Tim Kalkhof plays a German man who falls in love with a married Israeli man in "The Cakemaker." (Strand Releasing)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — “The Cakemaker” has been one of the more successful indie films on the international festival circuit over the past year. Its recipe: a secret gay Israeli-German love affair, a tragic death and another secret affair — between a straight woman and a gay man. The… Read more »
From an inspiring family reunion to a jaw-dropping “shanda,” the documentary “Three Identical Strangers” offers plot twists and emotional turns that top anything Hollywood has to offer this summer. The New York-area triplets, who discovered by chance in 1980 that they had been placed for adoption with three different… Read more »
Food critic Jonathan Gold on a SiriusXM show in Los Angeles, May 3, 2018. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Jonathan Gold was more than a food writer. Every obituary will tell you that, and so would he. “Food is a way to look at the world,” he told me once. “I mean, everybody eats.” Gold, who died July 21 at the age of 57 from… Read more »
Steven Skybell, center, as Tevye and ensemble in the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's Production of "Fiddler on the Roof." (Victor Nechay/ProperPix)
NEW YORK (JTA) — The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s new production of “Fiddler on the Roof” enacts a familiar story in an unfamiliar language. The actors sing about joy and hardship, and argue about the importance of tradition, in the language their characters would have spoken in the Old… Read more »
Chicago's kosher restaurant scene could be getting a boost. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
This city’s kosher restaurant scene has long lagged behind other metropolises like New York and Los Angeles — but changes might be coming. A bold forthcoming restaurant, an authentic taqueria and reports that two established neighborhood eateries are looking to change hands are raising hope for kosher diners who… Read more »
One Pot Paprika Chicken with Orzo and Olives ( Samantha Ferraro)
This one pot paprika chicken is a take on my mom’s memorable paprika chicken recipe. I have very fond memories of cleaning the whole bird and then rubbing it down with loads of paprika for weeknight dinners. The spice gives a deep rich color and imparts a delicious smoky… Read more »
Sacha Baron Cohen at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., May 23, 2016. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sacha Baron Cohen is back, and he is taking aim at a strain of “pro-Israel” thought that has both delighted and unsettled many American Jews: the unconditional love engendered by the country among deeply conservative Americans. In “Who is America?,” a show that made its debut… Read more »
Lior Brooks, left, during a match in Greece, Nov. 22, 2017. (Courtesy of ZMAK)
(JTA) — Like many Israelis visiting Europe, Lior Brooks is keenly aware of his compatriots’ reputation abroad for rudeness. The boorish stereotype is so well known that it has its own term there – “the ugly Israeli” – and been the subject of many an awareness-raising campaign. There’s even… Read more »
American, Canadian and Israeli flags are displayed in the S.H. and Helen R. Scheuer Chapel on the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. (Ady Manory)
(JTA) — Jewish tourists from North America are likely to notice one big difference when visiting synagogues around the world. Though a plethora of symbols, such as stars of David and menorahs, may be displayed, national flags are rare inside the sanctuary. Meanwhile, in the United States and Canada,… Read more »
(The Nosher via JTA) – From bulbous and egg-shaped to small and thin, the eggplant (or if you’re British like me, the aubergine) is a staple fruit within Sephardic Jewish cooking. Originating in India or perhaps even China, eggplant seeds are thought to have traveled along the Silk Road… Read more »
Summer camp is not just for kids anymore. Summer camps targeted for adults are popping up throughout the country, and Tucson is embracing the trend. The Tucson Jewish Community Center will launch its first One Day Adult Summer Camp on Sunday, July 29. The Foundation for Jewish Camping says,… Read more »
The Jewish History Museum will stage a digital exhibit, “Mapping Migration,” that documents the trajectory of Jewish community migration to Southern Arizona through triptychs comprising historical to contemporary family photos. The exhibit will open Sept. 1. “Two things I particularly love about this concept are that it is inclusive… Read more »
From left to right: Jen Binford, Rachel Brown and Gabby Nordell cooking for Passover at a Mevashlim B’Ivrit class in Boise, Idaho. (Courtesy of Efi Asaf)
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) – In the compact, open kitchen of the apartment here that Dalit Gvirtsman shares with her husband, about a dozen women are jostling for space. One is chopping tomatoes, another is sauteing onions and another is squeezing a few dollops of honey into cooked egg noodles.… Read more »
Lynda Rogoff, left, and Linda Tumarkin This is the final part of a series on the Jewish agency volunteers who received 2018 Special Recognition Awards at the Jewish Community Awards Celebration, held May 10. The Jewish History Museum recognized a pair of volunteers, Lynda Rogoff and Linda Tumarkin, for outstanding service, because they are such… Read more »
S'mores Babka (Shannon Sarna)
(The Nosher via JTA) – Babka is an Eastern European yeasted cake with deep Jewish roots and also great American popularity. One of babka’s most notorious moments was in an episode of “Seinfeld”: Jerry and Elaine head to Royal Bakery to pick up babka for a dinner party, and… Read more »
(Michelle Shapiro)
Philip Roth, a literary giant, passed away May 22 at age 85. As Charles McGrath wrote in his obituary in The New York Times, “he was drawn again and again to writing about themes of Jewish identity, anti-Semitism and the Jewish experience in America.” But what Roth provided, of… Read more »
The Tzofim (Israel Scouts) Friendship Caravan national tour will stop in Tucson with a free concert of song and dance on Monday, June 18 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The scouts also will perform at Camp J on the morning of June 18 and at… Read more »
Winner of the eurovision 2018 song contest Netta Barzilai preforms at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on May 14, 2018. Photo by Tomer Neuberg/Flash90 *** Local Caption *** úøáåú
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(JTA) — Hours before the Eurovision song contest’s kickoff, Rafi Kishon posted on Facebook a sobering message and a picture of himself wearing a head of lettuce for a hat. Israel’s entrant, he said, didn’t stand a chance of winning in anti-Semitic, anti-Israel Europe. “I’m sorry to disappoint you,”… Read more »
'Night Rain' by Ann Lapidus
Works by Ann Lapidus and Jeanne Hartmann will be on display at the Fine Art Gallery of the Tucson Jewish Community Center through May 17. Ann Marcus Lapidus creates abstract painting with a vivid palette. She has a B.A. in art from Pomona College and a semestrial degree from… Read more »
High School Students are invited to compete in The Norman Alexander Award for Excellence in Jewish Student Writing by submitting a 500-word essay on: Jewish Contributions to American Music. Examples are: Paula Abdul, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Shlomo Carlebach, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, George Gershwin, Benny Goodman, Billy Joel,… Read more »
