The British Department for Education (DfE) today announced a U-turn on its previously-proposed policy that would have limited the scope of Jewish elementary schools in the United Kingdom to teach Hebrew as a modern foreign language. As The Forward previously reported, under controversial plans released last December as part of an overall reform of the…
From Ben Zion Katz of Chicago comes this email: “The noted Italian rabbi Leon de Modena (1571-1648) accomplished a linguistic tour de force by writing an octet, entitled Kina Sh’mor, that made sense whether read as Hebrew or Italian. My brother Jeffrey and I have written a poem that does the same with Hebrew and…
A Romanian opera singer dressed like Dracula and wailing falsetto. Dancers in a Perspex boxes and drummers dosed in baby oil. Moustachioed Greeks dancing and singing about the joys of free alcohol. A Russian plea for world peace in three minutes with a key change. In case you missed it, that was the Eurovision Song…
Far from the children who beg for change from idling cars and the teenagers who hurl rocks at armed Israeli troops, a different spectacle of Palestinian youth is playing out in the ballroom of a luxury Ramallah hotel. Young contestants are gathered for a taping of “The President”, a game show that aims to select…
Portuguese researchers have catalogued hundreds of secret markings that Jews left on structures in the northern Portuguese municipality of Seia in the 16th century, after their forced conversion to Christianity. The team’s three members – Alberto Martinho, Jose Levy Domingos and Luiza Metzker Lyra – say they found 500 markings in Seia, including coded Hebrew…
Barack Obama has become the fifth American president to visit Israel during his term in office. Air Force One touched down bang on time at Ben Gurion Airport, met by trumpet blasts, an Israeli military guard of honor, and welcome speeches by his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His red…
The first Hebrew language edition of Playboy magazine was launched in Tel Aviv. The magazine was launched Tuesday, with a pre-recorded message from Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, the Jerusalem Post reported. “I’m proud to see Playboy Israel embark on its mission to play an important role in strengthening freedom of speech, freedom of choice and…
Islamist Hamas authorities plan to expand Hebrew-language classes in the Gaza Strip’s high schools to help Palestinians know their enemy in times of conflict with Israel. Far from a sign that peace will soon break out, Hamas’s promotion of Hebrew learning in the Israeli-blockaded Mediterranean enclave aims to make linguistic skill a useful new front…
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