From the Editor | The Great American Reset
Every four or eight years, the United States has the opportunity for a political reset.
The Top 20 Most-Read Stories of 2020
As we count down the hours left of this challenging year, take a look back at the stories that shaped the American Jewish conversation in 2020. With a mix of serious and light coverage of 2020 politics, pandemics and more, here are Moment’s top articles of 2020
Mank: A Heroic Tragedy With No Tragic Hero
No one enjoys looking in the mirror more than Hollywood, and no one does it better—as vastly entertaining show-biz movies like Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood can all attest. Now comes Mank, David Fincher’s loving and atmospheric re-creation of 1930s Hollywood.
Visual Moment | Milton Glaser: Master of Design
The world lost a towering figure in the field of design this year. Graphic artist, illustrator, teacher, icon maker, art director and creative thinker Milton Glaser passed away after a long illness on June 26, his 91st birthday.
Dispatch from Crown Heights: Two Universes, One Neighborhood
As Devorah Halberstam, a prominent local activist, drives through Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood in her white 2017 Acura, she grows increasingly animated.
Twitter Explained | Can You Be Anti-Miller Without Being Anti-Semitic?
On Tuesday, October 6, senior White House aide Stephen Miller confirmed his positive COVID status. Miller is one of a dozen staffers close to President Trump to have tested positive, but he’s the only one to have generated a lively Twitter conversation on the dos and don’ts of anti-Semitic tropes.
The (Un)Holy Silence of Pope Pius XII
“There are 16 million documents in the Vatican waiting to be read. Maybe one day we will get a deeper understanding of the profound moral questions raised in the film about complicity and silence. It is not only Jews who need answers but also Catholics, who must ask themselves why their church failed to uphold Catholic principles of love and mercy. “
The Triumphs and Failures of a Jewish Son-in-Law
Nearly four years into Donald J. Trump’s presidency, Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, remain the prince and princess of the administration and arguably the nation’s “First Jews.”
The Rabbinical Student Tackling Chicago Gun Violence
What’s the answer to Chicago’s epidemic of gun crime?
According to Tamar Manasseh, the subject of the new documentary They Ain’t Ready for Me, which chronicles her fight against gun violence on the south side of Chicago, it’s, “Nobody wants to shoot anybody’s mother.”
Saul and Ruby’s Holocaust Survivor Band
To assume this is just another depressing Holocaust survivor film would be a huge mistake. Far from it. This outstanding documentary, about survival and the joys of living, is suffused with humor and boundless energy.
Twitter Explained | To Meme or Not to Meme? Analyzing Reactions to the Washington Football Team
To better understand how something becomes the subject of viral memes, simply analyze the recent Twitter reaction to the new Washington football team name, The Washington Football Team.
From the Editor | Summer 2020
I have always been exhilarated by anything that gives me a chance to touch another time, past or future, even for an instant.