What was the Jewish record on slavery? It’s (very) complicated.
Richard Kreitner's 'Fear No Pharaoh" unpacks the myths surrounding Jews and slavery in and around the Civil War and its aftermath
Shylock
The Latest
-
Books -
Theater In this ‘Merchant of Venice,’ tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight
Igor Golyak’s production brings the show back to a comedic mode the way Shakespeare intended — to make a point about antisemitism
-
Theater Are We Ready To Reckon With ‘The Merchant Of Venice’?
In May 1943, at Vienna’s Burg theater, the Nazi party staged its most famous production of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” It starred Werner Krauss, a man so anti-Semitic that he is said to have asked Joseph Goebbels to make a public announcement clarifying that he was not Jewish, but rather habitually played Jewish caricatures…
-
Culture Why Have So Many Jews Wanted To Play Shylock?
Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” with Shylock, the vengeful Jewish money-lender, is seen by many as anti-Semitic. Yet Jewish actors and directors have been drawn to the play. “Wrestling with Shylock: Jewish Responses to The Merchant of Venice,” a collection of essays edited by Edna Nahshon and Michael Shapiro from Cambridge University Press, tries to explain…
-
Culture Are All Jewish Men Shylocks?
Shylock Is My Name By Howard Jacobson Hogarth Shakespeare, 288 pages, $25 What to do with Shylock? I was pondering this question recently while browsing in a Barnes and Noble, when I noticed that they’d helpfully labeled the Humor shelf, “Books that make you laugh.” Especially with regard to some of them (“What Would Jesus…
-
Life Licoricia of Winchester’s Guide to Having It All
The word “moneylender” evokes the image of Shylock, the Western canon’s merciless Jewish anti-hero. However, as is the case with most stereotypes, the historical reality was much more diverse and nuanced. Moneylending, vital to the growth of kingdoms and empires throughout the middle Ages, provided a stepping-stone to independence, wealth and influence not only to…
-
Fast Forward Greek Ex-Finance Minister Lampooned as Shylock in Cartoon
The Greek Jewish community protested after one of Greece’s main newspapers published a caricature of former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis as a “Jewish moneylender.” The image, which shows Varoufakis wearing a giant black skullcap and hunched over a ledger, counting bags and coins of gold, was published Friday in Ta Nea, one of the country’s…
-
Fast Forward Joe Biden Sorry for Calling Unscrupulous Lenders ‘Shylock’
Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged that he made a “poor choice of words” in using the term “Shylock” to describe unscrupulous lenders. Biden was reacting Wednesday to remarks by Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, in response to the vice president’s use of the term this week. Speaking to the Legal Services Organization, a…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News No Jews allowed: White supremacists are building a segregated community in Arkansas, but is it legal?
- 2
News Zohran Mamdani has represented Astoria’s Jews for 4 years. What do they think of him?
- 3
News Curtis Sliwa has a plan to beat Zohran Mamdani in NYC mayor’s race — and it starts with apologizing to Jews
- 4
Culture Barbra Streisand’s brand-new duet with Bob Dylan is a whole lot different than you might think
In Case You Missed It
-
Yiddish דאָקטוירים פֿון אַן אַנדער שניטDoctors of a different sort
די ווילנער דאָקטוירים יעקבֿ וויגאָדסקי און צמח שאַבאַד זענען אויך געווען געזעלשאַפֿטלעכע טוער.
-
Yiddish ווידעאָ: ווען ייִדיש האָט געקלונגען אין די גאַסן פֿון מעקסיקע VIDEO: When Yiddish rang throughout the streets of Mexico
יעקבֿ פֿינקלמאַן באַשרײַבט אויך זײַן לאַנגיאָריקן פֿאַך — ווי ער האָט צוגעשטעלט וויסן אין טעלעקאָמוניקאַציע איבער דער וועלט
-
Opinion Want to understand what’s wrong with the ‘pro-Palestine’ movement? This Palestinian can help
-
Fast Forward Boulder firebombing suspect’s family can be deported, court says
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
