Mel Brooks Gets Medal for Being ‘Hilarious’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Several prominent Jews received 2015 National Medals of Arts and Humanities from President Obama. Mel Brooks was honored for “a lifetime of making the world laugh” and Philip Glass “for his groundbreaking contribution to music and composition.” They both received National Medals of Arts. Terry Gross secured a National Medal of Humanities for “her artful probing of the human experience.”
When asked by NPR about the award, Gross said, “Life doesn’t come with inherent meaning — I mean, all life is meaningful, but you, as somebody living your life, you have to find the meaning.”
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
- Alyssa Katz, 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.
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