Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture. Here, you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music, film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of everything and everyone from The Rolling Stones to…
Culture
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They were a kosher bakery success story — 80 years later, people are still trying to make a buck off their babka
The tale of Schick's Bakery is one of 20th-century ingenuity and 21st-century capitalism
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Why Online Etiquette is an International Conundrum
When I spent a month in Germany, I noticed how swiftly every danke, or “thank you,” was immediately followed by bitte, or “you’re welcome.” All the Germans I encountered seemed determined to make sure I noticed just how polite they were, and how prompt they were with their politeness. But recently, while emailing an institute…
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After WWII, Her Stories Gave New Life To A Shattered Jewish World
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. The story of the Jews during the Holocaust era is usually divided into that of two zones: the Jewish zone, which includes the ghettos and the camps under the Germans and their allies, and the “free” zone, which includes the territories that were free of Nazi domination….
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The Jewish Films You Might Have Missed In 2018
There’s something about the movie release calendar and its accompanying wheel of promotion that can produce a feeling of monotony, one that has an obvious dulling effect on people’s receptivity to the medium at large. Summer is when the big tentpole releases come out and springtime and fall are to be spent, respectively, waiting for…
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‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘On The Town’ And ‘The Shining’ Will Be Preserved In The Library Of Congress
What do genetically-engineered dinosaurs, sailors on shore leave, Victorian flower girls and a homicidal novelist have in common? They’re all being added to the Library of Congress this year. The National Film Registry, now in its 30th year, has announced its 2018 selections for motion pictures to be preserved on Capitol Hill for their cultural,…
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Why Tony Kushner Values Jewish Progressivism — And Needlepoint
If you were looking for proof that for a certain portion of liberal American Jews, secularism remains as deeply held a value as support for workers’ rights and an immoderate love for klezmer, you might have found some evidence at the Workmen’s Circle’s 2018 gala, held in Manhattan on December 10. “Cheeseburgers?” a waiter offered…
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AUDIO: Gary Shteyngart In Conversation
Ten years ago I interviewed Gary Shteyngart for a profile in Zeek.. At the time his hair was brown and mine covered my head. In the time since then he has continued to put out books at a steady rate of one every three or four years, though “Little Failure” in 2014, was a comic…
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Film & TV HBO’s ‘My Brilliant Friend’ Feels A Little Fake — That’s What Makes It Faithful
While already lauded or rejected for its fidelity to the source material, HBO’s adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend” has also been derided for feeling a little phony. In an otherwise glowing review in The New Yorker, Emily Nussbaum remarked that the show “has the polish of certain well-funded historical portraits of poverty.” Her…
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Music WATCH: Zero Mostel Sings A Yiddish Classic
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. After four years of scouring Youtube for Yiddish-language videos to feature in the Forverts’ weekly cultural supplement Oneg Shabes, I thought that I had pretty much found them all. Luckily, there are still some treasures out there to be uncovered. Case in point: Rokhl Kafrissen recently posted…
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An Ace Reporter Brought Down Gary Hart. He’s Not Happy With A Film About The Scandal
While Hugh Jackman is attracting Oscars buzz for playing Gary Hart in “The Frontrunner,” another actor’s performance in the film is receiving some unwanted attention. Based on the book “All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid” by journalist Matt Bai, the film, directed by Jason Reitman, includes a number of characters based…
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The Secret Jewish History Of Connie Francis
Last April, Stereogum – an online indie music magazine — referred to Connie Francis as “a Jewish singer from New Jersey who came up working with Brill Building songwriters.” They got it half-right, anyway. Francis, who turns 80 on December 12, was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero to solidly Italian-American parents in Newark. Early in…
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Is This The Unacceptable Face Of Disney?
Disney songs are apparently too toxic for Princeton students. Last week the Princeton Tigertones, an all-male a cappella group whose performances for years have featured the Disney movie song “Kiss the Girl,” yanked it from its act after a piece in the student paper accused the lyrics of promoting “toxic masculinity.” Also last week, the…
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: אַ שמועס וועגן ייִדיש אינעם 16טן יאָרהונדערטVIDEO: A talk about Yiddish in the 16th century
קלאַודיאַ ראָזענצווײַג רעדט וועגן דער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור אין איטאַליע, בפֿרט וועגן אליהו בחורס „בבֿא־בוך“
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Culture He was a Jewish leftist like Sandy Koufax — remembering Howard Zinn
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Fast Forward Report: Freed hostage Emily Damari asked if American-Israeli Keith Siegel could take her place
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Fast Forward Just 50 Holocaust survivors will be at Auschwitz for the 80th anniversary of its liberation
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