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
-
Books
Novelist Etgar Keret Says He Doesn’t Publish in Hebrew Because Privacy
— The celebrated novelist Etgar Keret said he refrains from publishing some of his works in Hebrew to protect the privacy of his family, upon whom he bases some of his writing. Keret, who in 1996 received Israel’s Prime Minister Award for Literature, among other distinctions, revealed this during a talk last week before Russian…
-
Remembering Ruth Gruber — Photographer, Journalist and Symbol of Courage
The American Jewish journalist and photographer Ruth Gruber, who died on Thursday, November 17 at age 105, had the knack of being at the right place at the right time to change history. As an eyewitness when the Exodus 1947 ship entered Haifa harbor after being attacked by England’s Royal Navy, Gruber followed the path…
-
Sondheim’s New Musical Gains Director, Workshop
Earlier this month, the New York Post reported that Tony Award-winning director Joe Mantello will direct Stephen Sondheim’s new musical at the Public Theater. Don’t hold your breath — the musical is reportedly only half done — but with Mantello on board, and a miniature workshop reportedly occurring at the Public this week, the show,…
The Latest
-
The Secret Nazi History of Gym Shoes
What is it with athletic shoes? Why do they keep getting inextricably entangled with Nazis and anti-Semites? Perhaps you’ve heard of the recent controversy surrounding New Balance, which began when, the day after Election Day, the Boston-based company’s vice president of public affairs, Matt LeBretton, said to a Wall Street Journal reporter, “The Obama administration…
-
Poet Daniel Borzutzky Wins National Book Award
At last night’s National Book Awards, poet Daniel Borzutzky took home the top prize for poetry. His collection “The Performance of Being Human” was one of five finalists for the award; others included Rita Dove’s “Collected Poems 1974-2004” and Solmaz Sharif’s “Look.” Borzutzky, who was born to Chilean Jewish parents, is a professor at Chicago’s…
-
Celebrated Israeli Author David Grossman Compares Trump to Netanyahu
Even at an evening of comedy and literature, it’s impossible to escape the specter of Donald Trump. At an event to celebrate the launch of his latest novel, “A Horse Walks Into a Bar,” in London, the author David Grossman compared Trump to Benjamin Netanyahu when he said “both of them know how to manipulate…
-
J.K. Rowling’s Jewish Wizard, Bernie Sanders’s Manifesto, And 8 Other Things To Read, Watch, And Do This Weekend
It can be hard to remember to take time for yourself, in this week between the madness of the election and that of Thanksgiving. Still, take some time this week for the arts. With good reads, a few good movies, and events in New York, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles, there are plenty of options…
-
The Secret Jewish History of Superman
Clark Kent may not have been Jewish, but the Man of Steel almost certainly was. Creator Jerry Siegel acknowledged as much in his unpublished memoir, which explains that the anti-Semitism he saw growing up inspired him to create a character that would help downtrodden groups see themselves as the superheroes that they really are. Out…
-
Holocaust Love Story Opera To Make 2018 World Premiere
In January, 2018 a new opera with an unusual angle on the Holocaust will make its world premiere at Opera Colorado. The Denver-based opera company, which recently announced its 2017-2018 season, will perform composer Gerald Cohen and librettist Deborah Brevoort’s “Steal a Pencil For Me,” which tells the story of Jaap and Ina Polak, who…
-
How being part of Sondheim flop ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ taught me life lessons
Abigail Pogrebin shares what she learned as part of the cast
-
The Secret Jewish History of Mose Allison
There are two misconceptions that need to be cleared up about the late Mose Allison. One: in spite of the rich, jazzy, Southern blues sound embedded in his piano playing and vocals, he was white, not African-American. Two: in spite of his name, he was not a member of the tribe of Moses. Allison was,…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Culture In 1989, Harold Pinter and Jerry Schatzberg made the perfect Holocaust movie for 2026
- 2
Exclusive Mahmoud Khalil wants to reassure you
- 3
Culture 70 years ago, this Jewish choreographer predicted our epidemic of loneliness and isolation
- 4
Opinion Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews
In Case You Missed It
-
News Ceasefire and political pressure test U.S.-Israel Iran war pact
-
Antisemitism Decoded Why I interviewed Mahmoud Khalil
-
Fast Forward In rallies taking on Israel, a defiant Hasan Piker boosts Michigan Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed
-
Opinion The Iran war looks like a failure. Now comes the Trump-Netanyahu spin game
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
