Category: Culture

((JR)) — In the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, waves of prominent people have made their way to Israel to bear witness to what happened there. Foreign dignitaries, Diaspora rabbis and business leaders have all toured ravaged kibbutzes, met with hostage families and participated in the country’s sweeping volunteer effort. Now, the […]

(New York Jewish Week) — In 2006, Rabbi Deborah Prinz was on a trip to Europe with her husband, Rabbi Mark Hurvitz, when they wandered into a chocolate shop in Paris. While meandering about the store, Prinz picked up a brochure and read a line that, given her rudimentary French, she was sure she misunderstood: It […]

((JR) and New York Jewish Week) — The Tikvah Fund, a Jewish conservative think tank, is launching a Jewish day school that will aim to give students an education that emphasizes “the majesty of Western civilization.”  Emet Classical Academy, whose name is Hebrew for “truth,” will open next fall on the Upper East Side of […]

((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, […]