Category: Culture

((JR)) — When the Amazon series “Transparent” premiered in 2014, America had never met a family like the Pfeffermans on TV.  The hit dramedy, following a Jewish family of three adult siblings whose parent comes out as a transgender woman in her 60s, was the first scripted series to center on a transitioning character. The […]

((JR)) — An independent comic book publisher that aims to promote diversity in comics is about to spotlight a historic new character: the Asian-Jewish Leah Ai Tian, AKA “The Last Jewish Daughter of Kaifeng.” The character is the brainchild of Fabrice Sapolsky, co-founder of the Queens, New York-based FairSquare Comics, which aims to “promote and […]

(New York Jewish Week) — Aleeza Ben Shalom, star of the Netflix hit “Jewish Matchmaking,” stood in the middle of a tight circle of fans — both men and women, young and old — doling out dating advice. Maintaining the same warmth she displays on her TV show, Ben Shalom spoke to as many people […]

((JR)) — A new Showtime series from the creators of “Fauda” chronicles the exploits of one of the Middle East’s most infamous terrorists and the joint CIA-Mossad operation that eventually led to his death. “Ghosts of Beirut,” a four-episode series that begins streaming for Showtime subscribers on Friday but premieres on air Sunday night, dramatizes […]

(New York Jewish Week) — What happens to the places that are no more? To the people who have died? To the events that meant so much but cannot ever reoccur? Is there a way to bring the intangible power of vanished spaces into the physical world? On Friday, May 19, dancers, musicians, orators and […]

((JR)) — Players of the video game “The Sims” can now bake a challah or dish up a bowl of matzo ball soup, after updates made by the game’s creator that are designed to increase Jewish representation. The new updates add traditional Jewish foods to the expansive menu available to users of “The Sims,” a […]

((JR)) — A 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible became the most expensive book ever sold Wednesday when it drew a price of $38.1 million at auction at Sotheby’s in New York City. The buyer of the item, known as the Codex Sassoon, was revealed to be the American fundraising group on behalf of ANU — Museum of […]

(New York Jewish Week) – It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon, and Sophie Turner Zaretsky has laid out a tray of fruit and cookies, eagerly awaiting her friend Caroline Crandell. When Crandell arrives at Zaretsky’s Upper West Side apartment, just a few minutes after their scheduled meeting time of 3 p.m., the two break into smiles and […]

((JR)) — A selfie taken on a flight to Tel Aviv has gone viral this week, serving as a symbol of unity in an increasingly divided Israel. The photo was taken by Noa Kirel, the pop star who came in third in this year’s Eurovision competition over the weekend, and was headed home from the […]

(New York Jewish Week) – Hip-hop music blasted through loudspeakers as about a dozen models strutted up and down a makeshift runway. Some of them wore cream knit loungewear, while others were clad in modest but elegant dresses accessorized with silk scarves. The models, many of them student volunteers from Chelsea’s Fashion Institute of Technology, […]