The last time Macklemore drew fire from the Jewish community for a controversial performance, he apologized, there was forgiveness — and the rapper asked fans to support the Anti-Defamation League. That was May 2014, when Macklemore wore an onstage costume featuring a large hooked prosthetic nose, black wig and bushy beard, prompting many commentators to […]
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Is there still an appetite for Israeli spy stories? That is one question being tested by two different productions arriving in the United States this month: “Checkout,” a dark Israeli comedy about an aging Mossad operative, and the fifth season of “Fauda,” the Israeli action thriller about undercover counterterrorism agents. One is an indie film […]
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Pop superstar Ed Sheeran said he wasn’t behind his tour’s recent decision to drop opening act Macklemore following the rapper’s recent pro-Palestinian remarks at a stadium show. “I am not complicit,” Sheeran wrote in a statement on Instagram Tuesday, saying that Macklemore leaving the tour “was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine.” These were […]
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Noah Wyle on Monday night won his second consecutive Emmy for playing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch on “The Pitt.” The win also marked a second victory for one of television’s more fully realized Jewish characters. The actor won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the HBO Max medical drama, which also won Outstanding […]
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Robert Kraft, the Jewish and pro-Israel billionaire, took credit Monday for helping to pressure Ed Sheeran to drop pro-Palestinian rapper Macklemore from his tour. Kraft, who owns one of the stadiums where Macklemore was scheduled to perform, confirmed the rapper’s own account of the businessman’s involvement in a statement shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. […]
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The Israeli-American Council is calling for the rapper Macklemore to be dropped from the opening slot on pop star Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour for chanting “Free Palestine” and accusing Israel of apartheid and genocide during his performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday and Saturday nights. Known for such hits as “Thrift Shop” […]
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Reporting on the Jewish community is a lot like ornithology, except instead of birds the goal is to describe the dress, the habits and the particular behavior that distinguish, say, the Black-Hatted Monsey Orthodox from the Greater Philadelphia Jewish Renewalist. The careful shul-watcher notes their habitats, listens carefully to their songs and pays close attention […]
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John Galliano withdrew from a planned exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in response to a rapidly escalating controversy over the museum’s decision to honor the fashion designer despite his history of antisemitic and racist remarks. Galliano said Monday that, after discussions with the Met and others involved in the exhibition, […]
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On Saturday mornings in the 1960s and ’70s, instead of going to synagogue, I watched cartoons. Like millions of other American kids, I binged on “Fat Albert,” “The Pink Panther Show” and “H.R. Pufnstuf,” while absorbing endless commercial breaks for games, action figures, model kits and other marvels that might, if I played my cards […]
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Dolly Parton, the singer who died Tuesday at age 80 after a brief bout with cancer, was mourned around the world as a stellar songwriter, consummate country hitmaker, savvy entrepreneur and generous philanthropist. In Jewish circles, she was also remembered as the inspiration for PJ Library, a program that sends free children’s books to Jewish […]
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