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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I have seen the future of America — in a pastrami sandwich in Queens
San Wei, which serves pastrami sandwiches along with churros and biang biang noodles, represents an immigrant's fulfillment of the American dream
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Theater Rebecca Miller Questions A Colorblind Casting Choice In ‘All My Sons’; Director Walks
Colorblind casting, the practice of casting actors of one race in roles traditionally played by another, seems to be a subject of perennial controversy in the world’s highest profile theaters. Last year the grand spectacle musical “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” based on Tolstoy’s “War And Peace” drew sharp criticism when it…
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February 3: Manhattan: New York Premiere Of ‘Out Of The Depths’ By Chaim Potok
The Forward is a proud sponsor of the staged reading and New York premiere of Chaim Potok’s play, “Out of the Depths.” Join Potok’s daughter Rena in celebrating the publication of “The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok,” the first-ever collection of the author’s work. There will be a book sale and signing following the program,…
The Latest
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Is This The Most Popular Poem Of 2018?
Thanks to the internet we have the numbers to prove poetry is still a popular medium — at least online. The Academy of American Poets has announced that the Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Kindness” was this year’s most popular poem by a contemporary poet on its website, Poets.org. The poem, which was read by…
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Why Do Jews Eat Chinese Food On Christmas?
Every year around this time a certain handwritten sign goes viral on Jewish Facebook: “The Chinese Rest. Assoc. of the United States would like to extend our thanks to The Jewish People. We do not completely understand your dietary customs… But we are proud and grateful that your GOD insists you eat our food on…
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Art For An Art Rebel, Martha Rosler Proves Surprisingly Orthodox
I’m not sure what to make of the title of the Martha Rosler retrospective at the Jewish Museum, “Irrespective.” According to the wall text, it’s supposed to be a portmanteau, “a clever play on terms that lie somewhere between the words ‘retrospective’ and ‘irreverent.’” The exhibition, we’re promised, will be no mere shrine to its…
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Film & TV What’s Jewish On The Oscars Small Categories Short List
On December 18 The Academy Awards announced its shortlist for some of the ceremony’s smaller categories. Jews are well represented in the Best Documentary Feature category. Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg film “RBG” made the list alongside Tim Wardle’s “Three Identical Strangers,” which told the bombshell story of Jewish triplets separated at…
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January 26: Manhattan: ‘Fire In My Mouth’
‘Fire in my Mouth,” a musically and visually engaging exploration of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, will be performed at the New York Philharmonic in Manhattan on Saturday, January 26. A new composition written by Julia Wolfe and conducted by Jaap van Zweden, “Fire in my Mouth” will feature lights, chamber choir, video and…
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The secret Jewish history Of Mary Poppins
When it came to the movie, it was P.L. Travers versus the Sherman Brothers
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How A MacArthur Genius Summoned The Voices Of The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire’s Victims
In New York City, you are always walking past a story. A beaming stranger on the subway. A building going up or coming down. A commemorative sign: the site of Manhattan’s slave market; the site of a battle; the site of a fire. For a long time, the composer Julia Wolfe often walked past the…
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Alice Walker Endorsed A Book By An Anti-Semite In The NYT
The New York Times’s “By the Book” column is no stranger to scandal. Male authors who participate in the feature, in which an author answers questions about the books that have formed them, tend to mention few female authors among their picks. It’s a phenomenon so notable that when Lauren Groff was a “By the…
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Is Spider-Man Jewish?
To paraphrase Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben: With infinite universes come infinite possibilities. In the new film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” a tear in space-time introduces audiences to a coterie of new web slingers. We make the acquaintance of Penny Parker, a girl from the future whose spider powers come courtesy of a giant robot; Spider-Noir, a…
Most Popular
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Kehlani responds to Cornell concert cancellation: ‘I am not antisemitic’
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Fast Forward David Horowitz, ’60s radical turned right-wing firebrand and critic of Islam, dies at 86
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News Pro-Nazi singer sells out Zagreb arena as Croatia’s collaborationist past sheds its taboo
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Fast Forward Senate committee approves amendment to Antisemitism Awareness Act stating criticism of Israeli government isn’t antisemitic
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