Benjamin Ivry is a frequent Forward contributor.
Benjamin Ivry
By Benjamin Ivry
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Culture How Nobel Prize-Winning Poet Derek Walcott Identified With The Jews
Derek Walcott, the Nobel Prize-winning poet from the West Indies who died March 17 at age 87, was long inspired by Jewish culture, history and friendships. As the literary scholar Bénédicte Ledent has pointed out, Walcott’s poem “A Far Cry from Africa” draws a “parallel between blacks and Jews.” The poem, about the Mau Mau…
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Culture Why Have So Many Jews Wanted To Play Shylock?
Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” with Shylock, the vengeful Jewish money-lender, is seen by many as anti-Semitic. Yet Jewish actors and directors have been drawn to the play. “Wrestling with Shylock: Jewish Responses to The Merchant of Venice,” a collection of essays edited by Edna Nahshon and Michael Shapiro from Cambridge University Press, tries to explain…
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Culture Why a 400-Year-Old Jewish Music Tradition Continues To Thrive
Klezmer, the Eastern European musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews, is constantly evolving. Played by musicians called klezmorim at weddings and other celebrations, it has enjoyed a world revival in recent years. The musician and researcher Walter Zev Feldman, an expert on Jewish and Ottoman Turkish music, is Visiting Professor of Music at NYU Abu…
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Culture The Tragic Story Of Anne Frank’s Brilliant Cousin
Had she known her cousin, Anne Frank might have rephrased a famous statement to read: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really chic at heart.” The French Jewish interior designer Jean-Michel Frank, despite a life of almost unrelieved tragedy — he committed suicide in 1941 at the age of 46 —…
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Culture How the Granddaughter of a Borscht Belt Waiter Became Roberta Peters, Opera Star
The enduring career of the American Jewish soprano Roberta Peters, who died on January 18 at age 86, shows that while not absolutely necessary, it helped if an opera singer’s grandfather was headwaiter at Grossinger’s in the Catskills. This Borscht Belt notability, father of Ruth Hirsch, a milliner, who had married Sol Peterman, a shoe…
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Culture Why Did Japan Treat Jews Differently During World War II?
During World War II, why did the Japanese refuse orders from Nazi Germany, its wartime ally, to kill all the Jews within its borders? A new book from Academic Studies Press, “Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun: Japan and the Jews during the Holocaust Era” addresses this question. Its author, Dr. Meron Medzini, former…
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Culture Remembering Rolf Noskwith, the Jewish Cryptographer Who Helped Beat the Nazis
The cryptographer Rolf Noskwith, who died on January 3 at age 97, proved that “The Imitation Game” could be followed by the hosiery game. As a key member of the team of mathematician Alan Turing, portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the Oscar-nominated film “The Imitation Game,” Noskwith helped break German military codes to win World…
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Culture How Debbie Reynolds Became Carrie Fisher’s Perfect Jewish Mother
The witty, multitalented performer Debbie Reynolds, who died on December 28 at age 84, just a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher, surprisingly found herself associated with Judaism both on screen and off. From celebrity notoriety as the decidedly non-Jewish spouse of Jewish singer Eddie Fisher, Reynolds survived her marriage’s breakup and went on to…
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