AFP — When saxophonist Eli Degibri left Israel at the age of 18 to study jazz at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, he knew he’d come back home one day. It took 15 years, which included playing with jazz greats like Herbie Hancock and Al Foster in New York, where he also
Israeli jazz finding its groove Read More »
Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsAs the world marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Monday tweeted that he too, is a fan of The Bard, and highlighted “The Merchant of Venice” — famous for its derogatory depiction of Jewish moneylender Shylock — as being in “accordance with Western values.” “I have read
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East, Theatre, Film & BroadcastThe Lebanese Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement has demanded that the government ban the screening of the new Hollywood movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, because it stars Israeli actress Gal Gadot, according to the Lebanese reports. Gadot, who is cast as Wonder Woman, was the subject of scrutiny in a letter the
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Middle East, Theatre, Film & BroadcastB”nai Brith in Montreal is urging officials to refuse the French performer Dieudonne from entering into Canada. Dieudonne has multiple convictions and fines for making anti-Semitic statements against Jews in France and Belgium. The controversial comedian, who routinely makes jokes about gas chambers and has publicly denied the Holocaust, is booked to play 10 shows
B’nai B’rith wants to ban anti-Semitic comedian Read More »
International, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Stanley Tiger SAN DIEGO –Passover in the 21st Century presents Jewish people with new dilemmas unimagined in previous eras: Should I have regular white flour matzah, whole wheat matzah, egg matzah, any of the flavored matzahs, and more recently “gluten free matzah.” We also have the choice of salted or unsalted matzah, domestic or
Ancient Jewish wisdom and modern science Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Trivia, Humor & SatireFrom Within the Tents: The Sabbath Prayers, Essays by the Rabbis and Professors of Yeshiva University edited by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman and Dr. Stuart W. Halpern; Maggid Books, New Milford, CT; ISBN 978-1-59264-446-9 ©2014, $29.95, p. 295 plus Appendix By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –Hermann Cohen, arguably the greatest German-Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth
Yeshiva University essays prayers of Shabbat Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History
The House of Dreams by Kate Lord Brown, © 2016 St. Martin’s Press; ISBN 978-1-250-08453-8; 304 pages plus author’s note and acknowledgments; $25.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This historical novel paints a picture of international rescue worker Varian Frye as he smuggles artists and poets out of France in 1940 and 1941
A fictional variant on the life of Frye Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. HarrisonBy Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — One of the most dramatic stories of the Hebrew Bible is told in the Book of Exodus; the story of the enslavement of a people and their flight to freedom. Though this epic event is recounted every year during the Passover Seder, the possibility of such an enslavement still
From the Jewish library: ‘Slave, My True Story’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories
Shmulik Paints the Town by Lisa Rose (illustrated by Catalina Echeverri); Kar-Ben Publishing; ISBN 978-1-4677-5239-8; 32 pages; $17.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Have you ever told your child a shaggy dog story? Like the one about the man who convinces the manager of the movie theater to let him and his dog
A shaggy dog story for Israel Independence Day Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Thanks to Phil Snyder for finding this video and passing it along. And thanks also too Nina Paley for creating it!
A jazzy Passover~ Go Down Moses Read More »
Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Trivia, Humor & SatireThere ain’t no limit on bad luck. If there was, I’da run out years ago.” By Eric George Tauber SOLANA BEACH, California — Adapted from ‘Old Man’ by William Faulkner, Way Down River takes us to the Parchman State Penal Farm, Mississippi, 1927. Aikins has returned nine weeks after he had been presumed drowned in a
‘Way Down River’ is a play about prison Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Popular actress Doris Roberts, who was best known for her role as matriarch Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, has passed away at the age of 90. According to a spokesperson for the family, she remained healthy and active and died in her sleep. Roberts was born to a Russian-Jewish family in St. Louis and
‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ star Doris Roberts, 90 Read More »
Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBUENOS AIRES – With his dreadlocks, signature Salvador Dali mustache and huge Star of David necklace, Simja Dujov can be easily spotted on the streets of the Argentinian capital’s artsy Palermo neighborhood. And so can his music, which is a unique blend of klezmer and Latin beats. In a recent interview with The Times of
Dujov makes klezmer with a Latin beat Read More »
International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
You may know her as Amy Fowler from The Big Bang Theory television, or as Blossom Russo, the titular character from the mid-90″s sitcom Blossom. Mayim Bialik has played dozens of roles in television and film in a career that stretches back nearly 30 years. In that sense, Bialik is very much at home in
Bialik: Tough to be Shomer Shabbat in Hollywood Read More »
Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast