Writing this column is most fun when I manage to solve a linguistic mystery that Forward readers present me with. This time, I have Bernard Smith of Saratoga Springs, Fla., to thank for the opportunity. He writes: I come from Glasgow and although I didn’t grow up speaking Yiddish, my family did use some Yiddish…
Sukkot Sukkot Scavengers: Children of all ages are invited to a Sukkot celebration. Activities include a scavenger hunt in search of the four species of Sukkot — the species of plants that are blessed during the holiday in the form of a lulav and etrog — making pomegranate print sukkah decorations, creating a model sukkah,…
To most observers in this country, Israeli Tourism Minister Benny Elon does not readily conjure up images of pluralism and tolerance. Leader of the far-right Moledet Party, which advocates the “transfer” of Palestinians from the West Bank to nearby Arab countries, Elon is seen as one of the most politically extreme figures in Prime Minister…
Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp met in 1995 while working at the Hohner musical instrument warehouse and repair center in northern Virginia. There, as Hearst tuned harmonicas eight hours a day while Camp worked as an accordion technician, the two developed a friendship based on a shared interest in oddball instruments. The Hohner factory in…
Under the Nazi regime, the art of Ludwig Meidner (1884-1966) was labeled “degenerate.” Today, the Jewish artist is remembered as a key figure in the history of German Expressionism. His self-portrait is on display in “Body & Soul: Expressionism and the Human Figure,” among 65 works by various artists that trace the genesis of figural…
It’s finally starting to feel like autumn here in New York. Apples are getting crisper. Josie wore her first jumper and tights (which she refers to as her “jump-rope and kites”). We bought new leather shoes. And all the mameles I know with kids in school are breathing huge sighs of relief and making plans…
Benjamin Balint is the assistant editor of Commentary magazine. The Hooligan’s Return: A Memoir By Norman Manea Translated by Angela Jianu Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 385 pages, $30. * * *| In one of Norman Manea’s novellas, “The Interrogation,” the main character, a young woman imprisoned in an unnamed place for an unnamed political crime,…
• Sukkot holiday folklore. • Joshua Fishman writes on the new dangers of antisemitism. • Rukhl Schaechter reviews Peter Rosen’s documentary “Khachaturian,” the story of a talented Armenian composer who reluctantly became a posterboy for the Soviet ideal. • Mikhail Krutikov writes on Jewish studies in Russia and the politics that affect them. •Gennadi Estraikh…
Eliane Karp does not match the usual job description for first lady of Peru. In a country where machismo is alive and well, the first lady is expected to be native-born, Catholic, dark-haired and (very) quiet. Karp is Belgian-born, Jewish, red-haired and (very) outspoken. But she does not mind challenging people’s expectations. “They see this…
For Our Freedom and Yours: The Jewish Labour Bund in Poland, 1939-1949 By Daniel Blatman, translated by Naftali Greenwood Vallentine Mitchell, 242 pages, $26. * * *| The socialist Jewish Labor Bund came into being in October l897, when 13 men and women, representing several underground revolutionary groups, gathered in a shabby house in Vilna,…
Theological Iron Curtain: As former Vermont governor Howard Dean has ridden the wave of anti-Iraq war sentiment to the front of the Democratic presidential pack, pro-war party stalwarts have had a rough time carving a position palatable to liberals. The increasingly bogged-down occupation of Iraq may, however, prove to be a boon to at least…
אַנאַ שטערנשיס האָט געזאַמלט הונדערטער בעל־פּהיִקע גבֿית־עדותן פֿון מענער און פֿרױען פֿון פֿאַרשײדענע סאָציאַלע שיכטן.
