13 May
Israel, Latest

Israeli Culture at the Democratic Crossroads

Artists and cultural institutions, globally, are trying to reinvent themselves online to keep the flame of their artistry alive. In Israel, the future of the local cultural scene is inextricably intertwined with the post-March 2020 election outcomes. Benny Gantz, leader of Israel’s Blue and White party, has tied his political fate with Benjamin Netanyahu’s in a controversial agreement. In coalition negotiations, Gantz placed a central focus on what he defined as the “democracy portfolios”: the high profile Justice and Communications Ministries and the once sleepy Culture Ministry. How did cultural policy become so key to Israel’s democratic character, and what will be the major challenges facing the new Culture Minister?  In the last five years, the culture policy arena has become a political battleground. Unlike the U.S., Israel operates by the European model, whereby the national...

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27 Dec
Arts & Culture, Culture, Latest

The Death of Yiddish?

By Merav Levkowitz For 25 years, the American klezmer band The Klezmatics has been unable to sustain itself solely from their Yiddish klezmer music. The reason is not for lack of talent: In 2006, they won a Grammy award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for their album Wonder Wheel: Lyrics by Woody Guthrie. In an age when music gains fame through social media and viral marketing, a Grammy award may not mean instant fame and success for anyone.  Yet the Klezmatics, the subject of a  documentary called On Holy Ground, have faced difficulties with deeper roots: the decline of Yiddish. For centuries, Yiddish was more than just an “Oy gevalt” and a “What chutzpah!” thrown into other languages for comic effect. Rather, Yiddish was the beacon of a rich East European Jewish culture of language, literature,...

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24 Dec
Culture, Latest

AIPAC vs. Seinfeld

by Daniel Kieval I recently heard a lecture by J. J. Goldberg, senior columnist for The Forward, about the current state of American Judaism and its relationship to Israel. Goldberg spoke about intermarriage and what he termed the "Seinfeld effect," in which the national popularity of Jewish figures such as Jerry Seinfeld (or, these days, Jon Stewart) leads children of interfaith (or secular Jewish) parents to embrace the Jewish side of their identity. He also argued, like Peter Beinart in a much-discussed article earlier this year, that the right-wing position of major American Jewish organizations toward Israel has the opposite impact on these mostly liberal young people, turning them off of Judaism completely—we could call this the "AIPAC effect." AIPAC, popularly referred to as the "Israel lobby," has drawn criticism from liberals, Jewish and non-Jewish alike,...

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17 Dec
Arts & Culture, Culture, Latest, Religion

People of the Book: Not Asking or Telling

  Times are hard for those who want to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.   "Major setback for 'don't ask' repeal," blared a headline last week on the front page of The Washington Post.  "The Senate Stands for Injustice," announced an editorial in The New York Times.  After a military policy bill stalled in the Senate last week, it seems the odds of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell before the year is over are slim.  The Senate is revisiting the issue this weekend in a vote that may decide, in one direction or another, the future of the 17-year-old policy. The core of Don't Ask, Don't Tell–the idea that there are pieces of ourselves we must hide, that a part of one's identity might be inherently threatening and problematic–is not limited to the military.   Andre Aciman's 2007...

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