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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I have seen the future of America — in a pastrami sandwich in Queens
San Wei, which serves pastrami sandwiches along with churros and biang biang noodles, represents an immigrant's fulfillment of the American dream
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Israel Philharmonic Celebrates 80 Years of Harmony on U.S. Tour
As the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra embarks on its 14-city tour of the United States under the direction of Zubin Mehta, it’s easy to forget the events of the 1930’s that triggered the creation of what is well established as one of the great orchestras of the world. Soon after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany…
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Music French Jewish Candidate Received Death Threats During Municipal Elections
A Jewish candidate in Marseille said he and his family received death threats amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents coinciding with municipal elections in France. Hagay Sobol, a City Council hopeful on the Socialist Party list in the final round of elections to be held Sunday, revealed on his Facebook page earlier this week that…
The Latest
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Music Documents Signed by Adolf Hitler in 1909 Up for Auction
Two original “Harry Potter” book illustrations, Winston Churchill’s resignation letter, a dress worn by Princess Diana and documents signed by Adolf Hitler are just some of the eclectic items put on the block by auction house Nate D. Sanders. The sale features more than 600 lots and buyers can bid online until March 27. The…
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How Darren Aronofsky and ‘Noah’ Got The Ark Wrong
● The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood By Irving Finkel Doubleday, 432 pages, $30 Darren Aronofsky’s $130 million Hollywood epic “Noah” starring Russell Crowe has displeased Christian fundamentalists with its non-literal approach to the Old Testament story. Jewish moviegoers might also find it irksome that Aronofsky and his team of designers…
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‘Divergent’ Is a Cautionary Tale for Jews
A few years ago, I wrote about how a little film called “Twilight” was the quintessential Jewish story: inappropriate boyfriends, unusual dietary habits and an outrageously lavish wedding. I’d now like to remove my tongue from my cheek and draw your attention to a more serious lesson the Jewish community can take from young adult…
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Spicy Texas Passover at UT-Austin
Passover at the University of Texas at Austin this year will feature matzo with a hint of jalapeño. The Haggadahs will be in Hebrew, English and Spanish. The celebration will feature the sounds of a mariachi band, and the taste of guacamole will replace the more familiar maror and charoset. If past years are any…
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How an Anti-Semitic Composer Created ‘Kol Nidre’ and ‘Moses’
Any performance, much less an American one, of Max Bruch’s oratorio “Moses” from 1895 is a rarity. Yet this is a fabulous and important piece of music. First, however, one fact that no Jew interested in classical music ever seems to want to believe must be mentioned: Bruch was not Jewish. He may have written…
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How ‘Camp David’ Peace Talks Became the Stuff of Drama
Nations don’t make peace, people do. That fundamental rule of foreign policy is at the crux of “Camp David,” Lawrence Wright’s new play about the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace negotiations, which is receiving its world premiere at Washington’s venerable Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Wright, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Looming…
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Sandy Koufax’s 10 Greatest Jewish Baseball Moments
1) September 9, 1965: Koufax pitches a perfect game (no hits, walks or errors) against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, and sets a record for the most Ks in a perfecto by striking out 14 batters. The victory gives Koufax four career no-hitters, the most by any major league pitcher at the time. 2)…
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11 Greatest Jewish Moments in Baseball History (Not Including Sandy Koufax)
Few things warm the heart at the end of a miserable winter quite like the knowledge that baseball season is about to return. While waiting impatiently for opening day, I’d been distracting myself by compiling a list of the 10 greatest Jewish baseball moments of all time; however, I quickly realized that the legendary Sandy…
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Nazi Spies Posing as Hookers Flood the Middle East
1913 •100 years ago Naked Boxer in a Mikveh East New York doesn’t have all the amenities that Brownsville has, and the mikveh on Wyona Street organized a special carriage that delivers immigrant Jewish ladies to the Brownsville mikveh from East New York. The fancy, horse-drawn carriage even has a sign on the side, “Free…
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward AJC, USC Shoah Foundation announce partnership to document antisemitism since World War II
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Yiddish יצחק באַשעװיסעס מיינונגען וועגן די אַמעריקאַנער ייִדןIsaac Bashevis’ opinion of American Jews
אין זײַנע „פֿאָרווערטס“־אַרטיקלען האָט ער קריטיקירט זייער צוגאַנג צום חורבן און צו ייִדישקײט.
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Culture In a Haredi Jerusalem neighborhood, doctors’ visits are free, but the wait may cost you
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Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
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