This Week in Forward Arts and Culture

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
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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.
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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.
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Philologos is, as we all suspected, a nerd.
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Jay Michaelson argues that current political arguments are not “l’shem shamayim.”
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Howard Shapiro explores San Francisco Symphony artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas’s tribute to his late grandparents, Yiddish theater stars Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky.
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Rachel Tepper reviews Theater J’s new theatrical production of Chaim Potok’s classic novel, “The Chosen.”
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Benjamin Ivry pays tribute to the great actress and convert to Judaism, Elizabeth Taylor.
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Gabrielle Birkner talks to Julian Schnabel about his latest, and most controversial film, “Miral.”
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Nathan Guttman reports on the controversies enveloping the cultural offerings at JCCs.
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And this week on the Forverts video channel, associate editor Itzik Gottesman gives a tour of a Yiddish flavored Purim in New York:
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
