The Jewish Photographer of Ghetto Life
From 1940 to 1945, Ross was the official ghetto photographer, tasked with providing a picture of every prisoner. About 3,000 of his images survive.
Why Feminism and Zionism Are Not Contradictory
Sarsour, like the activists from the International Women’s Strike, is a committed supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that singles out Israel and Zionism for condemnation. This reflects not only a misunderstanding of Zionism but a violation of some of the most basic feminist principles.
Michael Chabon: A Life of Fact & Fiction
A conversation with novelist Michael Chabon can easily jump from Michael Jackson song lyrics to the history of spaceships. And while his love of all things quixotic can be a lot to digest, his intellectual openness and curiosity have resulted in a compelling and innovative body of work.
Spring Cookbooks for Passover and Beyond
King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking Around the World / Fress: Bold Flavors from a Jewish Kitchen / Matzo: 35 Recipes for Passover and All Year Long
Book Essay // Refracted Identities, Mirrored Lives
Suleiman’s new book, The Némirovsky Question: The Life, Death and Legacy of a Jewish Writer in 20th-Century France, explores Némirovsky’s tragic career and the deteriorating civil society of pre-World War II France that first nurtured the writer and then ultimately turned on her. Drawing on parallels to her own life, Suleiman makes of the story a meditation on allegiance, foreignness and assimilation—one with uncanny echoes for today’s politics.
Boublil & Schönberg: The French Duo Behind Two Broadway Megahits
The helicopter has landed—again. Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s musical behemoth Miss Saigon returns to Broadway this March after a 16-year hiatus.
Moment Fiction // Cuba
1936: He has been called “distinguished gentleman” and “filthy Jew”; the former is better, of course. Turn by turn he has been treated with civility or contempt.
At Camp With Bob Dylan
My enduring memory of Bob Dylan from that summer is of a young man sitting on the roof of one of the cabins, strumming on a guitar and singing loudly with his characteristic high-pitched nasal twang.
Remaking the Modern-Day Synagogue
For Dovi Scheiner, a synagogue is a place for prayer and pilates, for coffee breaks and comedy and film screenings. But perhaps most importantly, it is a living room.
Book Review // Light Come Shining: The Transformations Of Bob Dylan
When Bob Dylan became the first songwriter to win the Nobel Prize in Literature last October, the internet erupted with reactions ranging from euphoria to dismay.
Book Review // Twenty Girls to Envy Me: Selected Poems of Orit Gidali
Until the 1980s, women were a small minority among Hebrew writers. There was Russian-born Rahel Bluwstein (1890–1931), considered the “founding mother” of modern Hebrew poetry by women. Esther Raab (1894–1981) was the first native-born Israeli woman poet, principally known for her rich use of modern Hebrew.
Book Review // A Horse Walks Into a Bar
The earliest comedy I remember with any clarity was created by a famous tragic clown, a circus performer whose painted mouth was perpetually turned down in a frown. Left out of the spotlight, he carried a sledgehammer and ran after the other clowns who wouldn’t have anything to do with him.