[ ![][2]][2] A newly-discovered hand-written letter written in Yiddish by Isaac Bashevis Singer to Magdalena Salazar, his Mexican maid of seven years in the Upper West Side apartment he shared with his wife Alma, offers insight into a previously unknown romantic liaison by the Nobel Prize winner. Stuck to a Zabar’s grocery list which had…
[ ![][2]][2] Hope For Israel Dear Backward, I always love to turn to your Arts & Culture pages. In a world where everything is so uncertain and life can sometimes seem so cheap, it makes me proud to be a Jew. Benjy Netanyahu Jerusalem, Israel Winter Olympic? Dear Backward, After my Bar Mitzvah in October…
Traditionally, Purim celebrants drink enough alcohol to confuse the Book of Esther’s villain, Haman, with its hero, Mordechai. But this year, two unlikely female characters were confused: Queen Esther and the mermaid depicted in the Starbucks Coffee logo. “The girl in the Starbucks logo is Queen Esther … the queen of the Jews,” Safwat Higazi,…
From women’s perspectives, there are more layers to be unpacked from the Purim story than there are seeds in a poppy hamantasch. My current favorites are the themes of covering and uncovering as they relate to power and powerlessness — experiences I’ll be tasting in my own Purim costume this year as a totally covered…
Oh dear. Two monkeys have escaped from Jerusalem’s Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, better known as the Biblical Zoo — the same zoo at which Rabbi Marc, an Asian lion, resides. The monkeys broke free yesterday morning, and at time of writing one has been found but the other is still on the loose. It’s hard…
The Backward’s Purim Spoof podcast, featuring Backward editors Anthony Weiss and Daniel Friedman in conversation with Gabrielle Birkner, looks at the Anti-Defamation League’s decision to honor Bernard Madoff, the retirement of the Elders of Zion, Adam Sandler’s meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, Jay-Z’s new Jewish dating Web site, and the existence of hot Israeli models….
The animation director of Waltz With Bashir has released a short movie intended to rally opinion against the Gaza blockade. Yoni Goodman’s new film, “Closed Zone,” consists of animation and real footage from Gaza, and addresses the lack of freedom of movement for Gazans. In it, a young boy pursues a flying bird — a…
The Elders of Zion, the venerable and shadowy Jewish organization that controls the international banking industry, news media and Hollywood, has announced that it is disbanding so that members can retire to Florida and live out their golden years on the golf course. “We had a good run,” said one senior Elder, reminiscing over old…
באַזונדערש רירנדיק דאָ זײַנען די בילדער פֿון משפּחה־רײַבונגען, פֿון באַגעגענישן װאָס ברענגען נישט צו קײן עמאָציאָנעלע פֿאַרשטענדיקונגען.
