folksbiene online and ‘West Side Story’
As the novel coronavirus outbreak continues, social distancing remains the cool thing to do — just listen to Mel Brooks. Luckily, our favorite cultural figures and institutions continue to find creative ways to keep us entertained. In case you missed our first installment, as the country enters an unprecedented period of isolation to stem the…
-
Mel and Max Brooks’ father-son coronavirus PSA is a must-watch
“World War Z” author Max Brooks makes a living selling stories of the zombie apocalypse. But today, he’s enlisting his followers to help stave off the apocalypse at hand. On Twitter, the writer teamed up with his father, the veteran comedian and director Mel Brooks, to demonstrate proper social distancing techniques in the confusing era…
-
We used to conduct weddings in cemeteries to fight epidemics — really
As the world confronts the novel coronavirus pandemic, many Jewish leaders are urging their communities to make changes in their lives to help cut the crisis short: Don’t kiss mezuzot, convene with your minyan online. Keep events like weddings small, if at all possible. But in past moments of public health crisis, our community wasn’t…
-
Daily distraction: How to stay engaged — and entertained — through a time of isolation
Listen: If Arnold Schwarzenegger can absolutely revel in being quarantined with his miniature horse and miniature donkey (yes, really!), you can find some comfort and joy in isolation, too. Starting today, we’ll be sharing recommendations each day on how to stay engaged with the world in these times of quarantine and isolation. They’ll range from…
-
The secret Jewish history of St. Patrick’s Day
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the Forward on March 16, 2018. If you are Jewish and you feel drawn somehow to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, there are more than a dozen good reasons why. St. Patrick’s Day and Purim typically appear on the calendar within a few weeks of each other. In…
-
‘The Plot Against America’: How the Forward reported the transformation of Charles A. Lindbergh
Philip Roth’s “The Plot Against America” is in some ways his least speculative book. Many of the characters, including Roth, his brother and his parents, are real, and most of the events that precede his counterhistory — where Charles A. Lindbergh becomes president in 1940 — truly happened. Roth’s Newark, was a thoroughly Jewish, if…
-
David Simon on ‘The Plot Against America’ and our crisis of democracy
Anti-Semite, aviator and national hero Charles Lindbergh never ran for president — but isolationists thought of courting his candidacy more than once. The first time was in 1940, when some Republicans considered him for their ticket against incumbent Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The second time was in 1944, when Gerald L.K. Smith sought him as the…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
- 2
Fast Forward Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army
- 3
Opinion This German word explains Trump’s authoritarian impulses — and Hitler’s rise to power
- 4
Music ‘No matter what, I will always be a Jew.’ Billy Joel opens up about his family’s Holocaust history
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion What Democrats fighting Trump should learn from Germany’s failure to stop Hitler
-
Fast Forward 31st anniversary of AMIA bombing marked by ceremonies in Argentina, Israel and, for the first time, Congress
-
Fast Forward Mike Huckabee to Israel: End hostile treatment of Christian allies
-
Fast Forward Connie Francis, 20th-century star turned TikTok sensation, recorded an album of Jewish songs in 1960
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
