Law-enforcement authorities have opened investigations into two incidents in the Washington area involving suspicious surveillance of Jewish institutions, the Forward has learned. The investigations began last month, but has gained new urgency in the wake of the November 15 terrorist bombings of two synagogues in Turkey, and amid new warnings from Israel about threats against…
This fall has brought a sumptuous bounty for lovers of photography and Jewish culture. Several blockbuster exhibitions are on view, including “The Jewish Journey: Frédéric Brenner’s Photographic Odyssey” (at the Brooklyn Museum of Art); “As Seen By…,” images from Life magazine by distinguished American Jewish photographers (at Manhattan’s Center for Jewish History); and “Diane Arbus…
JERUSALEM — Faced with growing internal discontent and increasing international criticism of his policies, Prime Minister Sharon is reluctantly moving ahead with efforts to achieve a new Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire and revive the moribund peace process. Sharon is expected to meet within the next few days with the newly appointed Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, to…
Harold J. White of Gloucester, Mass. writes: “Recently, friends asked me about the Hebrew word for ‘hope,’ tikvah, which they wanted to use in some announcement. Out of curiosity, I checked the concordance to the Bible and [the biblical dictionary of Wilhelm] Gesenius. The word tikvah does not occur there. And yet Hatikvah, ‘The Hope,’…
A prominent leader of interfaith dialogue is calling for a reexamination of the decades-old Orthodox ban on theological discussions between Christians and Jews. In proposing a reassessment of the ban, Eugene Korn, an Orthodox rabbi who recently resigned as the Anti-Defamation League’s director of interfaith affairs, is taking on no less a figure than the…
The sound of whiskey-voiced singers and the sight of soulful women with snaking arms and electrifying footwork epitomize the fiery Gypsy art of flamenco. But few people realize that flamenco emerged not only from Gypsy passion, but also from Sephardic Jewish roots. In fact, the word “flamenco” means “Flemish” in Spanish, probably because Jews and…
This past August, following a performance of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” in Rio de Janeiro’s opera house, the production’s eccentric Jewish director made sure the audience received a view of the full moon — and it was not to confirm the arrival of Rosh Chodesh. Brazilian prosecutors have charged the German-born, American-raised director, Gerald…
Desire and Delusion: Three Novellas By Arthur Schnitzler Ivan R. Dee, 264 pages, $28.50. * * *| Thomas Pynchon once noted that when reference is made to the notion of seriousness in the context of a work of art, what is invariably under discussion is its attitude toward death. Obviously, death has been a primary…
LOS ANGELES — For the past two years, the Comedy Central-sponsored “Sit ’n’ Spin” nights have provided a supportive setting for local comedy writers to try out new material on an audience of their peers. The humor is usually profane and often sexually explicit, and the writers who gather twice a month at Hollywood’s Hudson…
It is thrilling to see artists taking risks, and even more thrilling when they succeed. The Metropolitan Opera is succeeding brilliantly this season with its breathtaking new production of Fromental Halévy’s “La Juive” (“The Jewess”), the first time this legendary and singular 1835 French grand opera is being heard in New York in almost 70…
SAN FRANCISCO — A balding, middle-aged guy standing alone on a stage describing his financial troubles with two hefty volumes of the U.S. Tax Code as his only props doesn’t sound like a scintillating night at the theater. Yet Josh Kornbluth manages to weave his woes into an engrossing and humorous tale of redemption. “Love…
