Poll: Black and Kravitz Need To Jew Things Up
As readers of The Shmooze know, actor-singer Jack Black is not hiding in the Jewish closet: Last year, during a December 7 appearance on “The Tonight Show,” he discussed his Hanukkah plans and told of how a childhood Seder, at which an aunt organized a skit for the kids, got him hooked on performing.
But apparently his fans want to know more.
Black, who has starred in several comedies and makes up one-half of the Tenacious D rock duo, received this year’s JVibe Music Award for Best Singer/Group You Wish Would Refer More To Being Jewish. The prize was determined in an Internet poll that attracted 1,300 participants. The runner-up was singer Lenny Kravitz, whose father, TV producer Sy Kravitz, was Jewish.
Sorry, JVibe voters — Kravitz’s people did not respond to requests for comment and Black’s spokesman, Daniel Weiner, said his boss was unavailable.
“Unfortunately, Jack is unavailable to participate in the JVibe Awards,” Weiner wrote in an e-mail. “I’m sorry that we couldn’t make this happen for you.”
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
