Crazy Herzl fact – he thought mass conversion of the Jews to Christianity was the solution to anti semitism. Yep, seriously that Herzl. You know the one – big beard, serious face, father...
A Compelling Jerusalem Debut of “In the Heights”
The standing ovation spoke for itself at the opening night of “In the Heights” in Jerusalem this evening. The sold-out audience was drawn into another world for 2.5 hours, precisely the world of...
The Evolution of American Zionism, part I
Season 3 opens with a long awaited introduction to the American chapter of the Jewish Story. This first segment traces the back story of the three waves of Jewish immigration to American and explores...
Israel Gets a ShoutOut in China’s Number 1 Film – Wandering Earth
Wandering Earth, China’s Lunar New Year 2019 Box Office sci-fi hit, with over $600 million in ticket sales in the past two weeks, contains a tiny “easter egg” near the end of the...
JNF Screws Japanese Donors, Fox Rejects Anti-Nazi Ad, Temple Donations Drop, and Other Valentine’s Gal...
First … Happy Saint Valentine’s Day, the non-Jewish world’s Tu B’Av. Second, Check out these cute Jewish cards from KESHET Third, Mazal Tov (Muscle Tough) to celebrity Andy...
TJS 3 Prologue: The questions that drive the Jewish Story after 1948
It is time to get a new season started. This prologue introduces the idea that every story has a topography on which it unfolds. In particular, it is a framing of the season ahead questions in three...
Frigid Toronto Funeral Grows from 2 to 200, Ehud Barak’s Pot, Disney’s Gay Kugel Eater, and Other Newsbits
It was colder than -27 Celsius (-6F) in Toronto last week, when Eddie Ford was laid to rest in a Jewish cemetery. When Eddie was six, he was hidden by a Christian family in Budapest and saved from...
My problem with Jewish “Chinese Auctions”
Every few months, for years, I receive a promotional mailing from an Orthodox Jewish group hosting a “Chinese Auction.” And for years, I have responded to some of them that the term...
TJS Interlude: 3 things which divide the stories of American and Israeli Jews
Everybody is talking about the relationship between American and Israeli Jewry – is the romance over? are we headed for a breakup? This relationship will be central to the Jewish Story in...
Double Chai Sundance 2019: What’s Jew-ish at the Fest
The 36th Annual Sundance 2019 started in Park City, Utah, today with founder Robert Redford standing before attendees and… walking off the stage. After over three decades of kicking off the...