The Arts

An Iranian piano prodigy. A big dream. And an arduous visa process.

When the Iranian pianist and composer, Amir Darabi, was accepted to Berklee College of Music this past summer, everything seemed to be going his way. He had already established himself as a piano prodigy in his home country, released a full-length debut album and performed in numerous prominent venues, including Tehran’s Roudaki Hall. He didn’t […]

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

France 24’s web documentary “If I Ever Come Back” wins audience awards at the Swiss Web Festival

France 24’s Stephanie Trouillard has been awarded the Audience Award at the Swiss Web Festival for her work chronicling the last days of a French Jewish girl who died in the Holocaust. In 2010, a collection of wartime letters and photographs was discovered in an old cupboard at a high school in Paris. Forgotten for

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Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jason Aldean cancels shows in wake of Las Vegas shooting

Screenshot – Jason Aldean Rare Country has just learned that Jason Aldean is canceling upcoming dates on his “They Don’t Know Tour” in the wake of the shocking events that took place during Jason’s Oct. 1 show in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. In a press release, Jason explained his difficult decision:

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Jewish art collector’s heirs praise deal to recover painting seized in WWII

GENEVA — The Geneva lawyer for the heirs of a Jewish woman whose art collection was seized by France’s pro-Nazi regime in World War II said they are “absolutely delighted” about a hard-won deal to recover from a Swiss town a 19th-century painting by English master John Constable. Marc-Andre Renold said Monday that heirs of

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Evangelina Elizondo Dead At 88: Legendary Actress Passes Away

Evangelina Elizondo has passed away at the age of 88. The legendary actress was confirmed dead by the actors guild in Mexico, ANDI. “The directorial board on behalf of ANDI feel the loss of Evangelina Elizondo,” they wrote in a tweet. Elizondo is credited as the voiceover in Spanish for “Cinderella.” She also starred in

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International, Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Tom Petty legendary Heartbreakers singer dies at 66

ANALYSIS/OPINION: Tom Petty turned Jim Ladd, L.A.’s “Free Form Radio” kingpin, into a folk hero with “The Last DJ,” his 2002 album with The Heartbreakers whose central themes of the corporatization of radio, the loss of artistic freedom and money winning out over creativity dovetailed with love songs and tentative optimism. One of the great

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Tony Blair blasts rock star for comparing Israel to Nazi Germany

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair excoriated rock singer and guitarist Roger Waters late Saturday night after the Pink Floyd front man compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and warned of the dangers posed by the “extraordinarily powerful” Jewish lobby. A frequent critic of the Jewish state and a staunch supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions

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International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Monty Hall, original host of popular game show ‘Let’s Make a Deal,’ dies at 96

LOS ANGELES—Monty Hall, the original host and co-creator of “Let’s Make a Deal,” the long-running game show that debuted in 1963, making kooky audience costumes and carnival-style bartering an institution on daytime television, has died, according to Associated Press. He was 96. Hall, who was also a dedicated philanthropist, died of heart failure Saturday morning

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Anatomy of a gang of spies

Stalin’s Englishman: the Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie (published by Hodder and Stoughton, 2015) By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The defection to the USSR of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean in 1951 remained prominent in the British press for almost a decade. Their defection was followed  a few years later by that of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International

Melania Trump-donated books rejected by elementary school librarian

An elementary school librarian in Massachusetts exceeded her authority when she rejected a shipment of Dr. Seuss books donated by first lady Melania Trump, the school district said. The White House is recognizing schools across the country with programs that achieve “high standards of excellence” to receive 10 Dr. Seuss books in honor of National

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA