Since the fall of apartheid, South African Jewry has struggled mightily with two specters from its past. Its central body, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, worked happily with the apartheid regime, even as that regime violated the civil liberties and human rights of many Jews who were key figures in the anti-apartheid struggle….
In this, the second annual Forward Fives selection, we celebrate the year’s cultural output with a series of deliberately eclectic choices in film, music, theater, exhibitions and books. Here we present five of the most important Jewish exhibitions of 2010. Feel free to argue with and add to our selections in the comments. Shifting the…
Earlier this week, I began my coverage of the New York International Fringe Festival by introducing the solo performances of three young women grappling with their faith. With the second week came more solo shows, but this time the performances were about larger stories, and involved more characters than just the individual actors. Taking in…
The decision today to ban a group called Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from Toronto’s Gay Pride parade is drawing fire from some gay activists for “censorship” – but has earned praise for “censoring a hateful message” from the Canadian B’nai Brith. At a raucous press conference earlier — interrupted by cries of “Shame!” and “Resign!”…
The last thing you might expect at a scholarly lecture on the Jewish experience in apartheid South Africa is suspense. But there it was. Gideon Shimoni, a professor emeritus at The Hebrew University and the author of “Community and Conscience: The Jews in Apartheid South Africa,” spoke at New York’s Jewish Museum on May 13…
Helen Suzman, the Jewish anti-apartheid activist who died earlier this month, was long critical of South Africa’s organized Jewish community for its policy of political non-involvement during the apartheid years. When the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) gave her a humanitarian award in 2007, she accepted the honor with the words, “It’s about…
Last month, a British Zionist group sparked a big brouhaha when it withdrew a speaking invitation to Ha’aretz columnist Danny Rubinstein after he described Israel as an “apartheid” state at a U.N. conference. Today, however, it is a Ha’aretz editorial that is trotting out the a-word. Lamenting the situation in the occupied territories, the editorial…
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