Category: Culture

((JR)) — Jewish communal mourning was defined in large part this year by Oct. 7. But other notable losses occurred throughout the year, of people who have left outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between. In chronological order, here is a selection of obituaries of 20 of the most famous Jews who […]

((JR)) — Automated content moderation tools deployed amid “a surge in violent and graphic content” on Facebook and Instagram after Oct. 7 went too far in removing posts that social media users should have been able to see, an independent oversight panel at their parent company, Meta, ruled on Tuesday. The finding came in a […]

(New York Jewish Week) — The late Brooklyn klezmer musician Pete Sokolow would sometimes take the stage as “Klezmer Fats.” But many players used a different sobriquet to refer to the pianist, who served as link between generations: “the youngest of the old guys.” Sokolow started playing klezmer in the summer of 1958 with older […]

(New York Jewish Week) – The first Jewish woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known for her trailblazing advocacy of gender equality, her impassioned dissenting opinions and for being a liberal icon.  But the Brooklyn native, who served on the court for 27 years until her death […]

((JR)) — A decades-long era of Jewish comedy on television will come to an end next year, as “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Larry David’s HBO comedy, is set to end after its 12th season. The imminent conclusion of “Curb” has been rumored for several seasons now, but a poster and press statement from David this week […]

((JR)) — Fights over Israel and the Palestinians on campus have taken place on quads across the country, in classrooms and, recently, in the halls of Congress. This week, at Yale University, the debate moved to the dining hall. And from there, of course, to social media. On Monday, sophomore Sahar Tartak posted on X, […]

((JR)) — With Hanukkah coming to a close, now comes the most important Jewish question of the year: What to do for Christmas? The best answer to that question is “The Iron Claw,” the forthcoming movie that tells the (tragic) story of the Von Erichs, the first family of professional wrestling in Texas. The film, […]

YEREVAN, Armenia ((JR)) — His haunting French rendition of “La Yiddishe Mama” is legendary, as is his spirited performance of “Hava Nagila” in a duet with Algerian Jewish singer Enrico Macias. In 1967, he recorded the song “Yerushalayim” as a tribute to Israel’s Six-Day War victory. Yet Charles Aznavour, a diminutive singer and songwriter later […]

(New York Jewish Week) — The Museum at Eldridge Street (probably) isn’t haunted, but ghosts were what artist Adrienne Ottenberg had in mind when she created the works now on view in the new exhibit at the 1887 landmarked synagogue, “On the Lower East Side: 28 Remarkable Women…and One Scoundrel.” “When I first came to […]

((JR)) — ​​A 3-0 score is extremely rare in the NFL. But when the Minnesota Vikings beat the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday night in the league’s lowest-scoring game since 2007, the moment held extra significance for the player who scored those three points. Vikings kicker Greg Joseph, one of only a handful of Jewish players […]