Forward.com

Songs About Roots

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:06:00 EST

“We can’t promote human rights abroad unless we can defend human rights at home,” author and journalist Sheryl WuDunn said at the October 14 New York Women’s Foundation dinner at Gotham Hall. The dinner honored her and her husband (via video), New York Times correspondent Nicholas Kristof. WuDunn and Kistoff are co-authors of “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” and the first couple to share a Pulitzer Prize for journalism.

First Israeli NBA Player Scores Big

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:14:00 EST

It’s been a slam dunk transition for the first Israeli in the National Basketball Association.

The Pitselech Are Reviving Yiddish

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:13:00 EST

Oy gevalt, Yiddish is dying. It’s listed in the Encyclopedia of The World’s Endangered Languages, which means that an entire generation is at risk of not knowing such phrases as nosh, shmear, pitsel and shayna maidel. Indeed, where would we be as a people without some good bagels and shmear? Unless bubbes, zaidies and alter kochers (grumpy old men) keep teaching us Yiddish words, they might be lost to the dreck (garbage) forever.

Jon & Shmuley Plus Another Media Circus

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:13:00 EST

Reality star Jon Gosselin, who has been plagued by a storm of ugly tabloid rumors, has been seeking to avoid more media attention. So, his recent decision to participate in a public forum — or as many media outlets are referring to it, an “apology show” — with yet another personality known for cultivating the spotlight came as a surprise. Gosselin, 32, joined Rabbi Shmuley Boteach at the West Side Synagogue in Manhattan on November 1 for an event titled “Fame: Blessing or Curse?” Run by Boteach, the discussion was billed as a “raw and intimate dialogue on the ethical challenges and moral responsibility of celebrity.”

A Yiddish Fête

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:58:00 EST

The October 8 New York Police & Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund at the New York Hilton was a historic moment. For the first time, four New York City mayors —Michael Bloomberg, Rudolph Giuliani, David Dinkins and Ed Koch —were recognized by a single cause. “I never pass a cop on the corner without stopping to say thanks for keeping us safe,” Bloomberg said.

Is Your Recipe Worth $25,000?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:36:00 EST

One of TV’s top chefs has signed on to judge a kosher recipe contest that will award prizes worth $25,000.

Hummus Wars

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:33:00 EST

Battles over the origins of hummus have raged across the Middle East for generations, with Israelis and Lebanese arguing over which group can claim rights to the first ever recipe and who makes the precious dip better. Recently, however, the war has reached new heights.

The L.A. Times: ‘Jewish Guys Heart Shiksas’

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:29:00 EST

Who’s to blame for keeping Jewish women off the big screen? The answer: Jewish men, at least according to commenters on a Los Angeles Times blog.

Trick or Treyf: Madoff Mask A Hit for Halloween

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST

Ghostly sightings of Bernard Madoff’s plastic punim will be popping up everywhere this Halloween, as costume shops report that Madoff masks are flying off the shelves.

Nice Jewish Guys Are Pinups in New Calendar

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:57:00 EST

A producer of the hit reality TV show “The Simple Life,” which stars Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, is now trying to boost the image of nice Jewish guys — one month at a time.

We Remember, on Facebook

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:55:00 EST

It seems like an oxymoron to be a Jew and be a “fan” of Auschwitz, but there are more than 10,000 such fans.

Glitz, Glamour and the Arts

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:12:00 EST

Artist Ed Ruscha, recipient of the Artistic Excellence Award at the October 5 Americans for the Arts 2009 National Arts Awards dinner, joked that all the evening’s honorees should collaborate on a film based on Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses.” In response, Rushdie, who accepted the Kitty Carlisle Hart Award from a longtime friend, writer Paul Auster, quipped that he was ready to do it, providing he starred in the film. “Books are here to stay,” Rushdie assured the stellar gathering at Cipriani 42nd Street.

Serious Yiddishisms

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:00 EST

In retrospect, had I known in November 2002 of Joel and Ethan Coen’s Minnesota Jewish roots, oy! The questions I would have asked! Back then, we were at the French Embassy in New York, and France’s outgoing ambassador to the United States, François Bujon de l’Estaing, conferred the chevalier designation of the Order of Arts and Letters on the brothers, whose film creations include “Fargo,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “The Big Lebowski.” Telling the Coens, “You have a great following in France, like Woody Allen and Jerry Lewis,” de l’Estaing added, “In 1950, [Lewis] was declared a genius.”

Jews Claim Spot on Out 100 List

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:07:00 EST

It’s the ultimate who’s who of who’s gay around the globe: Out magazine’s 15th annual Out 100 list. And this year, Jews, an Israeli among them, are proudly claiming their spots on it.

Israeli Director’s Paranormal Hit

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:06:00 EST

A horror film shot inside the home of first-time Israeli director Oren Peli has become a surprise smash hit at the box office.

Gaza Zoo May Get Real Zebras

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:05:00 EST

Here’s an aspect of Arab-Israeli relations that’s truly black and white: A pair of zebras, currently residents of the Ramat Gan Safari located in a northern suburb of Tel Aviv, may be on their way to Gaza as a gift to the area’s children. The transfer is being considered following an incident in which the Marah Land Zoo in Gaza City had a pair of donkeys painted black and white in an effort to pass them off as zebras. The zoo’s only two zebras died of hunger earlier this year because of neglect during the Israel-Hamas war, and it couldn’t afford to replace them.

Appeal to the Senses

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:17:00 EST

It was “Cheers” to prime minister Gordon Brown of Britain, “à votre santé” to Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and “sagliginiza” (to your health in Turkish) to Muhtar Kent, the Coca-Cola Company’s chairman and CEO — honorees at the September 22 Appeal of Conscience Foundation Awards Dinner.

Haifa Musical Export Gains on Lady Gaga

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:39:00 EST

Enthusiasm is catching for Infected Mushroom, the Israeli trance band.

The Stork in the Sky Knows Her Season

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:38:00 EST

This October, Israel’s skies host the annual migration of about half a billion birds. More than 400 known bird species cross Israel en route from Europe to winter homes in Africa, including 85% of the world’s white stork population and many species of birds of prey. According to ornithologists, the region experiences this phenomenon because it is at a “bottleneck” in migratory flyways. International volunteers are assisting the Israeli Society for the Protection of Nature in its yearly survey of the birds’ journey. But it is not only experts and amateur enthusiasts who will be taking note: the survey is partly funded by the Israeli Air Force, which schedules its own flight patterns to avoid the seasonal visitors.

‘Family Guy’ Jumps the Jew

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:38:00 EST

There’s a time in every American animated comedy series, it seems, when everything turns Jewish. Whether that’s Krusty the Clown (aka Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski) finding his Jewish roots in “The Simpsons,” Kyle heading off to Mel Gibson to demand his money back in “South Park,” or the recent “Family Guy” (in the gently titled episode, “Family Goy”) in which matriarch Lois found out that her mother was a Holocaust survivor and Jewish.