Arts and Culture

Promotional poster for the Netflix show Shtisel
Arts and Culture

A Bittersweet Reunion with the Shtisel Family

Rabbi Sharon G. Forman
Sometimes the acting ends in joy and other times the results are devastating. Ultimately, the writers and actors draw us into their stories so that we cannot deny that art can elicit understanding, peace, and even deep love.
Lynn Cohen with her face in her hands as Golda Meir in a scene from Steven Spielbergs 2005 film Munich
Israel

7 Movie Stars Who Have Played Israeli Prime Ministers

Gabe Friedman (JTA)
Just a month after it was announced that the Israeli star Shira Haas would portray Meir in a TV series, The Hollywood Reporter revealed this week that Oscar winner Helen Mirren would portray Israel’s only female prime minister in an upcoming biopic.
Headshot of Aaron Bendich with his hair pulled back in a ponytail against a pink background
Jewish Music

Meet the Man Amplifying the Sounds of the Borscht Belt

Andrew Silow-Carroll

Growing up, Aaron Bendich would spend lots of time with his grandfather Max in the North Bronx, in a house “filled to the brim” with records, videotapes, and CDs. Among Max’s collection were recordings of Yiddish songs and other Jewish music.

Fast forward a

Teenagers walking down railroad tracks while visiting a concentration camp
Yallah! Israel

Ghetto: A Poem

Samantha (Sami) Silk
the path that we now follow / is the Exodus our ancestors never chose / flooding with pain they died not to swallow / the past spills into the river and flows