Benjamin Ivry is a frequent Forward contributor.
Benjamin Ivry
By Benjamin Ivry
-
Culture Remembering Theo Bikel, a Fighter to the End
Theodore Bikel, who has died at the age of 91 in Los Angeles, was a shtarker, unlike many showbiz stars who merely play shtarkers on TV or onscreen. The barrel-chested, booming-voiced actor and singer had talent and stamina, the kind that allowed him to play Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” over 2000 times. After…
-
Culture How Omar Sharif Worked For Religious Tolerance
The greatest achievement of Egyptian actor Omar Sharif, who died on July 10 in Cairo, may have been to prove that simple nonchalance may be the best path for mutual tolerance between religions. Acclaimed for screen performances in “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago,” Sharif courted controversy by accepting the role of American Jewish gambler…
-
Culture Remembering Frank Kameny, the Moses of the LGBT Movement
On July 2, a party at the National Museum of American Jewish History kicks off a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the LGBT civil rights movement at Independence Hall, Philadelphia. A half-century ago, activists from New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia protested for equality each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969 in front…
-
Culture Remembering Britain’s ‘Schindler,’ Nicholas Winton
Nicholas Winton, who has died at the age of 106, exemplifies the fact that to do good deeds, years of preparation are not necessary. Effective humanitarian action can be impromptu and seemingly random in origin. Born Nicholas Wertheimer in London in 1909 to German Jewish parents, Winton was a young stockbroker in 1938, planning his…
-
Art Miriam Schapiro Married Judaism and Feminism in Her Art
Toronto-born Miriam Schapiro, who died on Saturday, June 20, at the age of 91, proved that an ardent feminist can also be a joyous artist. Born in 1923 to Russian Jewish parents, Fannie Cohen and Theodore Schapiro, she had a rich and varied imagination, as described in Thalia Gouma-Peterson’s “Miriam Schapiro” from Harry N. Abrams…
-
Music Berlin Philharmonic Names First Jewish Music Director
On June 22, it was announced that the musicians of the celebrated Berlin Philharmonic (BPO) have elected their first-ever Jewish music director, the Russian maestro Kirill Petrenko. Not only was this choice ground-breaking, it was an indirect response to another job candidate, the German conductor Christian Thielemann whose right-wing politics and anti-immigrant feelings seemed to…
-
Culture When Langston Hughes Sang Jewish America
Selected Letters of Langston Hughes By Langston Hughes Edited by Arnold Rampersand Knopf, 480 pages, $35 These missives written by one of the most limpid African-American poets are self-concealing in the extreme. Langston Hughes was so discreet that when he was hospitalized for gonorrhea in 1941, he told intimate friends that the problem was arthritis….
-
Culture What James Merrill Thought of the Jews
James Merrill: Life and Art Langdon Hammer Knopf, 944 pages, $40.00 On the 20th anniversary of his death, this massive funerary stele of a book pays tribute to an American poet much inspired by Jewish friends and mentors. Merrill was born in 1926 to a WASP family in New York – his father was a…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Film & TV Bonhoeffer biopic tells of a pastor turned would-be Hitler assassin — but is the story true?
- 2
News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
- 3
News What Mike Huckabee’s ‘Kids Guide to Israel’ says about his views
- 4
Culture At 95, Shaindel Schreiber is still dispensing babka and advice on the Lower East Side
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Schusterman foundation, whose fortune comes from oil, makes first donation to climate group
-
Opinion Netanyahu was right to end the war in Lebanon — now Gaza must follow
-
Culture 10 wicked ways to avoid talking about Gaza and Trump this Thanksgiving
-
Fast Forward Israeli security cabinet approves ceasefire with Hezbollah, paving way for end of yearlong conflict in Israel’s north
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
