A local Jewish leader reported that fears and tensions were rising in his community in Malmo, Sweden, after a small explosive device went off at the door of the local synagogue early on the morning of July 23. Though no one was hurt, the blast’s impact shattered three windows and damaged the remaining five windows…
‘Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work’ Works the Crowds Across Time In her July 23 appearance on CBS’s “Late Show With David Letterman,“ female standup comic, jewelry hawker and “Celebrity Apprentice” winner Joan Rivers demonstrated uncharacteristic restraint as she revisited the angst she experienced from the former host of “The Tonight Show,” Johnny Carson, who…
When Tsilli Pines was planning to wed in 2005 and couldn’t find a ketubah (the official Jewish marriage document), that reflected her own taste, she rolled up her sleeves and made one herself. The Portland, Ore.-based graphic designer, who has lent creative juices to the online presences of David Bowie and Robert Mondavi Wines, had…
Gary Shteyngart is a best-selling novelist and globetrotter. He came to this country with his family from Leningrad in 1979, and his work has become a touchstone of literature about the Russian Jewish immigrant experience. His third novel is now out, “Super Sad True Love Story” (Random House) and in it, the sweet if schlubby…
If at the point of a gun someone were forced to divide the army of American journalists into just two battalions, one would be made up of steadfastly dispassionate, if slightly less charismatic, reporters, and the other of ardent crusaders. Daniel Schorr would have lined up with the second battalion. While he was perfectly adept…
In this week’s Reporters’ Roundtable podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis speaks with editor Jane Eisner, news editor Larry Cohler-Esses and staff writer Gal Beckerman about the American construction company, Caterpillar, and its role in providing Israel with bulldozers that have been used to destroy Palestinian homes. The panel also discusses the controversial conversion bill that is…
A group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish scholars is transforming the Dallas Jewish community.
When Jon Papernick sits down to write, he imagines a tiny rabbi sitting on his shoulder, guiding his Jewish education, which he explores through craft of writing short stories. The author of the collections “The Ascent of Eli Israel” and most recently “There is No Other,” Papernick was a journalist in Israel after the assassination…
Recently, I saw one of my favorite movies — Julie and Julia. In the film, which is based on a true story, a woman named Julie decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s cookbook and blog about it. She sets a deadline of one year to cook and blog her way through the 538…
What did you think of the inaugural Sisterhood 50 list of influential women rabbis? Which other female rabbis are making a big difference in their communities? Respond in the commenting section below.
The Sisterhood, the Forward’s women’s issues blog, has twice called attention to the chronic underrepresentation of women on Newsweek’s annual “50 Most Influential Rabbis” list. Compiled by Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton and his friend Gary Ginsberg, this year’s Newsweek list had only six women on it — and most of them were on the…
