Category: Culture

(JTA) — From the very beginning of the year, 2022 was anything but easy for American Jews.  The year began with a harrowing crisis at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, during which an armed assailant took a rabbi and three of his congregants hostage during Shabbat services. From there, Jewish communities across the United States […]

(New York Jewish Week) — Lizzy Savetsky’s life has been turned upside down and inside out over the past eight months.  The 37-year-old social media influencer, who identifies as “a proud Orthodox Jewish woman,” became practically a household name this summer when she was announced as a cast member for the 14th season of “The […]

(JTA) – Once more for the record, Dave Chappelle: Jews don’t actually run Hollywood. But anyone paying attention to pop culture in 2022 saw a lot of Jewish creativity. This year saw several big, distinctly Jewish releases across multiple media, ranging from acclaimed movies to popular TV shows to theater, books and viral TikToks. And […]

(JTA) – As “The Daily Show” looks ahead to a future without host Trevor Noah, at least three Jewish comedians are waiting to take his place — at least temporarily. Al Franken, Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler are among the extensive list of guest hosts Comedy Central has lined up to hold down the fort […]

(New York Jewish Week) — “Jesus is a paycheck,” said Rob Orbach, one of the many classically trained Jewish vocalists who perform Christian sacred songs in churches across New York City.   “There’s a lot of money to be made in churches, especially in New York,” Orbach, 30, who lives in West Harlem, told the New […]

(JTA) — The Detroit Pistons wished Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving a happy Hanukkah Sunday night, the first night of the holiday. The Pistons appeared to be trolling Irving, who recently shared an antisemitic film on Twitter and initially refused to apologize. The scoreboard displayed both a spinning globe and a Hanukkah graphic with […]

This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with teens across the world to report on issues that impact their lives. (JTA) — In 9th grade, Jonathan Korinman transferred to a specialized public high school in the Bronx after spending the previous nine years in private Jewish day schools.  […]

(New York Jewish Week) — Hanukkah, the winter holiday that commemorates the triumph of Judah Maccabee and the miracle of long-lasting oil, has plenty of heroes to celebrate. But in one Brooklyn family’s home, the hero is the “Hanukkah Fairy” — or at least the mom behind it.  Starting some 25 years ago, Gail Nalven Fuchs […]

(JTA) — Just a few years into her comedy career, Lisa Geduldig was invited to perform standup at the Peking Garden Club near Northampton, Massachusetts. She went to the gig assuming it was a comedy club. It wasn’t. “I just had the most ironic experience,” Geduldig remembers telling a Jewish summer camp friend on the […]

This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with teens across the world to report on issues that impact their lives. (JTA) — When youth group leader Evan Shrier first started organizing events for his peers at Temple Kol Tikvah in Woodland Hills, California, he was excited to […]