It is hard to imagine the world without Adrienne Cooper, a friend said to me on learning that she was near death. As she did for so many others, she enriched my life for decades with thrilling song, wise words, and trenchant humor. She is perhaps best known as a concert and recording artist, one…
Crossposted from Haaretz Israeli Arab poet and journalist Salem Jubran died Sunday at his home in Nazareth at the age of 71. He was laid to rest in his hometown yesterday. Born in 1941 in the Galilee village of Peki’in, Jubran published three books of poetry, the last of which appeared about 30 years ago….
Journalist, critic, pundit and all-around provocateur Christopher Hitchens died December 15 at the age of 62. The outpouring of appreciation (and criticism) has been immense, including this piece in the Forward by Shmuley Boteach. But the Forward recognized Hitchens long before his death for his considerable — and considerably polarizing — gifts. In 2002, Hitchens…
Crossposted from Haaretz Gary Bilu, the legendary head of Beit Zvi acting school and founder of the Be’er Sheva Theater, died Tuesday at the age of 67. Bilu, the recipient of the 2006 Israeli Theater Award for his life’s work, died at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv after a long illness. Bilu requested that his…
One of the major artists of the American Yiddish cultural world and an innovator in the art of Jewish papercutting, Tsirl Waletzky, died on December 8 at the age of 90. Over three decades, her many drawings, paintings and papercuts illustrated book covers, Yiddish children’s magazines, primers and textbooks, becoming nearly synonymous with the art…
When I met biologist Lynn Margulis, she spoke with such authority and passion, that I immediately dubbed her “Rabbi Lynn.” She would have laughed at that. At best, she thought of religion as a useful tribal activity of anthropoids, but one that could be superstitious and antithetical to the search for truth. When she heard…
On November 23, the Catalan singer Montserrat Figueras died at her home in Bellaterra, near Barcelona, at the age of 69. Together with her husband, the legendary early bowed strings master Jordi Savall, Montserrat brought Sephardic music to the attention of a wide and appreciative audience of listeners, many of whom were unlikely to have…
Evelyn Lauder, who pioneered the pink ribbon as the symbol of breast cancer awareness, has died. Lauder, the daughter-in-law of cosmetics queen Estee Lauder, died of ovarian cancer Saturday at her home in Manhattan. She was 75. Lauder was married to Leonard Lauder, the oldest son of Estee and chairman emeritus of the makeup corporation….
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