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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Film & TV ‘Star Wars’ is influenced by the Nazis — and it fails to hold them accountable
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there were lots of Nazis. But no Jews. The Empire in the “Star Wars” franchise, the totalitarian regime which serves as the antagonist throughout the series, is modeled on the Nazis both visually and throughout the films’ narratives. References to fascist totalitarianism give the genocidal…
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A King Who Saved Jews From The Holocaust: Remembering Michael I Of Romania
King Michael I of Romania, who died on December 5 at age 96, proved that being a mama’s boy can result in a mitzvah. Three-quarters of a century ago, he defied his country’s Hitler-allied Prime Minister, Ion Antonescu, and worked to save hundreds of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. Through the cooperation of Antonescu,…
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Film & TV Movie News: Isaac Babel, James Franco, And The Best Of 2017
Winter is dark and terrible, but it is also the best time of the year because of the Oscars. From the most handsome actor to the richest producer, everyone in Hollywood dreams of the Academy Awards, and these dreams consist of golden Oscar men holding hands and frolicking with each other in a nude roundelay,…
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Art The Secret Jewish History Of The Rockettes
Is there anything more goyish than the Rockettes, the “precision-dance” troupe best known for its starring role in the annual “Christmas Spectacular” at Radio City Music Hall? Well, yes. As it turns out, the entire creative team behind the annual Radio City holiday event, which began in 1932, were Jewish men brought together by Samuel…
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Film & TV WATCH: New Documentary Recounts The Search For Isaac Babel
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. The film “Finding Babel” portrays theater professor Andrei Malaev-Babel’s journey across the former USSR seeking traces of his grandfather, Russian-Jewish author Isaac Babel. The film was recently released on Vimeo in English-, Russian- and Ukrainian-language versions. In the English version of the film, Isaac Babel’s quotes are…
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Düsseldorf’s Mayor Accused of Canceling Max Stern Show Over Fears Of Restitution
Last month, when Düsseldorf mayor Thomas Geisel cancelled an exhibition about Jewish art dealer Max Stern, who was persecuted by the Nazis, his decision was met with outcry and confusion. According to The New York Times, the show, “Max Stern — From Düsseldorf to Montreal,” was set to open in February at the city’s Stadtmuseum,…
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The 12 Books You Absolutely Need This Hanukkah
2017 has been a stressful year. The health care system has been jeopardized; nuclear war has been threatened; hurricanes and wildfires devastated California, the northern Midwest, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico; Harvey Weinstein, Leon Wieseltier, Bill O’Reilly, Louis C.K. and Kevin Spacey, among many other powerful men, were brought down by horrifying allegations of sexual…
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The insanely fascinating history of Hanukkah light
It is American Hanukkah’s perennial irony that this so-called “Festival of Lights” is both literally and figuratively outshone by the myriad Christmas lights that blanket trees and yards from well before Hanukkah begins to well after it concludes. Though observant viewers might glimpse a handful of candles by the window during the brief time that…
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Film & TV Why Yiddish Theater Works Better In America Than In Israel
Israeli actors Gera Sandler and his wife Ronit Asheri-Sandler, now starring in Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing!” with the New Yiddish Rep at the 14th Street Y, can’t help comparing New York and Israeli audiences for Yiddish-language Theater. “In New York you’ll see people of many backgrounds sitting in the theater, also a surprising number…
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Film & TV James Franco’s ‘Disaster Artist’ Follow-Up To Be Shel Silverstein Biopic
James Franco has won rave reviews for his work on “The Disaster Artist,” a Tommy Wiseau biopic he directed and in which he stars as the legendarily weird creator of “The Room.” The project has, apparently, given him the biopic bug; today, the Hollywood Reporter wrote that Franco’s next project will be a film about…
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Should We Remove Confederate Monuments — Even If They’re Artistically Valuable?
In 1912 and 1914, The Washington Post described the Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery as “a magnificent work of art” and “one of the most beautiful [monuments] in this section of the country.” Commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and celebrated with a cornerstone-laying ceremony and a formal dedication two years…
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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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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
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Music After decades of waiting, we’re finally getting a Bob Dylan-Barbra Streisand duet
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