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
-
Music
The Secret Yiddish History of Public Enemy
If ever there was a time we needed to hear from hip-hop legends Public Enemy, this is it. One might assume that the group that gave voice and sound to the frustrations of African-Americans during the Reagan-Bush years would surely have something powerful to say about America in the age of Ferguson and Baltimore, Eric…
-
Matisyahu Flap Shows Europe Jews Are Targeted Over Israel
(JTA) — A Spanish music festival’s recent decision to rescind its invitation to the American reggae singer Matisyahu, after he declined to endorse a Palestinian state, brought international attention to a phenomenon that many European Jews have been feeling for years: that they are being targeted for Israel’s actions. Matisyahu, who is Jewish but not Israeli,…
-
In Chicago, Come for the Iran Nuke Deal. Stay for the Smoked Salmon.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago is holding a special meeting today to discuss the Chicago Jewish community’s response to the Iran deal. The Jewish Federation is the most important Jewish organization in Chicago and the meeting today will be attended by members of many Jewish organizations,…
The Latest
-
Welcome to the Jewish Jungle of Suriname
We walked through the muggy jungle battling swarms of bizarre multicolored insects that had probably not yet been discovered by science. As I cleared the brush with a forceful swing of my machete, I wondered what it would have been like to live here 400 years ago when the first Jews arrived. Wait, Jews in…
-
Yosi Piamenta, a Virtuoso Guitarist Who Reshaped Jewish Music
Legendary Jewish guitarist Yosi Piamenta died on August 23 after a difficult struggle with cancer. He was 64. Piamenta was a virtuoso guitarist who had a long career performing original music as well as traditional Jewish, Israeli and Arabic songs arranged in his signature style. Born in Israel on November 29, 1951, Piamenta moved to…
-
How a Nice Jewish Couple Became Hip Hop Dance’s King and Queen
Nine men in black suits stand in a line across the back of the stage as the first words of Agent Smith’s monologue from “The Matrix Reloaded” come over the speakers: “As you well know, appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the reason why we’re here.” Suddenly, the suits multiply; clones appear…
-
Film & TV ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Is Surprisingly Good to the Jews
One of the more surprising aspects of “Straight Outta Compton” — F. Gary Gray’s propulsive and vibrant, if rather disjointed, film about the rise and fall of the seminal rap group N.W.A — is how dainty it is when it comes to portraying Jews and anti-Semitism. Whatever its merits and shortcomings, like the music it…
-
Can Tel Aviv Help Cure My Son’s Diabetes?
Sometimes it’s better to leave the things we buy in the boxes they come in. Such was the case with the Hammacher Schlemmer recumbent exercise bicycle (assembly required) that I bought for my teenage son after he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and needed to stay on the move to bring his blood sugar…
-
He’s Saying Hashem, But It Sounds Like Hare Krishna
Picture this: a rabbi who is also a martial artist leads a style of ancient Indian chanting in Hebrew. A knit yarmulke rests upon his flowing gray hair, and during Jewish mystical chants, he plays a harmonium — which looks like a cross between a keyboard and accordion — or sometimes just his guitar. He…
-
Film & TV Is the World Ready for a Rabbi Shmuley Boteach Talk Show?
Daytime television may soon be getting a little more exciting. This fall, Shmuley Boteach — the TV personality and Orthodox rabbi who isn’t afraid to talk very publicly and very explicitly about sex, intimacy and all things private — is hosting a new talk show, “Divine Intervention.” In this case, Boteach is that divine intervention…
-
Music Who Will Be the Next Itzhak Perlman?
On August 31, the superstar Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman turns 70, and amid the mazel tovs, music lovers might wonder who will take over his prominent role in musical life when he is ready to retire. Fiddling is a demanding profession, rarely pursued at its highest levels by septuagenarians. Even the Olympian Jascha Heifetz scaled…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Holy Ground A Jewish farmer broke ground on a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield. His neighbors showed up to help.
- 2
Opinion I discovered anti-Zionism at the University of Michigan. I’m glad it lives on there
- 3
Opinion An alarming new battleground in campus fights over Israel
- 4
News Middlebury College Hillel votes to rebrand, distancing from parent group on Israel
In Case You Missed It
-
Art At the Venice Biennale, protests, self-mutilation and rage against Israel and Russia. Is anyone left to talk about the art?
-
News Alex Soros commits $30 million to organizations fighting antisemitism — and its weaponization
-
Fast Forward Israeli singer says he is tuning out ‘stop the genocide’ chants as he heads into Eurovision final
-
Fast Forward Kristof column alleging Israeli abuse of Palestinian prisoners sparks outrage, scrutiny and debate among Jews