(JR) — The Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen has earned acclaim for his films focused on the struggles of minorities, from “12 Years a Slave” to the BBC’s “Small Axe.” Now, McQueen — who is British and not Jewish — is releasing a Holocaust-themed documentary titled “Occupied City” that earned rave reviews at film festivals earlier […]
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TIRANA, Albania (JR) — Hidden behind a wooden gate in Tirana’s Toptani district, construction workers are busy converting a 19th-century Ottoman mansion into the Besa Museum — a long-planned shrine to Albania’s embrace of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II. About 100 miles south, in the Adriatic port city of Vlora — nestled […]
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(New York Jewish Week) — In 1974, three men — Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw — spent countless hours together aboard the Orca, a converted fishing boat docked in the open ocean east of Martha’s Vineyard. The trio, all actors, were filming “Jaws,” the Steven Spielberg-directed blockbuster whose filming schedule famously went 100 […]
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((JR)) — It took less than four days for 92NY to go from having a packed calendar of literary events and a full team to a depleted schedule and staff resignations. The dramatic shakeup at the venerable New York Jewish cultural center came after the institution scrapped a planned talk Friday by Pulitzer Prize winner […]
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((JR)) — The Boston Red Sox have reportedly hired former Team Israel pitcher Craig Breslow to lead their baseball operations department. Breslow, 43, replaces Chaim Bloom, a fellow Jewish Yale University graduate who was fired by the team last month. The Boston Globe first reported Breslow’s hire Tuesday, and MassLive reported that Breslow will hold […]
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(JR) — French President Emmanuel Macron visited Jerusalem on Tuesday, attempting to balance his solidarity with Israel alongside his calls for humanitarian aid in Gaza and a political peace process with the Palestinians. Thirty French citizens were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, which left over 1,400 people in Israel dead […]
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((JR)) — As the NBA’s only Israeli player, Deni Avdija has had a lot on his mind as his home country navigates a war with Hamas. But as the new NBA season tips off on Tuesday, the 22-year-old is poised for his most impressive year yet on the court. On Monday, Avdija and the Washington Wizards […]
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((JR)) — Writers Guild of America West, a branch of the screenwriters union that is fresh off of a months-long strike, has come under fire from many of its members over its refusal to issue a statement about the Israel-Hamas war. After complaints about the lack of reaction, WGA West President Meredith Stiehm wrote an […]
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((JR)) — A strikingly long list of celebrities launched a campaign called #NoHostageLeftBehind on Monday, aimed at pressuring President Joe Biden to continue to work to secure the release of the more than 200 hostages taken captive by Hamas on Oct. 7. Some of the dozens of stars involved include Amy Schumer, Adam Sandler, Chris […]
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(JR) — Italian officials are reportedly investigating dozens of antisemitic incidents in Milan tied to the Israel-Hamas conflict, including one in which called for killing Jews in the bathroom of a nightclub. Messages translated in Italian media to “Jews to death, rats we are coming to get you in your sewers” and “Nazi Jews you […]
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