NEW YORK (JTA) — True story: Back in 2008, one of my son’s favorite games was one we called “Bernie Madoff.” It was basically cops and robbers — I played a police officer and Elie, 3, was Bernie. The object of the game was that I chased him until… Read more »
Arts and Culture
How Israel’s national library acquired Sir Isaac Newton’s papers
(Jewniverse via JTA) — After Sir Isaac Newton died in 1727, his papers were given to the University of Cambridge. Valuing his scientific manuscripts most, the university eventually decided to auction off what was left — Newton’s manuscripts on alchemy and theology. In 1936, on what was probably a rainy… Read more »
Meet the Israeli composer of Indian Muslim music who collaborates with Radiohead’s guitarist
(JTA) — For most musicians working in the underappreciated genre of world music, recording an album with Jonny Greenwood, the guitarist of the famed English rock band Radiohead, would be something of a pipe dream. And what about having that experience filmed by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson (“There… Read more »
Oscars red carpet preview: Is modesty the new sexy?
(JTA) — Pity Jennifer Lopez. As far as memorable red carpet moments go, she set such a high bar at the 2000 Grammys with her now-legendary plunging green Versace dress that she seemed destined to never top it. But many fashion insiders (and followers) have been buzzing about the actress-singer’s… Read more »
Woody Allen’s sidekick shares all
NEW YORK (JTA) — There’s a memorable scene in “Annie Hall” when Woody Allen’s character, Alvy Singer, rants about finding anti-Semites everywhere he goes. “You know, I was having lunch with some guys from NBC and I said, ‘Did you eat yet?’ and said, ‘No, Jew?’ Not, ‘Did… Read more »
David Bowie was into kabbalah and other Jewish facts about the late icon
(JTA) — It was clear long before the Internet swelled with heartfelt tributes to David Bowie that the late musician was an artistic legend. The 69-year-old Englishman, who died Jan. 10 after an 18-month battle with cancer, reinvented himself countless times in a music career that spanned more than five… Read more »
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK How a Jewish reporter celebrated Chanukah at the Kremlin
MOSCOW (JTA) — Like many tourists in Red Square, I have often wondered what lies beyond the tall walls that separate this Moscow attraction from the Kremlin, the official residence of Russia’s president and the nerve center of the state. As a journalist long obsessed with Russia, I’ve wanted… Read more »
How ‘Transparent’ is reshaping views of transgender Jews
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — The prevalence of transgender issues in pop culture seems to have reached a pinnacle this year. Caitlyn – nee Bruce – Jenner appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair. The movie “Tangerine,” which stars transgender actors, took film critics by storm. Director Tom Hooper’s “The… Read more »
Inspiring Jews we lost in 2015
(JTA) — As 2015 winds to a close, we’d like to take a moment to honor the memories of those who we lost over the past 12 months. From remembering lives cut short by senseless, dark tragedies to tributes to revered icons who lived life to the fullest, here are some Jews… Read more »
From Madonna to Vampire Weekend, ‘super producer’ Ariel Rechtshaid makes his mark
(JTA) — What do Madonna, Vampire Weekend, Usher, the Plain White T’s and Justin Bieber have in common? In addition to getting extensive play on Top 40 radio stations, they have all worked with Grammy-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid, a Los Angeles native born to Israeli parents. Rechtshaid, 36, has… Read more »
In ‘Blind Love’ doc, Israelis learn to be witnesses to Nazi cruelty
TORONTO (JTA) — Fingers flit over a tombstone in Warsaw’s Jewish cemetery, caressing its faded Hebrew letters. Feet stumble on pathways at a Nazi death camp, crooked and strewn with stones. Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, punctures the sound of rustling leaves and hard rain in rural… Read more »
From HBO to Arthur Miller, what a ‘tough guy’ actor learned from his Jewish grandma
NEW YORK (JTA) — On a trip to London last year, actor Michael Zegen caught a revival performance of Arthur Miller’s 1955 drama, “A View from the Bridge,” about a Brooklyn longshoreman whose protective impulses toward his niece tilt toward lust. “I had a terrible seat,” he told JTA.… Read more »
The real-life Jewish debauchery behind ‘The Night Before’ Christmas movie
(JTA) — Director and writer Jonathan Levine (“The Wackness,” “50/50”) may have grown up in Jew-centric Manhattan, yet he recalls feeling somewhat like an alien every Christmas. “I don’t think it was malicious,” Levine, 39, says in a telephone interview with JTA. “But, in a way, I felt like an… Read more »
S’mores Brownies
(The Nosher via JTA) — It’s no great secret that I hate pareve desserts. Or perhaps I should more accurately say I hate bad pareve desserts. Some might even say I have made it my mission in life to dream up pareve desserts that don’t suck. And this brownie recipe… Read more »
The young Jewish chef who made vegan food tasty — long before Beyonce made it cool
NEW YORK (JTA) — There’s a buzzy new eatery on the corner of Bleecker and MacDougal streets in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The restaurant, by CHLOE, is garnering consistently good reviews and attracting slews of young, hip diners. Recently it even hosted the launch of a lingerie-line collaboration between two “it” girls.… Read more »
At 25, Tucson International Jewish Film Festival going strong
Every time I go to a movie, it’s magic, no matter what the movie’s about. —Steven Spielberg The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival uses that “magic” to promote the preservation of Jewish culture and celebrate cultural diversity. For 10 days, Jan. 14 - 23, the 25th annual festival… Read more »
Body Scripting, ‘Faun’ choreographer’s unique technique, to be Tucson J workshop
When New York choreographer Tamar Rogoff invited Gregg Mozgala, an actor with cerebral palsy, to dance the role of the faun in an original production, they had no idea that their collaboration would lead to a profound and unexpected physical transformation. At the time they met in 2008, Mozgala… Read more »
Itzhak Perlman named winner of 2016 Genesis Prize
(JTA) — Itzhak Perlman, the Israeli-born violin virtuoso, was named the third winner of the Genesis Prize. Perlman was named the winner on Monday of the annual $1 million prize that has been dubbed the “Jewish Nobel.” He joins former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the actor-director… Read more »
9 Persian ingredients to try now
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Persian culture makes up an important part of the Jewish community in New York, Israel and especially Southern California, where some 45,000 Persian Jews reside. The cuisine of this strong, close-knit community is not unlike that of Persian cuisine in general: colorful rice dishes, rich and… Read more »
Meet Miss Israel
(JTA) — Avigail Alfatov eats her pizza upside down and has funny hiccups. Her favorite food is falafel and she makes her face shine by wiping it with green tea bags. How do we know this and, perhaps more important, why do we care? Well, Alfatov is the reigning… Read more »