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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The Secret Jewish History Of ‘Shaft’
Hold on. Before you get all “cultural appropriation” on me, hear me out. The character “Shaft” is not now, nor has he ever been, Jewish. Nor has he been portrayed by Jews in film or TV, nor was he conjured by a Jewish artist. Early on in his fictional life, however, Shaft was among Jews,…
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Q&A: Lexi Rabadi On Bringing Hannah Senesh To Life
Hannah Senesh was just 23 when she was captured, tortured and executed by Nazi-allied Hungarian authorities – but she had already lived many lives. Born the privileged daughter of a Hungarian journalist and playwright, Senesh became a Zionist at an early age, moving to Mandatory Palestine after graduating high school in 1939. She was by…
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Giving Voice To Jewish Characters In Children’s Literature — A Conversation with Lesléa Newman
When I was a little girl attending public school in northern New Jersey, I would get excited every time I saw a Jewish person represented in a story. Growing up on a steady diet of Dr. Seuss, “The Black Stallion” and “A to Z Mysteries,” I noticed that there were hardly any Jewish characters in…
The Latest
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‘Annie’ Lyricist And Director Martin Charnin Dies At 84
Martin Charnin, the Emmy, Grammy and Tony-winning director, composer and lyricist who brought a white-eyed, red-haired comic strip orphan to vivid life on stage died July 6 at the age of 84. Charnin’s daughter Sasha Charnin Morrison reported his death to The Washington Post. Charnin passed at a hospital in White Plains, N.Y. three days…
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The Secret Jewish History Of The Tour De France
To paraphrase comedian Jackie Mason, is there a bigger schmuck in the world than a Jew on a bicycle? He might be right; after all, the link between Jews and cycling is seemingly tenuous. But, as the most prestigious cycling event in the world gets underway, there is an intriguing connection between Jews and the…
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Here’s What The Forward’s Editors Are Reading This Summer — And What You Should Be
It’s summer, although if you live in New York City, you’ve likely been somewhat too rain-bedraggled to tell. But no matter how many recent days we’ve spent sloshing around in waterproof shoes, it really is the season of days at the beach and lazy afternoons in the park with nothing to do but read. (Yes,…
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Israel: What You Need To Know
It can be difficult to enter the Israel conversation. Especially because so many people hold such strong opinions, even the task of separating facts from misinformation can seem daunting. That is why we’ve put together these simple-ish answers to simple-ish questions (but honestly, when it comes to Israel, everything is a little complicated) to help…
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The Secret Jewish History Of ‘A Star Is Born’
On this day in 1899, film director George Cukor was born. Today, we look back on the history of one of his most famous projects. Like the cicadas that spend most of their lives underground, emerging only every 13 or 17 years (and how they decide is for you to know and me to find…
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Rediscovering Marc Chagall’s least-known American windows
The famed Jewish artist was spirited out of Vichy France during WWII. Here's how he came to design church windows for the Rockefellers
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Kafka Would Love ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’
In “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which sees our titular hero on a world tour with his high school class, Peter Parker does something Michael Cohen has long denied: Goes to Prague. Naturally, the Forward wondered what Franz Kafka would think of our web-slinging friend. Spoilers ahead. Peter’s arrival in the Czech Republic comes with some…
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RIP MAD Magazine, Which Taught Generations To Laugh And Question
MAD magazine, the sophomoric, manic and generationally vital publication that shaped the sensibility of countless youths has died just shy of its 67th birthday. The news that MAD would cease production, save for back issues and one-off annual editions with new content, broke on July 4. It was a fitting date, as MAD’s impertinent humor…
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