Boston federation hired investigator to look into critics, latest scoop in Ben & Jerry's saga, seeing God through the James Webb Space Telescope, and world's oldest practicing doctor still skis. |
The 125 greatest Jewish movie scenes If you were to edit the greatest Jewish scenes into a montage, how long would it last? Perhaps not the whole Parsha cycle, but it would be a real commitment to watch the entire thing. This list, which features some surprises, many obvious choices and surely just as many accidental omissions, is an attempt to capture the diversity and scope of Jewish moments in the film canon. Some highlight ritual, others language and still others a worldview or perspective that resonates with the shul-going, shiva-sitting, saw-you-at-Zabar’s set that’s been kicking around since Sinai. To compile this list, in honor of the 125th anniversary of the Forward, PJ Grisar, our ever-game culture reporter, shepherded a panel of experts including directors, film critics and pop culture historians. The collection ranges from the silent era to the Safdie Brothers, includes animated mice, Yiddish jokes, Inquisition-themed synchronized swimming and one of Eddie Murphy’s undersung performances – as an old Jewish man. See the list ➤ The right way to say ‘schmuck’ |
To give you just one example of the list’s depth – and appreciation for overlooked gems – included in it is the scene from 1987’s “Ishtar,” a notorious box office failure critically maligned in its time. In the video above, improbable lothario Dustin Hoffman consoles his heartsick songwriting buddy Warren Beatty who squanders an impromptu Yiddish lesson. (The Forward culture desk includes “Ishtar” apologists.) Extended cuts |
Barbra Streisand stars as Fanny Brice in 'Funny Girl' in 1968. (Getty) |
Rounding out the package are essays that take a closer look at Haredi life captured on film, a tour de force takedown of Hitler, what makes movie sets Jewish and more: We know our list — any such list — is not perfect. Send your nominations for additional great Jewish movie scenes, or your comments, to PJ by emailing grisar@forward.com. |
Rabbi Marc Baker, the chief executive of Boston’s Jewish federation, speaks at a 2019 event. (CJP) |
Boston federation hired private investigator to look into critics: Suzanne King, a lawyer for the federation, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, acknowledged that the organization hired someone to look into Matthew Slater, who filed three lawsuits on behalf of employees who claim they were demoted or retaliated against. King also said the investigator was trying to track down information about employees who were quoted anonymously in a Forward article published last year. But the organization denied spying on the journalist who wrote the article, Linda Matchan, who contacted local police after seeing a suspicious vehicle parked for several days outside her suburban home. Read the story ➤ Opinion | The ADL has lost sight of its mission and turned partisan: Kathryn Wolf’s initial perception of the ADL was shaped by her grandfather, a Baltimore baker who gave spare change to the organization to “ensure that neo-Nazis and polite bigots didn’t keep Jews from partaking in the promise that is America.” But she thinks the organization would be unfamiliar to him today, and resents what she sees as its tilt leftward. An Alabama school district has already cut ties with the ADL, and Wolf writes: “I am particularly concerned about the ADL straying from its core focus at a time of unprecedented rising antisemitism.” Read her essay ➤ But wait, there’s more… |
Two young Jews – Dalya Attar and Matthew Foldi – are running in today's races in Maryland. (Courtesy) |
Voters in Maryland are headed to the polls to choose their candidates in the open primaries for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller, as well as the races for Congress and local state house. Here are some things to watch: - The crowded Democratic primary to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan includes at least two Jewish candidates: Doug Gansler, the state’s former attorney general; and Jon Baron, a former nonprofit executive and Hill staffer.
- Former U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards is seeking to return to the seat she held from 2008 to 2017 and is backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and J Street. AIPAC has spent $6 million to defeat her.
- In a six-person GOP primary for a western Maryland seat, 25-year-old political newcomer Matthew Foldi – who is Jewish and the son of a Trump administration official – has the backing of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy.
- Dalya Attar, an Orthodox member of the Maryland House of Delegates, is facing a tough reelection battle over past votes to restrict abortion.
