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Book Reveals Details of Iran’s Diplomatic Outreach to Israel
A soon to be released book details previously unknown backroom contacts between Iran and Israel in 2003, when Tehran was pushing the Bush administration into entering comprehensive diplomatic negotiations. In “Treacherous Alliance,” Trita Parsi, an adjunct professor at John Hopkins University and president of the National Iranian American Council, contends that shortly after Iran proposed…
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Animated Adventures
In my last column, I railed against the blight that is “Higglytown Heroes.” Today I come not to bury another television show, but to praise it: “The Backyardigans” rules. Created by Janice Burgess for Nick Jr. in 2004, the show is about a group of suburban friends with adjoining backyards. Pablo (a penguin), Tyrone (a…
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Old World Online
For most of us, Facebook is an easy way to keep tabs on friends, enemies, exes and currents. But from the start of the Facebook phenomenon, Jacob Orin Gold, 22, saw the site as a means of helping Jews stay connected to their heritage. In June, the recent Princeton grad launched “Straight Reppin’ My Shtetl!,”…
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Kitsch Corner
Michael Wex’s much-praised book “Born to Kvetch” (St. Martin’s Press, 2005) was a noteworthy addition to the trove of tomes on the Jewish experience, and now fans can read snippets of Wex’s wisdom each and every day (beginning January 1, 2008, that is). The “Born to Kvetch” calendar offers 366 (that’s not a misprint —…
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Metal Without Borders
Limp Bizkit may be coming out with a new album this year, but nu-metal — a genre of rock that melds hip-hop influences and pop-metal — died in America effective October, 2001 (with the debut of the chart-topping indie band The Strokes). Yet, while the death rattle of nu-metal rings here, Israeli nu-metal is vibrant…
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Prescription for Health Care: Dr. Kagen Is In (And Wants You to Know It)
Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin – a doctor who focused on health care during his 2006 run against Republican Assembly Speaker John Gard – is blogging about the issue on TPMCafe this week. Since taking office, Kagen seems to have styled himself as something of a Democratic Bill Frist. (Announcing on Daily Kos, for example,…
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‘Rabbi’ of Rumba
Before the Hip Hop Hoodios or the long-defunct Tijuana Brass added Latin rhythms to Yiddishe melodies, there was Irving Fields. The pianist who composed the 1946 hit “Miami Beach Rhumba” created the Latin-Jewish genre with the 1959 LP “Bagels and Bongos.” Fields, who turns 92 on August 4, is still at it. “My Yiddishe Mama’s…
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Hartford Heralds Hometown Hero
When Sophie Tucker made her first return visit to her hometown of Hartford, Conn. — two years after slipping away to make a go of it as a singer in New York — she wasn’t exactly greeted with a hero’s welcome. “The women turned their backs,” she later wrote. “The men stared and tittered.” Not…
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Smooth Sailing for Stuttering Gala Maiden Voyage Aboard the QM2
Singer/songwriter Carly Simon was among the honorees at Freeing Voices, Changing Lives, the first-ever gala of the American Institute for Stuttering. The event was held June 10 aboard Cunard Line flagship Queen Mary 2, at its Brooklyn Cruise Terminal berth in Red Hook. The event also honored former stutterers: journalist/author Dominick Dunne, NBA All Star…
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Rapid Rise of Israel’s Orthodox Schools Sparks Fear of Army, Work Force Shortage
Jerusalem – Two recently released government reports have reignited scrutiny of ultra-Orthodox participation in general Israeli society. A study released last month by the Central Bureau of Statistics predicts that one-third of all Jewish elementary-school students in Israel will be enrolled in the ultra-Orthodox education system by 2012. A week after the education study was…
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Saudis Courted for Proposed Mideast Summit
Washington – As the Bush administration begins pushing aggressively for a new Middle East peace conference this fall, there is already a significant gap among Arab, Israeli and American diplomats about what the conference should attempt to achieve. The United States has promised Israel that the proposed meeting will not serve as an international forum…
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