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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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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This Independence, Day Read Up On Irving Berlin, Hotdogs And The Impeachment Clause
On Thursday July 4, our plucky republic marks 243 years of independence. For those celebrating, the holiday offers a day of introspection in which to consider our country’s path through history — and also fireworks and hotdogs. If you’re looking to fill your day with some compelling reading material with a Jewish bent, the Forward…
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Woody Allen Directs His First Opera At La Scala
Woody Allen had a night at the opera on July 2, premiering his production of Giacomo Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” at Milan’s famed La Scala opera house. “I didn’t know if I had any ability to do this sort of thing,” Allen told the Associated Press of his first go at directing opera. “I had done…
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How Franz Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ Anticipated The Holocaust
Editor’s Note: Franz Kafka was born on this day, July 3, 1883. Anne Roiphe examines the prescience of the author’s “Metamorphosis.” ‘As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” The famous first line of this haunting tale is hard to forget and painful…
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A Case Of Blood Libel In Chicago
The accusation against Herris Kahn was a fleeting event in a far corner of Chicago. If not for the reporting in a foreign-language journal and a local newspaper, the story might be completely forgotten by now, a century later. Neither the Tribune nor any of the city’s other six dailies gave it even a sentence….
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For July 4, Irving Berlin’s most American song
I have always been dubious of the idea of “American Culture.” America, being, since its inception, a land of immigrants constantly in demographic and ethnic flux. And this is a good thing, indeed, the idea of a country founded upon legal and philosophical principles, as opposed to ethnic or linguistic concerns, is the fundamental promise…
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A Nice Jewish Guy Built A Booming Fireworks Business. Then the Tsarnaev Brothers Walked In.
The fireworks industry in America is dominated almost entirely by big-name, old-time Italian families whose grandfathers and great-grandfathers mastered the craft in Italy and brought that knowledge to the United States. There are the Zambellis of New Castle, Pennsylvania; the Rozzis of Cincinnati, and the Cartolanos of Chicago. The Grucci family, based in New York…
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