Gal Beckerman was a staff writer and then the Forward’s opinion editor until 2014. He was previously an assistant editor at the Columbia Journalism Review where he wrote essays and media criticism. His book reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review and Bookforum. His first book, “When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry,” won the 2010 National Jewish Book Award and the 2012 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, as well as being named a best book of the year by The New Yorker and The Washington Post. Follow Gal on Twitter at @galbeckerman
Gal Beckerman
By Gal Beckerman
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News Storied Jewish Group Tries To Reboot
For David Goldstein, who grew up in an Orthodox household but has largely abandoned religion, it is still a thrill to hear his children speak Yiddish. Having them learn the language at the school run by the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring is Goldstein’s way of passing on the things he thinks are most fundamental about Jewish…
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The Schmooze All in the Family: Perelman Edition
Does Raymond Perelman, the nonagenarian businessman and big-time Jewish philanthropist have a “heart and head bursting with anger, arrogance, and rage”? So says his son, Jeffrey, in court documents revealed this week. Alas, there is more high-stakes Perelman family drama for those interested in gawking at that sort of thing (not us, of course). Tabloid…
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News Leaks Hint at Chance, Risk of Coalition Against Iran
It has always been safe to assume that the leaders of Arab nations within firing range of Iran view that country with suspicion and fear. It has been an open secret that Iran’s nuclear ambitions are perceived with as much dread in Riyadh and Bahrain as they are in Jerusalem. But who would have imagined…
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News At New Museum, an Inventive, if Incomplete, Paean to Freedom
Freedom is the grand theme of the new National Museum of American Jewish History, which is set to open its doors in November. In a way, the museum’s location demands that it engage with such a large, universal concept. It is housed in an imposing glass box in the center of Philadelphia, with a commanding…
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News Jewish Nursing Homes Embracing a New Model of Care
Lunchtime at the Chelsea Jewish Home for the Aging in a Boston suburb looks nothing like the daily drudgery that has become the default existence for the old and ailing in America. Here, on a recent afternoon, the 10 residents of a ?household? sit at a long table, laughing and gossiping with each other. Light…
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The Schmooze Eminem Will Play Dmitriy Salita in Upcoming Bruckheimer Film
It’s a fairly mind-blowing prospect, but, yes, it appears that Eminem is preparing to play Orthodox Ukrainian-born Jewish boxer, Dmitriy Salita, in an upcoming Disney film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The working title: “Knockout.” In an email, Salita — who I profiled recently for the Forward — provided a few more details about the project….
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News New Loyalty Oath Unusual in Asserting Religion
The American “oath of allegiance” demands that a new citizen promise to “bear arms on behalf of the United States” and ends with “so help me God.” New Canadians have to swear “to be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors.” Norwegian immigrants have…
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News Avital Emerges in Fight To Save Shcharansky
This is the last of three excerpts from Forward staff writer Gal Beckerman’s new book, “When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle To Save Soviet Jewry,” published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in September. Not long after Anatoly Shcharansky was accused in a Soviet newspaper of being a CIA agent, he was…
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