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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Film & TV
David Grossman Play At Lincoln Center Under Attack From BDS Supporters
A forthcoming Lincoln Center production of Man Booker Prize-winning novelist David Grossman’s “To The End Of The Land” has become a surprising target for protest. As reported by The New York Times,, the theatrical adaptation of Grossman’s anti-war novel, which is produced by the Cameri Theater of Israel and the Ha’Bima National Theater of Israel…
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The Secret Jewish History Of Stephen King
Author Stephen King was really born with that name. Not for him the path from Irwin Alan Kniberg to Alan King. He came out all ready, at least in name, to become one of the best-selling authors of all time, just as he was. Although when it came time for the prolific writer — as…
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Why Son Of Sam Was Bad For The Jews 40 Years Ago
The arrest of the Son of Sam in August 1977 was good for the Jews, and it was also bad for the Jews. Good because the Son of Sam’s murder spree had terrorized New York City for more than a year. Bad because the Son of Sam turned out to be named David Berkowitz. “Jews…
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New German Monument Honors Gays And Lesbians Persecuted By Nazis
On June 27, the city of Munich unveiled its “Monument to the Gays and Lesbians Persecuted under the Nazi Regime.” The sidewalk memorial, commissioned by the city in 2011 and created by the German artist Ulla von Brandenburg, is a mosaic of colored concrete blocks that marks the site of a gay bar raided by…
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Could Al Franken Be The First Jewish President?
Ronald Reagan had it. But both his predecessor and his successor, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, respectively, didn’t. Bill Clinton had it in spades, so did George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And the current president decidedly lacks it. “It” is the political talent to deploy humor to make a point, connect with a…
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The New Post-Racial Spiderman Ignores His Jewish Superhero Roots
Is Peter Parker, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Jewish? In the new film, “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the answer is an emphatic “no.” Tom Holland, who plays Peter, is of Irish and English descent; in the film he and his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) are Italian. Spider-Man isn’t Jewish canonically in the comics either; when his religious or…
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How I Emerged From The Shadow Of I.L. Peretz
Although my name is Rogovoy, I grew up in an extended family named Peretz — my mother’s maiden name. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins — I identified more as a Peretz than as a Rogovoy. On every family’s bookshelf were the same books: volumes written by and about the great late-19th / early 20th century author…
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Art How Jews Invented The American Dream
“The American Dream” refers to the notion that embedded in the founding documents of our nation is a framework that guarantees equality of opportunity for socio-economic success to all. Never mind that the reality of American history, law and socio-economic practice has been one that has at best been selective in who is allowed onto…
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Books In The Age Of Trump, Hannah Arendt’s 66-Year-Old Philosophy Tome Is Selling Bigly
In 1951, the Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt published “The Origins of Totalitarianism,” her 600-page twin study of Nazism and Stalinism. The book received rave reviews; Norman Podhoretz, the Jewish New York intellectual, compared it to an epic poem. Then, 66 years later, in December of last year, Arendt’s book began selling at 16 times its…
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The Bible’s Coming To Public School — At Least In Kentucky
A new law in Kentucky makes it legal to teach a Bible elective course in public schools as part of the social studies curriculum. The bill easily passed the State House and Senate, and was signed by Governor Matt Bevin. The video of Bevin signing the bill is currently the most popular video on WDRB,…
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In “Shooting Holy Land” Josef Koudelka And Gilad Baram Explore The Aesthetics Of The Israeli Wall
Before the late screening of “Shooting Holy Land” (initially released in 2015) at Anthology Film Archive in the East Village – added by popular demand after a sold out first showing – Gilad Baram, the Israeli director of the film, and septuagenarian Magnum photographer Josef Koudelka, the film’s subject, gave a brief introduction. Koudelka was spritely…
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