For those living far from Israel, it is easy to forget that beyond the media intensive coverage of the friction between Jews and Palestinians, there is a grinding schism within the Jewish community. It pits secular chiloni and ultra-Orthodox charedi against each other, pulling in everyone in between into emotionalContinue Reading
Just about the time you’re asking yourself, what could possibly be new about a film on the Holocaust, along comes the latest documentary, KZ, from the award-winning British international human rights film and television documentary producer, Rex Bloomstein. KZ, short for Konzen-trationslager Mauthausen, features interviews and in-depth conversations with MauthausenContinue Reading
Beginning last spring, when leaders of various Jewish organizations— the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and Jewish Federation among others—learned “My Name is Rachel Corrie” would be produced here, we sought and received a dialogue with the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Well aware of the controversy surrounding the play, weContinue Reading
Alejandro Stepenberg, a senior at Northwest Yeshiva High School, is living a theatrical dream. He recently placed first out of approximately 200 contestants in a regional Shakespeare competition hosted by the English Speaking Union of the United States, which featured student competitors from 11 Washington schools. He will fly toContinue Reading
Why is it that those who claim to be the most pious are the ones who end up being the most despicable? The question is a theme that runs through Marek Rozenbaum’s The Belly Dancer. Belly dancer Debbie (Meital Dohan) has joined her boyfriend Yaki in brazen house robberies, butContinue Reading
It would be easy to assume that Brother’s Shadow is a comedy — its two marquee stars, Judd Hirsch and Scott Cohen, are fine comedic actors and both have made their names in light-hearted TV roles. Hirsch spent five years, from 1978 to 1983, playing Alex Reiger in the groundbreakingContinue Reading
Journalism is a dangerous job. By some accounts it is the most dangerous job in the world. When the news to be covered is war or political upheaval, the job is to get as close to the center of danger as possible, wielding a notebook (or, more recently, a laptop)Continue Reading
Miao, for all intents and purposes, is invisible. She’s known only by her alias, presumably because she is so catlike — from her thin, pointy face to the way she tiptoes around inside of buildings. She has no past, as far as we know. She squats in empty Tel AvivContinue Reading
The land of eternal paradox, Israel abides all sorts of odd couples. The relationship between Filipino transvestites and elderly religious Jews could well top the list. Tomer Heymann’s far-ranging and eye-opening documentary, Paper Dolls (Bubot Niyar) lifts the blinds on one of the unusual byproducts of the second intifada. InContinue Reading
If the history of Jewish oppression has created a tradition of Jewish humanitarians fighting for equality, it has also created plenty of offensive jokesters. Jewish comics from Lenny Bruce to Sarah Silverman have spoken the “N” word with abandon, insulted gay people and laughed at Jesus, impervious to accusations ofContinue Reading
In the lush melodrama Three Mothers, Israeli filmmaker Dina Zvi-Riklis tests the bonds between siblings to a breathtaking degree. In fact, Three Sisters would have been a more apt title if Chekhov hadn’t gotten there first. A carefully constructed saga of loyalty, betrayal, revenge and sublimated sorrow that spans 60Continue Reading
There are myriad ways to approach self-improvement in the context of both religion and culture, and no shortage of Jewish books to help the reader accomplish it. Whether it is study or learning a new skill, many authors apply Jewish texts to some of the more pressing problems of everydayContinue Reading
Oftentimes, identifying a Jewish movie can be simple: The Jazz Singer, Yentl, even The Ten Commandments. Others have Jewish characters or themes, though considering them Jewish movies is a bit more of a stretch: Schindler’s List, Meet the Fockers or 2005’s Walk on Water come to mind. But what aboutContinue Reading
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — If a Jewish cabal supposedly runs Hollywood, it sure did a lousy job promoting its own for Academy Award nominations. Where in past years one could at least count on a Steven Spielberg film or a Holocaust documentary to provide Jewish flavor, this year the pickingsContinue Reading
The words of the refugee peoples of Darfur and of those working to provide relief to the affected millions in Sudan come to life on Jan. 25 on the stage of the newly renovated Roosevelt High School Theater. In a dramatic production, Darfur Stories, a quartet of actors will portrayContinue Reading
Witty, rhythmic, jazzy: delighted audiences speak these words about the music of the 20th-century avant-garde composer Erwin Schulhoff, even as they shake their heads over the story of his life. This month, Cornish College of the Arts presents an entire festival of Schulhoff’s work. Opening weekend features four performances ofContinue Reading
BERLIN (JTA) — Can a Jewish filmmaker in Germany turn the Nazi dictator into a joke without trivializing him? Dani Levy says yes; others aren’t so sure. Levy’s new film, “Mein Fuhrer: The Truly Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler,” has received cool reviews across Germany, but theaters reportedly were fullContinue Reading
If the MeshugaNutcracker sounds like a joke, that’s because it kind of is. The musical, a lighthearted Hanukkah knock-off of the original ballet, began as a pun — the kind of pun that is rightfully met with loud groans of discouragement.Continue Reading
If you have never heard Billie Holiday’s rendition of the anti-lynching anthem, “Strange Fruit,” take a break from this story for a moment and download it for your iPod. If you are less technologically oriented, buy a CD or check out an album from the library. The song reaches outContinue Reading
Remember the Beatles` song, `Blackbird` ` that wistful yet somehow hopeful little ditty about healing and resurgence? Well, when BlueStreet Jazz Voices community vocal jazz ensemble adapts it for one of their soloists at an upcoming Seattle show, that playful lyric will have been transformed into a more complex, thoughtful,Continue Reading
