Category
american
No Small Actors, Only Fake Parts
\”Le Grand Role\” has laughter, pathos, in-jokes, heartburn, self-caricature — in other words, it\’s a really, really Jewish film, even though the characters insist on speaking French.
Not-So-Nice Jewish Boy
When Israeli producers came to America to audition Jewish men to star in \”Nice Jewish Boy,\” their upcoming Bachelor-type reality show, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. After all, who better than me — a commitment-phobic, ardently secular, anxious, heavily medicated, pale glass of short Jewish water — to represent the American way?
This could be a chance for me to make a real difference in Israeli-American relations. I began to fantasize about my very own harem of glistening Israeli chicks in sweaty army fatigues, and all that we could do to and for one another in the name of world diplomacy. I\’d learn invaluable lessons that only these gorgeous Israelis could teach me: how to shoot an Uzi, how to chain smoke and how to have zero respect for someone\’s personal space. I, on the other hand, would pass on such valuable American skills as: driving a block away to Starbucks to spend $3 on a cup of coffee, how to say the words \”excuse me\” and, most importantly, how to apply underarm deodorant.
So, after my initial inquiry and some e-mail exchanges with the producer, I received a phone call from the show\’s production coordinator in Israel at 6 a.m. No. You heard that right. Six. In the morning.
Appreciating Saul Bellow’s Jewishness
It disturbed me to hear on U.S. public radio and read in The New York Times that Saul Bellow was to be seen as simply an American writer — which, of course, he is — and not significantly a Jewish writer.
Maybe they think they\’re doing him a favor? I think they\’re bleaching out a lot of the substance of Bellow, who died Tuesday at 89.
Roth’s ‘Kranky’ Little X-Mas
\”I see Christmas as a cultural and family holiday,\” Joe Roth said, while the movie itself carries two main messages. It\’s first about the sense of family and community that supercedes any particular holiday. Secondly, it\’s a satire on the over-commercialization of Christmas.\”
American Red Cross Seeks Image Rehab
Howard Parmet, community outreach consultant for the American Red Cross (ARC) of Greater Los Angeles, wants to build bridges to a Jewish community that has largely shunned the organization because of a belief that it is anti-Israeli at best and anti-Semitic at worst. Parmet wants to rehabilitate the organization\’s image, dispel misperceptions and recruit legions of local Jewish volunteers.
‘Heart’ Celebrates a Nation’s Dream
If the controversy pumps up \”Heart,\” its Jewish filmmaker, Louis Schwartzberg, isn\’t taking advantage.
Hostility to Jews Permeates New Iraq
Last August, when Imam Mahdi al Jumeili of the small Hudheifa Mosque in Baghdad\’s Shurti neighborhood met three American officers to resolve a dispute over soldiers entering the grounds of his mosque, his first question was: "Are any of you Jews?"
Community Briefs
Hier: Gibson Is Insensitive\nRabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has asked Mel Gibson to \”speak out forcefully against anti-Semitism\” and to \”condemn the false charges of deicide leveled against the Jewish people.
Kerry’s Heritage
Seven years ago, then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discovered that more than a dozen of her relatives had perished in the Nazi concentration camps because they, like Albright, were born Jewish.
Albright\’s discovery raised an even larger question: How many other American leaders have actually been of Jewish descent, but because of records and memories eroded by time, they never knew it?
In the case of Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry — thought by many to be a Boston Brahmin — the answer to the question is a convoluted one. It follows a path from a small Czech village near the Polish border to a long-forgotten suicide in a posh Boston hotel. It is the story of a young man who abandoned his Jewish faith, his nation and his name to pursue the American dream.
New Articles
Men in Suits
Drew Binsky’s New Book Details Journey Around the World
Columbia Prof Shai Davidai Testifies Before Congress About Campus Antisemitism
‘Ezra’ Shines a Light On Autism, Parenting and the Power of Love
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.