In a rare bid for cooperation, the leading voice of ultra-Orthodox Judaism in the United States is reaching out to the nation’s main Jewish philanthropic network to seek assistance in a plan to aid Israeli families. The Orthodox group, Agudath Israel of America, appealed in a letter last week to United Jewish Communities, the roof…
Obstinate Hebrews: Representations of Jews in France, 1715-1815 By Ronald Schechter University of California Press, 368 pages, $60. * * *| Has France become Europe’s most antisemitic country? Many American Jews seem to think so, at least if my own circle of relatives and friends is any indication. They cite France’s recent wave of antisemitic…
Risa Jaroslow & Dancers, which uses dance to speak to people’s life experiences, performs “Strings Attached” in collaboration with Obie Award-winning composer Deidre Murray. The troupe’s five dancers explore the world of female string players in professional orchestras and the progress they’ve made since the 1960s, when women were first permitted to perform in the…
After months of Republicans crying foul over Democratic efforts to filibuster conservative judicial nominees, Democrats are accusing GOP leaders of delaying a vote on one of President Bush’s most controversial picks. Democrats are ready to debate and vote on the district court nomination of James Leon Holmes, but Senate Republican leaders are stalling, said two…
Verdict on Vichy: Power and Prejudice in the Vichy France Regime By Michael Curtis Arcade Publishing, 440 pages, $28.95. * * *| In the predawn black of July 16, 1942, 9,000 French policemen, gendarmes and paramilitary thugs fanned out across Paris. They acted on orders from Vichy, the former spa-town in central France that now…
Yiddish singer Adrienne Cooper performs and co-emcees at the Workmen’s Circle’s second installment of Yiddishfest 2003, the first installment of which was at Lincoln Center. For this performance, Cooper — the only Yiddish singer ever to be nominated for a Grammy Award — sings songs about lovers in the early 20th century who can only…
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Political turmoil in neighboring Zimbabwe is threatening southern Africa’s second-largest Jewish community with extinction. Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of sub-Saharan Africa, has rapidly become a basket case in recent years, as the regime of President Robert Mugabe has resorted to ever more extreme measures to remain in power. Political repression is…
Lectures and Discussions Solidarity: Lieutenant General Moshe Ya’alon, chief of staff of the Israeli army, speaks about “Solidarity with Israel” at Sabbath services. Ya’alon has served in military campaigns including the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1978 Litani Operation and Operation Peace for Galilee. The Hampton Synagogue, 154 Sunset Ave., Westhampton Beach; July 12, 11…
The Encyclopedia of Jewish Humor includes 14 pages of jokes on death, so when Buddy Hackett passed away in Malibu at age 79 last week, the chapel at Hillside Memorial in Culver City was packed with every comedy icon that hadn’t booked a Fourth of July gig out of town. Sid Caesar sat up front…
State of Siege [Users Manual] By Doron Goldenberg Gefen Publishing, 224 pages, $24.95. * * *| Several weeks ago, I gave a reading at a cafe in Jerusalem. One woman there — a friend of a friend — had dark, curly hair and wore a blue sweater. At least, I think it was blue, though…
Eitan Gorlin’s “The Holy Land,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at 2002’s Slamdance Film Festival, makes its New York debut. The film is set in 1999 and follows a rabbinical student in Israel whose teacher has instructed him to visit a prostitute in order to relieve his sexual curiosity. Mendy moves to Jerusalem, where…
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