Welcome to the Forward’s insightful posts and articles covering all things Jewish, from culture and traditions to history, faith and contemporary Jewish life.
Jewish
The Latest
-
Opinion Debunking a Libelous Myth of American Jewish Indifference to Looming Holocaust
Well, another year is almost finished, and good riddance. Before we say goodbye to 2013, though, we should take a moment to note one of its overlooked milestones. This was the 30th anniversary of “Indicting American Jews,” the probing, angry, magisterial essay by the late Holocaust historian Lucy Dawidowicz, published in Commentary in June 1983….
-
Culture Al Goldstein Is Dead — and Our Culture Is a Little Poorer
So Al Goldstein is dead. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about him, but I have to believe that our culture will be poorer without him. Al, if you recall, was the publisher and chief protagonist of the notorious porn magazine Screw. Obscenity isn’t just a description of Screw, it was also the…
-
Life Getting Women to Mikveh, Snow or No
Jerusalem residents were told to stay off the streets during the recent, highly unusual, heavy snowstorm. Only plows and emergency vehicles were allowed to get through. And only in Jerusalem would a “Purity Mobile” count as an emergency vehicle. Ynet reported that Taharat Habayit (purity of the home), a Haredi organization, sent a 4×4 jeep-like…
-
Fast Forward Four New York Minors Arrested in Connection to So-Called ‘Knockout Game’
Four minors were arrested in connection with what are believed to be “knockout game” attacks in Brooklyn, DNAinfo New York reported. The New York Police Department arrested a 14-year-old girl and three other youths, aged 10 and 11, for involvement in three assaults in the borough in October and November. The victims were three Jewish…
-
Opinion My Friends Suspected Me of Spying for Israel
A Palestinian worker passes near the Aida refugee camp on December 21, 2005. / Getty Images Reading the recent reports about Jewish American spies like Robert Levinson and Alan Gross, I can’t help but think back on my own experiences in the Middle East. A friend and I lived and volunteered in the Aida refugee…
-
Life Throwback Thursday: The Concert Pianist
Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly photo feature in which we sift 116 years of Forward history to find snapshots of women’s lives. Concert pianist Irene Jacobi (formerly Schwarcz) was a graduate of New York City’s Institute of Musical Art, now known as the Juilliard School. She met her husband Frederick Jacobi when he was…
-
Opinion When a Jewish Child Learns To Love Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny
(JTA) — Last spring, I found myself averting my eyes when my 4-year-old mentioned something about the Easter bunny in front of my dad. We were at my parents’ home in Michigan for Passover and my son said, “When I get back to Brooklyn, the Easter bunny is going to bring me a basket!” I…
-
Fast Forward German Town Yanks Honorary Citizenship for Adolf Hitler
A town council in the German state of Bavaria voted to strip Adolf Hitler of his honorary citizenship. The 21 members of the Dietramszell town council voted unanimously on Tuesday to remove the honorary citizenship granted to Hitler 80 years ago. Last week, the council decided during a special session not to adopt a resolution…
Most Popular
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward US soldier charged for threatening to ‘kill every single Jew’ inside of a synagogue
-
Fast Forward J.D. Salinger asked publishers to remove references to his Jewish heritage, newly surfaced letters reveal
-
Sports NBA coach Steve Kerr: ‘Israel sought revenge for Oct. 7 and now 72,000 Palestinians have been killed’
-
Books How Saul Rubinek’s best lie helped him get to the truth about his family’s Holocaust history