- In Montgomery County, with a sizable Jewish population, County Executive Marc Elrich is facing three challengers, and State Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher is in a close race with Max Socol, a Jew who supports BDS.
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
Dr. Howard Tucker, 100, still sees patients, teaches med school students – and skis. (Courtesy) |
🩺 A 100-year-old Jewish doctor in Ohio is officially the world’s oldest practicing physician. “I have to keep doing things because I can’t stand being at home,” said Dr. Howard Tucker. “As long as people accept me, I’m going to continue.” (Cleveland Jewish News) 👂 As politics divides congregations, a nonprofit is teaching a new skill: Deep listening. “Listening to those who disagree with us is part and parcel of what it means to listen for God’s voice,” said Rabbi Melissa Weintraub, the founding co-director of the nonprofit, called Resetting the Table. “We need to investigate our differences courageously.” (Religion News Service) 🤝 An Israeli aid group is now working in partnership with Ukraine’s first lady, focussing on mental health access for the country’s embattled citizenry. “It’s probably the first time,” said the group’s CEO, Yotam Polizer, “that I’ve seen high-level government officials prioritizing psychological support and mental health.” (eJewishPhilanthropy) 🎶 Steven Spielberg has added yet one more accomplishment to his cinematic career: he shot his first music video, and it was filmed in one take, on a smartphone. His wife, Kate Capshaw, was his assistant on the shoot, which took place in a high school gym. The video is for “Cannibal,” the new single from Marcus Mumford, and is available on YouTube. (LA Times) Follow up ➤ We told you yesterday about a Republican group in Kentucky that posted on Facebook “the Jewish junta is getting stronger.” The group now says it was hacked and that the GOP “would not and did not publish anything antisemitic – as some of our very own members have Jewish heritage.” Mazel tov ➤ To Eric Reyzelman, a pitcher from Louisiana State University, who was drafted by the New York Yankees on Monday. “I think that every time that a Jewish player steps on a mound, or gets in the box, I think that he’s playing for more than just himself,” Reyzelman said. “I just never want to take it for granted.” Shiva calls ➤ Sumner Feldberg, the co-founder of T.J. Maxx, died at 98 … Gerald Shargel, a criminal defense lawyer whose mob clients included Gambino and Gotti, died at 77. He also once represented an ultra-Orthodox rabbi charged with kidnapping who refused to shave his beard in prison.
What else we’re reading ➤ The James Webb Telescope looks at the universe through the eyes of God … Meet the activist behind opposition to the separation of church and state … He bicycles around town and attends kids’ birthday parties: Quentin Tarantino’s new life in Tel Aviv.
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A group of nurses wearing sashes reading 'Votes for Women' while demonstrating in New York in 1913. (Getty) |
On this day in history (1848): The U.S women’s suffrage movement formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention. Hannah Greenbaum Solomon, the founder of the National Council of Jewish Women, and Maud Nathan, a social worker, were among its early and staunch supporters. But some have criticized them and the other white leaders of the movement for leaving out Black women. “Where did Jewish women fit in the racist politics of the suffragist movement?” Katya Gibel Mevorach asked in a Forward essay two years ago. “And, more importantly, did they participate as Jews, or instead as assimilated white women whose Jewishness was incidental rather than inspirational?” Last year on this day, Ben & Jerry’s announced that it would end sales of its ice cream in the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. And … checks notes … it doesn’t look like we’ve heard about the story since.
On the Hebrew calendar, it’s the 20th of Tammuz, the yahrtzeit of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, who died in 1904.
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Carmen Mandato/Getty Images |
Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, a Kenyan-Israeli runner who competed in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, celebrated on Monday as she won the bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. ––– Play today’s Vertl puzzle, the Yiddish Wordle Thanks to Nora Berman, PJ Grisar, Jacob Kornbluh, Arno Rosenfeld, Amanda Rozon, Rina Shamilov and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter.
You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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