Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the robust lives of American Jews. Here there’s a little of everything about the multifaceted world of Jewish life. There are light-hearted Jewish celebrity stories and shocking Jewish celebrity news. Food is also plentiful,…
Life
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Israel’s Monument to 9/11
Whatever tensions may exist between Jerusalem and Washington at the moment, there was a show of unity this week as Israeli leaders and American officials came together to unveil a 9/11 memorial. With that, Jerusalem became one of the first cities outside the U.S. with a memorial to 9/11 victims. Visitors of Arazim Park in…
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Kerouac’s Elevator Crush, Nice Jewish Girl
Robert Frank’s 83 photographs in his 1957 book “The Americans” were seminal and provoked SF MoMA to hang the book, 50 years later, as an exhibition. An exhibition that we discussed here. A crucial image in knowing “What was really going on with Americans” was “Elevator — Miami Beach, 1955.” It featured the elevator girl…
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Saz Raps and Dvir Shows It Aint Easy Being Green
If Lawrence Wright’s piece about Gaza in the New Yorker has got you down as it has Marissa Brostoff, then Aaron David Miller’s piece about the stalled peace process is going to give you more food for thought. But don’t despair about dialogue and meaningful human interactions between different sides of the middle east crisis,…
The Latest
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India in New York: Arie Gets Down With Idan Raichel
Last night India.Arie was a surprise special guest at Idan Raichel’s November 10 show at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Dayenu: It would have been enough to have seen India.Arie perform next to Raichel — the combination of musical talent (not to mention hair length) would have been impressive. But, showbiz trooper that she is,…
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Controversy Over Rabin Memorial
There’s something of a tug-of-war developing over the annual anniversary rally for assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night for the event, 14 years and a week after he was killed (it was delayed because of the rain last Saturday). Attended by politicians from three of…
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Orthodox Sage to Women in Tallitot at Kotel: You Are Deviant and Stupid
A former Chief Sephardic Rabbi and current spiritual leader of Israel’s Shas religious political party, Rav Ovadia Yosef, in his weekly sermon last Saturday night called women who wear prayer shawls to daven at the Western Wall “stupid” and “deviants.” He was speaking of Women of the Wall, a group of devoted and, dare I…
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At GA, Emanuel Talks U.S. Policy, His Own Jewish Practice
Filling in for the President of the United States is a tough job for anyone, especially when the audience is made up of 3,000 Jewish activists eagerly anticipating the first address of the President Obama to a Jewish communal organization. But White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel managed to keep the crowd satisfied in…
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A Haunting Visit to My Old School, My Mother’s New Home
The last time I drove up the hill of Hamilton Heights I was a high school senior at Mount Saint Joseph Academy — steering the gigantic wheel of my father’s asthmatic ’65 Malibu. But today I was behind the wheel of my Volvo on a reconnaissance mission to see if it would be the right…
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Help! My Dinner Guests Have All Sorts of Dietary Restrictions
Dear Bintel Brief: Shabbos dinner has long been my favorite Jewish custom. What could be more Jewish than gathering with friends and family around a table for a good meal? However, the issues of Jewish ethics and the politics of food have invaded my table — turning my celebration into a battle. Few of my…
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Joan Nathan Has Some Advice for Forward Readers
Food writer Joan Nathan will be the Forward’s guest Bintel Brief columnist during the month of November. Nathan is the author of numerous cookbooks, including “Jewish Cooking in America” (Knopf, 1994), “Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook” (Schocken, 2004) and “The New American Cooking” (Knopf, 2005). She has won two James Beard awards and a Julia…
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Comparing Ourselves to Ivanka
What intrigued me more than the celebrity news coverage of the Ivanka Trump–Jared Kushner nuptials is how many Orthodox Jews have quickly and eagerly adopted Ivanka — a recent convert to Judaism — as one of their own. Since the wedding, I’ve received “private” photos of the wedding from one friend, clips from interviews in…
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