Category: Culture

(New York Jewish Week) — A multi-generational group of people congregate on a building stoop on Hester Street; an African-American man leans on a lamppost; a gaggle of teenagers pile on top of each other at the beach in Coney Island; a hoard of children — in various states of undress — play with a […]

((JR)) – The Biden Administration’s new point person for combating book bans at school districts and public libraries across the country is a gay, Jewish progressive activist who has served as a government liaison to the Jewish and LGBTQ communities. The appointment of Matt Nosanchuk comes as the thousands of book challenges nationwide have focused […]

(New York Jewish Week) — For many generations of New Yorkers, eating a Nathan’s Famous hot dog from their Coney Island flagship location is a staple of summer. The iconic hot dog stand just celebrated its 107th season at the city’s iconic beachside destination.  Nathan’s Famous — which started as a nickel hot dog stand […]

((JR)) — For Jews and baseball fans, this is one of the most important weekends of the year. Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day, begins Sunday evening. That day will also kick off the final week of the MLB regular season, when the fight to make the playoffs comes down to the wire. For some Jewish […]

(New York Jewish Week) — “Had Gadya,” the playful song about a destructive chain of events starting with one little goat, may be best-known for rousing sleepy children at the end of a long Passover seder. But it is also the basis for a series by Frank Stella, the 87-year-old Catholic American artist credited with […]

((JR)) — Seven artworks by Egon Schiele will be returned to the heirs of a Jewish cabaret performer who had owned the pieces before being murdered in the Holocaust. The works, most of them portraits of Schiele himself or his wife, were part of a massive art collection owned by the Viennese performer, Fritz Grünbaum, […]

((JR)) — The film and TV world recently lost two Jewish actors who were not household names but were acclaimed for a pair of signature villainous roles. Last month, Mark Margolis passed away following a career on stage and screen that spanned over 60 years. He studied with and was later the personal assistant of […]

(New York Jewish Week) — When a small group of people convened next to an inconspicuous plaque steps from the entrance to the Staten Island Ferry’s Whitehall Terminal earlier this week, they weren’t there to catch a boat leaving the island. Instead, they had come to the southern tip of Manhattan to celebrate a ship […]

((JR)) — Sandy Koufax’s decision to sit out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur is well-documented. But in a lesser-known dramatic tale just over 30 years earlier, fellow Jewish Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg faced a dilemma of his own as the High Holidays approached. Picture the scene: […]

(New York Jewish Week) — The table at the center of the room, set for 16, was festooned with a rainbow tablecloth and sparkles, and surrounded by about a dozen college-age guests. At its head were two chairs decorated with rainbow necklaces and flags and set for the guests of honor: Both place settings came […]