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
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Following Jewish ‘Pope’ Cue, Leaders Resign En Masse
In a move that has rocked the Jewish organizational world, and made barely a whisper beyond it, the leaders of the major Jewish organizations announced that they were quitting en masse. “We just decided enough is enough,” said Abraham Foxman, retiring head of the Anti-Defamation League, who is referred to as “the Jewish Pope” because…
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How Does Olympic Ice Dancer Charlie White Balance Gold Medal and Judaism?
At the recently completed Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Americans Charlie White and Meryl Davis thrilled audiences with their gold medal victory in ice dancing. Jewish Americans, in particular, celebrated Charlie White as a new breed of Jewish sports hero, following in the footsteps — or, in his case, skate marks — of Benny Leonard,…
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The Mystery of Raoul Wallenberg
The Hero of Budapest: The Triumph and Tragedy of Raoul Wallenberg By Bergt Jangfeldt Translated by Harry Watson I.B. Tauris, 352 pages, $35 Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the disappearance in a Soviet prison of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish businessman who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews in the darkest days of the…
The Latest
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Putting the ‘i’ in ‘Haredi’
On May 20, 2012, an estimated 40,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews held a “Rally Against the Internet” at New York’s Citi Field. Though no official winner was declared at the time, if one is to judge from the turnout at March’s annual Haredi Electronics Show, traditionalist Jews’ appetite for technology is as voracious as that of a…
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Chaldeans Apologize, Urge Jews To Return and Offer Citizenship
In what may be the comeback surprise of the year, the Chaldean Empire has returned to the world stage after 2,500 years, and it comes bearing apologies, and citizenship offers, to the Jews. “On behalf of all Chaldeans everywhere, I’d like to formally apologize to the Jews for sending forth their ancestor Abraham and for…
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What George W. Bush Really Said to Jews for Jesus
The Messianic Jewish Bible Institute in Dallas hosted George W. Bush as the keynote speaker at its annual fundraiser on November 14, 2013. He spoke to the group’s mission of bringing “Jewish people into a personal relationship of faith with Yeshua the Messiah.” Until now the speech has been the subject of a strict embargo…
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Music Marissa Nadler Isn’t Afraid of the Dark
Boston-based singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler, long a critical darling with a cult following, seems poised to cross over with the haunting “July,” (Sacred Bones) her sixth studio album in ten years. Reviews have been the strongest of her career; UK pop bible NME called “July” “a career high,” and the PopMatters blog dubbed it “one of…
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Andy Warhol Jewish Show Gets 15 More Minutes of Fame in Milwaukee
When Andy Warhol’s “10 Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century” was originally exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York in 1980, it was popular with the Jewish public, but generated controversy among art critics. Hilton Kramer and Robert Hughes accused Warhol of pandering to the synagogue circuit. Kramer wrote: “The show is vulgar….
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For Author and PBS Host Simon Schama, ‘Story of the Jews’ Is Personal
There are several moments in Simon Schama’s new five-part documentary series, “The Story of the Jews,” when the British historian’s stiff upper lip begins to wobble. Schama says the series would not have worked if he had not made it personal. “I wanted it to be hot television, not cool television,” Schama said as he…
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6 Reasons (Jewish) Mommy Blogs Suck
These days, it’s all the rage to knock mommy blogs, but I disagree. I’m a big fan of online mommies, especially the celebrities — I’m looking at you, Gwyneth, Mayim, Tori — I say, you go girls! Because while my friends are reading your tips on how to decorate the playroom, or “Twelve Things My…
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Putting Persian Back in the Talmud
● The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in Its Sasanian Context By Shai Secunda University of Pennsylvania Press, 272 pages, $55 Academic study of the Talmud once provoked anger. In “The Promise,” Chaim Potok’s 1969 sequel to “The Chosen,” Orthodox rabbinical student Reuven Malter wants to emend manuscripts and track the text’s historical development. His…
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