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
-
Confessions of a Jew in a World of White Privilege
I’ve been white most of my life. About 99.7% of it. When I say I’ve been white I just mean I’ve enjoyed the perks of being a white man in America. Or not even enjoyed them. In fact, I wish I’d been aware of them enough to really savor those perks, but like most of…
-
How Making Art Will Still Matter in Trump’s America
My sons called after the result of the election was announced. They were distraught and confused. I told them what I told myself: Take a short time to mourn, then get active. Join marches. Support organizations that will come under fire. Help people whose lives will be further imperiled by a frankly racist and xenophobic…
-
Remembering Broadway Legend George S. Irving From the Original ‘Oklahoma’
The Tony-winning character actor George S. Irving, who died on December 26 at age 94, exemplified art that conceals art. Born George Irving Shelasky to a Russian Jewish immigrant family, he adopted a stage name redolent of success, following the example of the hit playwright George S. Kaufman. Apparently the last survivor of the original…
The Latest
-
Richard Adams Wrote Against Intolerance — For Jews, and Everyone Else
After one of their number predicts the destruction of their home, a group of brave individuals sets out in search of a new safehaven. On their way, they escape dystopian societies — one reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” in which the life of the many depends on the…
-
My Memorable and Hilarious Hour With Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher was sitting in her publicist’s office munching on a candy bar, drinking soda and taking on one visiting journalist after another. Each of these activities was potentially dangerous to her health, but that’s what life is like on the road when you’re promoting a new novel. It was a dozen years ago, and…
-
How a Fake News Story About a Fleeing Jewish Family Spun Out of Control
In the wake of the November election, the discussion of “fake news” has taken an outsized role in our political discourse, with both the political Left and Right misusing and abusing the term. There is one instance of “fake news” hysteria that I think is particularly telling, but before we get to that, a little…
-
Carrie Fisher Wasn’t Just a ‘Star Wars’ Icon — She Was an Author and Advocate, Too
In 1987, a Los Angeles Times photographer asked Carrie Fisher if it would hurt her image to pose on a bar stool. The actress and writer wasn’t concerned. “There is not one area of sensationalism that I have not wandered into and trespassed wildly,” she told reporter Nikki Finke. Fisher, who passed away this morning…
-
Holocaust Denial Article No Longer in Google’s Top Search Results
Two weeks ago, the Guardian reported that the top Google search result for “Did the Holocaust happen?” was an article on the neo-Nazi website Stormfront titled “Top 10 reasons why the Holocaust didn’t happen.” The story was picked up by numerous outlets and drew widespread anger (at least from everyone who isn’t a Nazi). When…
-
Why the Dreyfus Affair Is Suddenly Trending in Israel — for All the Wrong Reasons
Log into Twitter in Israel and you’ll see “Dreyfus” trending. The reason is Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s choice of words in his response to France’s effort to host an international conference on Middle East peace in January. “This is a modern version of the Dreyfus trial,” Lieberman said, referring to the infamous case of Alfred…
-
How Intermarriage Sparked Some of Einstein’s Greatest Discoveries
Albert Einstein is remembered as one of modernity’s (and Judaism’s) great geniuses. But, according to a recent article from Scientific American, many of Einstein’s most influential works were not the products of his individual genius, but rather born from intellectual collaborations with his first wife, Mileva Marić. The article (and the letters and biographies discussed…
-
When a Jewish Radio Icon Moved the Rockettes to New York
Think of the Rockettes, and you think of New York: Radio City Music Hall, lit up in the wintertime, glittering decadence tucked away inside. But the Rockettes, currently making headlines over their union’s unforgiving response to a dancer’s concerns about performing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, wasn’t always Big Apple-based. They made a home in…
Most Popular
- 1
Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
- 2
Fast Forward Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army
- 3
Opinion This German word explains Trump’s authoritarian impulses — and Hitler’s rise to power
- 4
Music ‘No matter what, I will always be a Jew.’ Billy Joel opens up about his family’s Holocaust history
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Rabbi, get your gun
-
Opinion How I got AI to create fake Nazi memos — and what that means for the future of antisemitism
-
Fast Forward How the Jewish commandment to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ could help a woman challenge Kentucky’s abortion ban in court
-
Yiddish ווידעאָ: יוטוב־פּערזענלעכקייט רעדט אויף ייִדיש וועגן אַ משפּחה־טראַגעדיעVIDEO: Youtube personality speaks in Yiddish about a tragedy in the family
מאַטי מענדלאָוויטשעס ברודער, וואָס האָט יאָרן לאַנג געליטן פֿון דעפּרעסיע, האָט הײַיאָר זיך גענומען דאָס לעבן. .
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism