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
-
When Leonard Cohen Crooned for Israel in Its Darkest Hour
It wasn’t only that his sad and beautiful lyrics resonated so strongly with them. And it wasn’t only because he was a fellow member of the tribe. Leonard Cohen, who died on Friday at the age of 82, has long held a special place in the hearts of Israelis, thanks in large parts to his…
-
Adam Kirsch Read the Classics of Jewish Literature So You Don’t Have To
Here are some fun facts from Adam Kirsch’s “The People and the Books: 18 classics of Jewish Literature.” The name Esther is actually a Persian form of Istar, a Middle Eastern goddess of fertility, love and war — an unusual mix, even for a higher being. Before he decided to go with his concept of…
-
Music On Top of Mount Zen With Leonard Cohen
Writing the first biography of Leonard Cohen took me to a mountain top (Mt Baldy and his Zen hideout), as well as to the Greek island of Hydra, a New York sound stage and the Tower of Song — Leonard’s music room at his home. Spending time with him meant learning what generosity of spirit…
The Latest
-
Music Leonard Cohen, ‘Master of Erotic Despair’ Takes His Leave
Rock-poet Leonard Cohen, the “master of erotic despair” and the writer of dozens of modern classics that have been performed and recorded by everyone from John Cale to Judy Collins, Willie Nelson, U2 and Rufus Wainwright, died on November 7, at age 82. The official announcement was made on November 10 after a private funeral….
-
You Wanted It Darker? Leonard Cohen Just Passed Away.
Leonard Cohen passed away on November 7 at the age of 82, it was announced on November 10. His influence over half a century was phenomenal. He will be missed. Tributes are already pouring in, including tweets from Bette Midler, Mia Farrow and Marc Maron. Leonard Cohen has died. Another magical voice stilled. — Bette…
-
Music How a Troubadour Daniel Toledano Is Reconnecting With His Sephardic Heritage
With his long, curly hair, his amber medallion and a guitar strapped onto his shoulder, Dani Toledano looks like a troubadour just about to recite an elegy. In fact, he works for Ragonis Tours, an Israeli company that helps groups of visitors discover the Jewish past of Toledo, Spain. In a quiet square of the…
-
How To Vote in Other Languages — Including Yiddish
Voting early in Chicago, where the lines were long and snaking around the Edgewater Library stacks, I received a receipt printed in four languages — English, Spanish, Hindi, and Vietnamese. I immediately wondered about languages not listed but certainly heard in this zip code, one of the most diverse in America, and home to refugees…
-
Amos Oz, Israel’s Greatest Writer, Delivers Another Masterpiece at Age 77
Judas By Amos Oz, translated by Nicholas de Lange Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 320 pages, $25 Considering how often fellow Israelis have called him a “traitor” (from his early involvement in Peace Now to his recent comparison of violent West Bank settlers to neo-Nazis, which earned him death threats), it should hardly surprise anyone that Amos…
-
Some of William F. Buckley Jr.’s Best Friends Were Jewish — Really
The degree to which the conservative editor and commentator William F. Buckley Jr., founder of National Review magazine and TV’s “Firing Line,” was inspired by contacts with Jewish contemporaries may not be fully known to those outside his circle of friends and political foes. Buckley, who died in 2008, is honored with “A Torch Kept…
-
Film & TV Revisiting ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ in an Era of Identity Politics
“There’s no way to tear open the secret heart of another human being,” Phillip Green (Gregory Peck) laments in the 1947 movie “Gentleman’s Agreement.” Phil can’t figure out how to do a story on anti-Semitism absent “the drool of statistics and protest.” But he finds a fresh angle on an old issue by living as…
-
How My Hebrew School Teacher Taught Me Who To Vote For on Election Day
My kindergarten teacher at Yeshiva Central Queens was not modern—Mora Ruth had obvious favorites, stared at us while we ate lunch, called us made-up names, and totally let us do gross things like sniff each other’s tushies. I loved her. The only thing I didn’t like about Kindergarten, back in 1969, was that if you…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Exclusive Mahmoud Khalil wants to reassure you
- 2
Culture In 1989, Harold Pinter and Jerry Schatzberg made the perfect Holocaust movie for 2026
- 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
