When the Foundation for Jewish Culture closes its doors sometime next year, there won’t be many mourners saying Kaddish. Instead, the prevailing communal sentiment may very well be: “Yawn. We have too many agencies; one less will not matter!” But Kaddish ought be said for the FJC. The group’s lonely mourners will be those of…
Last year, Elise Bernhardt, president and CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Culture, gave a talk at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federations of North America about her favorite biblical character, Bezalel, “the original multi-media artist.” Without Bezalel, she argued, there would be no mishkan, no portable dwelling place for the divine. And without…
On June 14, I reported that experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer had declined a fellowship at the American Academy in Jerusalem for “personal reasons” — the explanation given by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, which supports the AAJ. At the time, I reached out to Hammer to explain her decision. Hammer, who was then in China,…
The American Academy in Jerusalem — newly established by the Foundation for Jewish Culture and modeled after the American academies in Rome and Berlin — will host four American artist fellows to help pioneer a cultural renaissance in the holy city. A fifth fellow, filmmaker Barbara Hammer, dropped out of the program yesterday for personal…
In a bid to shape which Jewish documentaries find an audience, the Foundation for Jewish Culture announced the recipients of the Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Documentary Film on December 15. The $140,000 grant (split between five recipients) enables filmmakers, considered to be expanding the understanding of Jewish experience, to reach a wider audience….
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Elise Bernhardt writes about “A Tale of Love…
The halls of the guest house at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, on the hillside outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, are lined with photographs of the famous writers, musicians, scholars, actors and artists who stayed in residence here decades ago. The names include the likes of Pablo Casals, Grace Paley, Elizabeth Taylor and many…
100% of profits support our journalism
