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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January 23: Washington D.C.: 2020 Through a Jewish Lens
Please join Forward editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren and Michael Barbaro, host of The New York Times’ podcast “The Daily,” as they discuss the tense 2020 political landscape through a Jewish lens at the historic Sixth and I synagogue in Washington D.C. Listen to the lively chat here.
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The Secret Jewish History Of Ludwig Van Beethoven
When you are 250 years old and world famous, you don’t have to wait until your birthday comes around to celebrate. Nor does the rest of the world. Which is why the celebration of a quarter of a millennium since Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth begins this December 16 (or 17; the date is a little…
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A Polish Jew’s Memoir Of Survival, Unnoticed For Decades, Arrives In Translation
From 1940 to 1943, Françoise Frenkel, a Jew of Polish origin, remained in hiding in Occupied France. Where she hid varied. At times of relative freedom, she lodged at a hotel with other expats. When Gestapo raids became more frequent, and the threat of deportation loomed, she hid with friendly acquaintances (a remarkably generous couple…
The Latest
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WATCH: A ‘Star Wars’ Tribute To Hanukkah
“Star Wars” and the holidays don’t have the best history. The trouble began in 1977 — the first Hanukkah after the original “Star Wars” hit theaters. Toy company Kenner found itself unprepared for the demands of the season and, instead of gifting kids action figures of Luke, Leia and Chewbacca, parents were forced to give…
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Polish Politician Dissed Holocaust Commemoration — Then Sued The Curator Who Commissioned It
Continuing a trend, in Poland, of political objections to artwork concerning the country’s role in the Holocaust, a nationalist Polish governor is suing an art curator for defamation. The row began in October, Art Newspaper reported, when a public artwork by Dorota Nieznalski commissioned by Lublin-based art historian and curator Tomasz Kitliński was unveiled during…
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Is The West Suffering From Cultural Dementia?
London’s bookstores all seem to have a “doomsday” table right now — a prominent display of books on the end of democracy, the rise of Russia, the march to Brexit, and the collapse of the idea of Europe. On one of these tables, I encountered “Cultural Dementia: How the West Has Lost Its History and…
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Weinstein And Accusers Headed For $25 Million Settlement
Film producer and alleged serial sexual abuser Harvey Weinstein has reached a tentative $25 million settlement agreement with dozens of his accusers. The money comes with a condition — no admission of wrongdoing and no money from Weinstein’s own pocket. The New York Times’s Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who won a Pulitzer prize for…
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In A Classic English Comedy, A Sly Parable About Anti-Semitism
“England,” wrote George Orwell, “is the most class-ridden country under the sun. It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and silly […] A family with the wrong members in control — that, perhaps, is as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase.” That was in…
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Michael Chabon Adapting ‘Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay’ Into Miniseries
(JTA) — Kavalier and Clay are coming to Showtime. Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” will air as a miniseries next year on the premium cable network Showtime. The critically acclaimed book has been described as “an epic tale of love, war and the birth of America’s comic book…
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The Jewish Geography Of The 2020 Golden Globe Nominees
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is continuing its love affair with Jewish filmmakers with the 2020 Golden Globe nominees. We don’t expect that members of that outfit are particularly interested in Jewish geography, but here at the Forward, our offices are plastered with headshots connected by yards of red thread and dates of b’nai mitzvah….
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Leonard Cohen’s Last Words Summon The Spirit Of The Poet
Like an urn is full of ash, a posthumous album can often be a light, insubstantial remembrance. The survivors who release it into the wind of public opinion can count themselves lucky if the contents do not rebound onto them embarrassingly. The best case scenario is usually a brief, respectful silence and then insignificance. Things…
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