Culture -

Eli Sharabi’s ‘Hostage’ memoir named Jewish book of the year

February 17, 2026February 18, 2026Jesse Orine

Eli Sharabi’s memoir “Hostage,” recounting his experience in Hamas captivity after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has been named Book of the Year by the National Jewish Book Awards, organizers announced Wednesday. The awards, presented by the Jewish Book Council and considered among the most prestigious honors in Jewish literature, recognize outstanding English-language books of […]

Frederick Wiseman, documentarian whose antisemitism experiences led to a career examining social institutions, dies at 96

February 17, 2026February 17, 2026Jesse Orine

Frederick Wiseman became a globally celebrated documentary filmmaker by capturing the inner workings of a wide range of social institutions, from governments to schools, small towns, and cultural centers. But years before they opened their doors to his cameras, institutions were shutting Wiseman out — because he was Jewish. “I’m very aware of my Jewish […]

Olympics committee defends sale of T-shirt commemorating 1936 Nazi-era Games

February 14, 2026February 14, 2026Jesse Orine

The governing body for the Olympics is defending its sale of a limited-edition T-shirt commemorating the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin under Adolf Hitler’s Germany. The $42 shirt, which was condemned by Jewish organizations, has already sold out from the official Olympics online store. A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee acknowledged the Games’ Nazi […]

From ‘Hairspray’ to ‘South Park,’ composer Marc Shaiman tells a showbiz story shaped by Jewish humor

February 9, 2026February 9, 2026Jesse Orine

Marc Shaiman likes to joke that for half a century he’s been “the funny Jewish guy at the piano,” a role as old as vaudeville and as enduring as a well-timed joke. But behind the punchline is a career that traces a distinctly Jewish path through American show business: a bar mitzvah where he improvised […]

Bill Aron, photographer of Jewish countercultures, gets his due in a sweeping retrospective

February 9, 2026February 9, 2026Jesse Orine

I was late to the havurah movement — the egalitarian, counterculture congregations that blended grassroots spirituality, social activism and skepticism about mainstream synagogues and the Jewish establishment. By the time we joined Farbrengen in Washington, D.C. in the late 1980s, the founders of the movement were sprouting gray hairs and more than a few were […]

Stephen Spielberg wins Grammy, becoming 9th Jew in elite EGOT ranks

February 2, 2026February 2, 2026Jesse Orine

The legendary director Stephen Spielberg has become the ninth Jew to secure “EGOT” status after winning a Grammy for producing a documentary about the music of John Williams. Spielberg was awarded the Grammy for producing “Music by John Williams,” which won best music documentary, before the televised ceremony on Sunday. The win makes him the […]

Italian rapper Ghali’s planned Winter Olympics set draws backlash over his Gaza advocacy

January 29, 2026January 29, 2026Jesse Orine

Italian rapper Ghali’s slated performance at the opening ceremony for this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan has drawn criticism from Italian leaders over his past activism against Israel. Ghali Amdouni, a prominent Milan-born rapper of Tunisian parents, will be joined by a host of performers including Andrea Bocelli and Mariah Carey during the opening ceremony […]

A new exhibit honors writer Lore Segal, a child survivor and lifelong skeptic of easy truths

January 26, 2026January 26, 2026Jesse Orine

I’ve never read a Holocaust chronicle quite like Lore Segal’s autobiographical 1964 novel, “Other People’s Houses.” Mordant, unsentimental and sometimes painfully honest, it’s the story of an Austrian girl sent to England on the Kindertransport, as well as a portrait of the artist as a young refugee. More than one of her legions of admirers […]

Stories of ghosts, grief and Shabbat gladness win top prizes in Jewish children’s literature

January 26, 2026January 27, 2026Jesse Orine

Anna is a misunderstood sixth-grade girl who communicates with the ghosts of her Jewish ancestors. Teased by her classmates and worried-over by her family, she finds comfort and understanding with her Bubbe and her beloved Jewish traditions. “Neshama,” Marcella Pixley’s lyrically written novel-in-verse, won the gold medal for Jewish children’s literature for middle-grade readers from […]

On PBS’ ‘Finding Your Roots,’ Jewish actor Lizzy Caplan discovers her family’s unknown Holocaust story

January 26, 2026January 26, 2026Jesse Orine

Actor Lizzy Caplan always thought it was unusual she didn’t know of any relatives who were victims of the Holocaust. In Tuesday’s episode of the PBS celebrity genealogy series “Finding Your Roots,” Caplan learns that one of her ancestors survived four camps — and that his wife and baby were murdered. “It was my friends […]