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The Schmooze

This Week in Forward Arts and Culture

  • In the first of a two-part series, Lisa Traiger traces the growth of Israeli folk dancing from one dance — “Hora Agadati” in 1924 — to 4,678 in 2005.

  • Jordana Horn surveys the career of the remarkable Moroccan-Israel actress Ronit Elkabetz, who was recently honored by the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival.

  • Philologos is, as we all suspected, a nerd.

  • Jay Michaelson argues that current political arguments are not “l’shem shamayim.”

  • Howard Shapiro explores San Francisco Symphony artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas’s tribute to his late grandparents, Yiddish theater stars Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky.

  • Rachel Tepper reviews Theater J’s new theatrical production of Chaim Potok’s classic novel, “The Chosen.”

  • Benjamin Ivry pays tribute to the great actress and convert to Judaism, Elizabeth Taylor.

  • Gabrielle Birkner talks to Julian Schnabel about his latest, and most controversial film, “Miral.”

  • Nathan Guttman reports on the controversies enveloping the cultural offerings at JCCs.

  • And this week on the Forverts video channel, associate editor Itzik Gottesman gives a tour of a Yiddish flavored Purim in New York:

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