When the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, it was seen as the main vehicle for ending racial discrimination against African Americans. Now, two Jewish lawmakers are trying to amend the law, in order to have it include protection for Jewish students on college campuses. In the process, they are taking on a heavy…
It’s that time of year again. As the temperature begins to dip and the leaves start to turn, the MacArthur “genius grants” fall from on high, followed quickly by the announcement of Nobel Prize recipients. And, as happens so often, Jews are prominent this year among the winners of each honor. Four Jews have won…
By the time Rick Sanchez, now a former CNN anchor, made his remarks about Jews controlling the media, there was a well-established process for how to deal with these types of situations. Within 24 hours, he was summarily fired, with a curt thank-you for his service to the network. Call it crisis management on steroids….
The Many Splendored Tony Curtis — Hollywood Hunk and Humanitarian Bronx-born Tony Curtis (ne Bernie Schwartz), who died at 85 of cardiac arrest in Las Vegas on September 29, portrayed an astonishing range of characters. These included Antoninus, a Greek slave, in “Spartacus” (1960); the Brit-Norse slave Erik, half-brother of Viking Einar, played by (yet…
This fall, eight guest editors are helping to shape the Forward Forum by commissioning opinion pieces. This week it’s Rachel Sklar, who has chronicled the media world at the Huffington Post and the Daily Beast, and now at Mediaite.com in her capacity as editor-at-large. A native of Canada, Sklar is a contributor to numerous anthologies…
In an annual tradition, the Forward compiles a list of 50 American Jews who have had a large impact on the Jewish story in the past year. E-mail your suggestions for this year’s Forward 50 to [email protected], by October 15, and explain why your nominees merit a spot on the list.
A Story You Can Bank On: Illinois senatorial candidate Alexi Giannoulias, a former official at his family’s Chicago area bank, is “consistently vague” about just what he did there, the Chicago Tribune finds. In the words of his opponent Mark Kirk, “First he said he was the senior loan officer and ran much of the…
A late September edition of the New Jersey Jewish Standard included a first for the publication: an announcement, in its Simchas section, of an engagement between two men. In the next week’s edition, however, the paper effectively took back the notice, writing on the editorial page that it would no longer publish announcements of gay…
In the latest episode of the Women’s Roundtable Podcast, host Gabrielle Birkner speaks with Forward Editor Jane Eisner, Lilith magazine Editor Susan Weidman Schneider, and Lilith Associate Editor Sonia Isard about whether modern Jewish women should be embracing or eschewing the moniker “balebuste,” Yiddish for homemaker, and the domestic work that it implies. The panel…
A survey out today confirms the sense many observers of the Tea Party movement have had regarding members’ religious leanings. The American Values Survey, conducted biennially by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that 47% of those who identify themselves as supporters of the Tea Party movement also describe themselves as being part of the…
A Jewish newspaper in New Jersey said its first same-sex engagement announcement will be its last one. The decision by the Jewish Standard announced in a statement Monday on its website came a week after the newspaper published its first same-sex announcement. The newspaper did not expect the large volume of comments it received both…
