Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture. Here, you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music, film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of everything and everyone from The Rolling Stones to…
Culture
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How my odious cousin Roy Cohn was responsible for creating Donald Trump — and me
For this author, 'The Apprentice' is a chillingly accurate film that hits way too close to home
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5 Albums To Pick Up in 2015
● Yiddish Art Trio BFR Music / Pattysounds /Michael Winograd, $15 ● Songs of Zebulon Jeremiah Lockwood, Frank London, and Friends Blue Thread, $18 ● Schizophonia Yoshie Fruchter Blue Thread, $18 ● Roadsides Ayelet Rose Gottlieb Arogole Music, $13.51 ● The Fallout of Dreams Dave Liebman and Steve Dalachinsky RogueArt, $15.95 As the temperatures begin…
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Of Barbie, Western Shirts, Simon Guggenheim and 8 Other Facts About Jewish Colorado
1) Colorado is home to approximately 92,000 Jews representing 1.8% of the population. 2) Denver clothing CEO Jack Weil was credited with the idea of putting snaps on Western-style shirts. 3) Born in Philadaelphia, Simon Guggenheim served for one term as a Colorado U.S. Senator from 1907-1913. 4) Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spent…
The Latest
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Luise Rainer, Oscar-Winning German Jewish Movie Star, Dies at 104
The German Jewish actress Luise Rainer, who died on December 30 at age 104, belied the impression that to live to a great old age, tranquility of mind is essential. On the contrary, Rainer was a spitfire, who after winning two Oscars for Best Actress, for her roles in “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The…
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10 Women’s Voices We Want To Hear More From
Though 2014 was a year of many things good and bad, one thing the year unquestionably delivered was a plethora of strong female voices speaking out on a number of crucial subjects. Whether responding to crises, analyzing data, or sharing personal stories, these women are some of the writers whose work I’ve most enjoyed this…
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A Personal Remembrance of Classical Pianist Claude Frank
Claude Frank, who died on December 27 at age 89, was one of the last surviving pupils of the legendary Austrian Jewish pianist Artur Schnabel. In a reprint from Music & Arts of Frank’s set of complete Beethoven sonatas, originally released in 1970 for the composer’s bicentenary, the music is allowed to speak directly and…
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12 Books We’re Looking Forward To in 2015
In 2015, Jewish stories will come in diverse guises — from flights of magical realism to groundbreaking history and biography. Assimilation and tradition assert their warring claims. While memoirist Judy Brown chronicles her escape from a suffocating religious upbringing, Bosnian immigrant and literary prodigy Aleksandar Hemon continues his embrace of Jewish characters and themes. Anniversaries…
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4 Jewiest TV Shows Are Coming Back in 2015
Judaism has never been treated so casually — and by casually I mean as a recognizable and relatable part of American life — as it was last year on American TV. Even though the shows listed below vary in terms of how explicitly “Jewish” they are (“The Americans” is included on the strength of just…
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The Year of the Former Soviet Author
In the recently published memoir “A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka,” Lev Golinkin recounts the story of his family’s 1989 departure from the rapidly disintegrating Soviet Union. The Golinkins make their way to America, relying on the kindness of strangers; unsure of what they might find, they are guided largely by the…
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Reconsidering Louis Ginzberg’s Legendary ‘Legends of the Jews’
Louis Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews: Ancient Jewish Folk Literature Reconsidered edited by Galit Hasan-Rokem and Ithamar Gruenwald Wayne State University Press, 224 pages, $44.99 The legacy of the Talmudist Louis Ginzberg exemplifies the benefits of lovability in Jewish studies. Those familiar with the life of Henrietta Szold (1860-1945), founder of Hadassah and Ihud, the…
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The Year Spin Doctors Lost Control of the Spin
This was a year when stories of violence and injustice refused to die quietly. Near-universal access to high-quality cell phone video and social media has amplified the voices of the powerless so much that the powerful lost control of the spin. In early March, the Ukrainian region of Crimea was inundated by uniformed men without…
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‘Jewish Oprah’ Carolyn Starman Hessel Turns Page From Jewish Book Council
(JTA) — When Carolyn Starman Hessel joined the New York-based Jewish Book Council in 1994 – at the request of friend Marsha Posner – she knew nothing about the publishing world. Since then, she’s been called the “Jewish Oprah” for her ability to help authors find audiences, and has enjoyed enormous clout and influence among…
Most Popular
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Opinion I’m a Jew of color. Ta-Nehisi Coates can’t apply US lessons to Israel.
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Culture How my odious cousin Roy Cohn was responsible for creating Donald Trump — and me
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Fast Forward Was the viral Ta-Nehisi Coates interview a hit piece or fair play? A journalism ethics expert weighs in.
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Culture Columbus may have had Jewish heritage — that doesn’t mean he was Jewish
In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish אַ סוכּות־פּראָגראַם רעקאָרדירט בײַ דער ראַדיאָ־סטאַנציע „דאָבליו־אי־ווי־די“Forward archive: Sukkos program recorded at the radio station WEVD
דער ייִדישער קולטור־טוער מיכל באַראַן און זײַן טאָכטער רות באַראַן לייענען פֿאָר ייִדישע לידער פֿאַרבונדן מיטן יום־טובֿ
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Opinion Take it from someone who’s both Black and Jewish: Ta-Nehisi Coates weaponizes race to spread antisemitism
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: דער ישיבֿה־בחור וואָס איז געוואָרן אַ פּאָעטVIDEO: The yeshiva student who became a poet
דער פּאָעט ירמיהו אַהרן טאַוב רעדט וועגן זײַן ענגלישער איבערזעצונג פֿון פֿרומע האַלפּערנס בוך „געבענטשטע הענט“
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Art He left Berlin with 10 marks in his pocket — he came back with an art collection worth hundreds of millions
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