Culture -

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ returns in Yiddish — and feels more relevant than ever

November 8, 2022November 8, 2022Jesse Orine

(New York Jewish Week) — After a smash-hit run interrupted by COVID, “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish” is returning next week for a seven-week run at Manhattan’s New World Stages. For many in the cast, Jewish or not, returning to “Fiddler” feels emotional — especially in a time of world upheaval, rising antisemitism and […]

10 years ago, a bar mitzvah video song broke the Brazilian internet — and became a club hit

November 8, 2022November 8, 2022Jesse Orine

(JTA) — The around 120,000 Jews who live in Brazil make up less than 1% of the country’s total population, of approximately 214 million people. But today, according to Marcio Bellora Saraceni, a 29-year old lawyer from Rio de Janeiro, “all of Brazil knows” the name Nissim Ourfali — a bar mitzvah boy who became […]

Kanye West paid a settlement to a former employee over antisemitic rants in 2018, report says

November 8, 2022November 8, 2022Jesse Orine

(JTA) – Years before his recent public antisemitic tirades that sank his reputation and cost him billions in endorsement deals, the rapper Kanye West had paid a settlement to a former employee over his use of antisemitic language, NBC News reported. In the previously unreported 2018 settlement, the anonymous former employee alleged that West, who […]

NY’s UJA-Federation funds new arts education campus in downtown Jerusalem

November 7, 2022Jesse Orine

(New York Jewish Week) — UJA-Federation of New York contributed more than $17.5 million to a new cultural campus in Jerusalem that opened Thursday. The $50 million, 2.5-acre Jerusalem Campus for the Arts combines schools for theater, film, television and Middle Eastern classical music, plus performance spaces. UJA announced its support for the project in […]

‘F- antisemitism,’ John Mellencamp says as his Jewish lawyer is inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022Jesse Orine

(JTA) — As Kanye West extended his antisemitic spree by tweeting about Jewish agents in Hollywood, the rocker John Mellencamp took the stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and said this about his longtime lawyer: “Allen is Jewish.” The line began an impassioned speech about the importance of non-Jews standing up for […]

After criticism, Taylor Swift adds Orthodox-friendly dates to her upcoming tour

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022Jesse Orine

(JTA) — “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” isn’t just the name of a track on Taylor Swift’s newest album — the phrase describes the way many of the pop star’s Jewish fans were feeling after she released the dates for her upcoming tour. This week, Shabbat-observant Swifties voiced their disappointment with the dates, which were […]

Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski

October 17, 2022David Leibermann

The Lesson of Jan Karski/ Photo credit Tsipi Ingberg Ben-Haim by Tsipi Inberg Ben-Haim For 90 minutes, the actor David Strathairn re-lived on stage, for us, the audience, a mesmerizing, painful lesson of Jan Karski. The sold-out space was full of people whose eyes and attention focused on that one person on stage! No one […]

Dmitry Muratov’s Nobel Medal Nets $105 Million for Ukrainian Relief

June 21, 2022David Leibermann

Dmitry Muratov – Wikipedia Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctioned off his Nobel Prize to raise money for the people of Ukraine suffering under a now three month long Russian invasion of their country. At auction on Monday night, the 23-karat gold Nobel medal sold for $103.5 million, crushing the previous record for the sale of […]

Neil Diamond sells complete song catalog to universal

February 28, 2022David Leibermann

Neil Diamond After serving as Neil Diamond’s publishing administrator since 2014, Universal Music Group announced today that it has purchased the full song library and recording rights of famous performer and composer Neil Diamond. UMG hasn’t disclosed the price of the deal. Diamond has sold more than 130 million albums over the last half-century, putting […]

Impossible Pork is here — but the plant-based meat won’t be certified as kosher

September 27, 2021Sara Wood

(JTA) — Impossible Foods, the plant-based meat company, is releasing a long-awaited new product — but unlike the wildly popular Impossible Burger, it won’t be certified kosher. The largest and most influential certifier of kosher products in the world has declined to endorse Impossible Pork, even though nothing about its ingredients or preparation conflicts with […]