Culture -

In ‘Lansky,’ Harvey Keitel puts the legendary gangster’s Jewishness front and center

June 25, 2021Sara Wood

(JTA) — Perhaps no American Jewish actor has been so closely associated with crime films as Harvey Keitel. During a career now in its sixth decade, the 82-year-old Keitel has appeared in “Mean Streets,” “Taxi Driver,” “Wise Guys,” “Bugsy,” “The Two Jakes,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “The Irishman,” among numerous other films. Now he’s adding to […]

Quentin Tarantino opens up about learning Hebrew, his life in Tel Aviv and being an ‘abba’

June 24, 2021Arsen Mayer

Quentin Tarantino opens up about learning Hebrew, his life in Tel Aviv and being an ‘abba’ – Jewish Telegraphic Agency Skip to content Advertisement Advertisement

‘Tevye in New York’ imagines the famous ‘Fiddler’ hero’s life beyond Anatevka

June 23, 2021Sara Wood

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — The last time we saw Tevye the Milkman on Broadway in “Fiddler on the Roof” was in 2016, escaping Anatevka as a pogrom swept the shtetl. Now, almost five years later, he is resurfacing in a one-man play titled “Tevye in New York,” opening in its world premiere — in Beverly […]

How a non-Jewish Swiss baker’s challah wowed the internet

June 22, 2021Jesse Orine

This article originally appeared on The Nosher. Challah baker Katharina Arrigoni lives in a town in northern Switzerland with 3,000 residents, none of whom — including Arrigoni – are Jewish. Entirely self-taught, Arrigoni has never tasted a challah other than her own creations. Yet thanks to the power of the internet and Instagram, Arrigoni has […]

‘The Shrink Next Door,’ a dark Jewish-themed podcast, is becoming a TV show with Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd

June 18, 2021Sara Wood

(JTA) — “The Shrink Next Door,” a 2019 reported podcast about a Jewish psychiatrist on the Upper West Side of Manhattan who takes control of the life of one of his Jewish patients, is being made into a limited TV series. And it’s starring two comedy stars who last collaborated on “Anchorman 2: The Legend […]

A Black and Jewish Bible scholar will lead Reconstructionist rabbinical school, in a first for American Jewish movements

June 18, 2021Sara Wood

A Black and Jewish Bible scholar will lead Reconstructionist rabbinical school, in a first for American Jewish movements – Jewish Telegraphic Agency Skip to content Advertisement Advertisement

7 events that celebrate Juneteenth through a Jewish lens

June 17, 2021Mark Hershlag

This article originally appeared on Kveller. This Saturday, June 19, marks the first time that Juneteenth will be observed as a federal holiday. The date — a portmanteau of the words “June” and “nineteenth” — marks the day in 1865 in which enslaved people in Texas were informed of the Emancipation Proclamation, and thus their […]

Meet the Orthodox mom competing on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

June 16, 2021Sara Wood

This article originally appeared on Kveller. If you’re in need of inspiration today, look no further than Orthodox mom of four Liba Yoffe, who is competing in the current season of “American Ninja Warrior.” Yoffe, 35, is the apparently first Orthodox Jewish woman to participate in the popular fitness competition — now in its 13th season […]

The holiness of returning to summer camp

June 16, 2021Neta-Lee Zellweger

This article originally appeared on Alma. I am a camp person through and through. Camp has always been my happy place. For a long time it was the only place I felt genuinely Jewish. I grew up being the only Jew most people in my hometown knew, and switched synagogues several times. I never felt […]

Shira Haas gives life to a devastating illness in the decorated Israeli film ‘Asia’

June 9, 2021Arsen Mayer

(JTA) — Shira Haas, the Israeli actress who vaulted into superstardom with her roles in the TV series “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox,” has a track record of playing multifaceted characters. Nonetheless, she faced unprecedented challenges when making the new film “Asia,” which dominated last year’s Ophir Awards (the Israeli equivalent to the Oscars) and is seeing […]