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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Stevie Wonder’s 9 most Jewish songs
When I learned that Stevie Wonder was turning 70 on May 13, I was actually surprised by how young he is. At a time when his peers who emerged in the early 1960s – people like Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan – are all pushing 80, Wonder is something of a spry young…
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Why does Billy Joel always play the same tone-deaf song at New York benefit concerts?
The Piano Man has a song for every occasion, including the apocalypse. On May 11, as part of the Rise Up New York benefit telethon for COVID-19 relief, Billy Joel played his 1976 tune “Miami 2017” accompanied by a light show on the Empire State Building and a King Kong-sized feed of his face over…
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WATCH NOW: June 17: Will Israel really annex the West Bank (and what happens next)?
Watch here. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to extend Israeli sovereignty over much of the occupied West Bank as soon as July 1, despite misgivings of the Trump administration. Is this the death of the two-state solution? Of Israel as a Jewish democracy? Of Palestinian national aspirations? David Makovsky, head of the Israel-Arab relations…
The Latest
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The Sami Rohr Prize goes to book on the fate of Kafka’s papers
A chronicle of the ultimate Kafkaesque court case. A history of Jewish children who found safe harbor in Iran. A personal journey back to Judaism, and a deep dive into Israel’s plan to stop Syrian nuclear proliferation. These are the books being honored by the 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. Benjamin Balint, author…
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Jerry Stiller was so much more than a sitcom star
Gerald Isaac Stiller, adored by millions of sitcom fans as Jerry Stiller, who died on May 11 at age 92, proved that actors are human beings who sometimes must make choices between family and artistry. Stiller was born in Brooklyn to a family of modest means. His father was a bus driver and his mother…
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A mean-spirited, cynical Jerry Seinfeld is not what we need right now
Jerry Seinfeld’s new Netflix special, “23 Hours to Kill,” is an out-of-touch and at times mean-spirited affair that, by simply existing, promises to show a certain amount of growth and personal development from the standup. After all, the comic’s last special of original material came in 1998 — before his marriage, before becoming a father,…
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WATCH NOW: June 10: Meet The Winners of Our Young Writers Contest
Watch here. What’s it like to go to school in a time of curfews, Zoom classes and social isolation? Trapped inside, how do you manage to find freedom? Forward senior editor Adam Langer talks to the winners of our writing contest about being young, isolated and hopeful in 2020. This is part of our new…
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Jerry Stiller remembered in 10 clips
Jerry Stiller, the puckish performer whose explosive energy sustained a six-decade career in television, has died at 92. Short in stature but with a giant screen presence, Stiller had some of the best shouting lungs in the business, giving full-throated voice to Frank Costanza, George’s father on “Seinfeld,” and the obstreperously boyish senior, Arthur Spooner,…
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So this is freedom
Editor’s Note: The Forward is featuring essays, poems and short stories written for our Young Writers Contest. Today’s entry was written by Lily Stroud, a 15-year-old student from Brooklyn Tech in Brooklyn, NY. You can find more work from our young writers here. SO THIS IS FREEDOM: 7 years old I belonged to two families…
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“He really is Jewish” — Little Richard’s lifelong love affair with Judaism
Little Richard, the rock and roll pioneer who died on May 9 at age 87, brought a galvanic charge to live performances of such songs as “Tutti Frutti,” “Heebie Jeebies” and “Lucille,” drawing sustained inspiration from what he considered to be a Jewish identity. This self-definition went beyond what some writers have identified as emotional…
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Seeking Jewish identity at the Sabra hummus factory
Editor’s Note: On May 4, 2020, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its writing awards. This piece, originally published in the Forward in 2019, is one of three finalists for the long form personal essay award. Winners will be announced on May 27. Three blue cornflowers, stenciled on white ceramic — for the…
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