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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Was Alan Gershwin Really George Gershwin’s Son?
Brooklyn-born Albert Schneider, who called himself Alan C. Gershwin, maintained the claim that he was an illegitimate son of the American Jewish songwriter George Gershwin (1898-1937) for decades until his death on February 27 at age 91. He never relented, despite the Gershwin family’s prompt denial of any such connection. Schneider/Gershwin, as he shall be…
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Is Dave Zirin The Most Important Sportswriter In America?
One day last October, Gregg Popovich, the longtime coach of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, made a phone call to Dave Zirin, sports editor of the magazine The Nation. President Trump — while embroiled in a mini-scandal about his delayed public response to the death of American troops during combat operations in the African country…
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Olivier Award Nominees: ‘Hamilton’ Breaks Records, ‘Angels In America’ Makes Waves
The London production of “Hamilton” has earned 13 nominations for the Olivier Awards, the United Kingdom’s equivalent of the Tony Awards, setting a new record. The previous record number of nominations was shared by “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” (2017) and “Hairspray” (2008), each of which garnered 11 nominations. Close on the heels of…
The Latest
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Paula Vogel, Avram Finkelstein Finalists For Lambda Literary Awards
Finalists for the 2018 Lambda Literary Awards, announced today, include Paula Vogel, Annalee Newitz, Avram Finkelstein and Bill Goldstein. The Awards, which recognize achievement in LGBTQ literature, honor works published in the previous year in a variety of genres, from mystery novels to academic texts. This year’s Awards will be presented on June 4. Vogel…
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Why Jellyfish Have Become Such A Sucky Problem For Israel
Securing Israel’s energy security is no easy feat. But engineers are now having to put up with a new threat to the nation’s power grid: the nomad jellyfish. The blue-tinted Rhopilema nomadica looks sort of like the lovechild of a mushroom and a very large plastic bag. The species made its first pilgrimage to the…
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Russ Solomon, Founder Of Tower Records, Dies At 92
Russ Solomon, the founder of Tower Records, passed away on March 4 at the age of 92. As The Sacramento Bee reports, Solomon died in between glasses of whisky: While watching the Oscars, his son Michael Solomon told the Bee, Solomon asked his wife to replenish his glass. According to the Bee, she returned with…
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Film & TV The Oscars Shaped My Feelings About Womanhood. Now What?
In 2016, my roommate and I became friends over movies: Trapped in our top-floor apartment by a weekend blizzard, we watched “The Princess Diaries” and “Cinderella,” two ambitious young women briefly surrendering to the fantasy of being princesses in a tower. The snow melted, and we went back to work, but the bond was sealed….
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Film & TV Louis B. Mayer Created The Oscars To Combat Hollywood Unions
The Academy Awards have long served as a platform for activists to voice their discontent to an audience of millions — even if the Academy’s board hasn’t always felt positively about such stunts. Ironically, however, according to a March 1 Hyperallergic article by Rooney Elmi, the awards have nefarious origins: They were apparently created by…
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Film & TV From Argentina, Insane Music, Unexpected Harmonies and Marxist Overtones
The opening of Alejo Moguillansky’s new film, “The Little Match Girl,” does the audience the unusual courtesy of setting forth a catalog of the attractions to come. “There is an orchestra playing some insane music. There is a donkey. There is a little girl named Cleo,” a narrator intones. “There are a lot of pianos….
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If The Parkland Shooting Made You More Hopeful, You’re Not Wrong
I never imagined I’d hear first lady Melania Trump channel Norman Lear. On the other hand, I never imagined I’d hear “first lady Melania Trump,” so clearly anything is possible. Even the resurgence of American democracy! Let me tell you how I can talk myself into that. Feeling that nothing is possible – Groundhog Days…
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Is Nato Green The Funniest Union Organizer In America (Or Cuba)?
Nato Green is a Jewish union organizer from San Francisco — currently living in Cuba — who also happens to be one of the Bay Area’s most successful stand-up comics. He’s toured with Hari Kondalobu, Janine Brito and CNN’s W. Kamau Bell. He’s been voted best comic in the city, written for FX and he…
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