PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at grisar@forward.com and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Culture Did Pope Pius XII lie to the U.S. government about the Holocaust?
Last month, the Vatican admitted a select group of scholars to review Pope Pius XII’s papers for the first time ever. The researchers came to address a central question of Pius’ legacy: Why did the pontiff, who led the Catholic Church during World War II, appear to remain silent as the Nazis slaughtered Europe’s Jewry?…
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Culture Jenji Kohan to debut a ‘Social Distance’ anthology for Netflix
We may not have to wait for the end of the COVID-19 era to get an anthology series about it. Jenji Kohan, creator of “Orange Is the New Black” is developing a show called “Social Distance,” Deadline reported. The Netflix offering will be produced virtually for reasons of public health and will present narratives delving…
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Film & TV What to watch after ‘Unorthodox’
It’s been a month and we’re still talking about “Unorthodox.” Well, “talking” may be too tame a word. Debating, analyzing, nitpicking and making valid, important points about the series’ merits and potential harms. And while there’s much that remains to be said about the Netflix show (several million Jews, who knows how many opinions), there…
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Culture Q&A: Booker Prize-winning translator Jessica Cohen on mental health and the IDF
For most Israelis, military service is as certain as death and taxes. But not everyone thrives in the army. Yair Assulin’s 2011 novel, “The Drive,” tracks an unnamed narrator’s inner monologue as he and his father travel to an army psychiatrist seeking a transfer. The young man, from a religious family, feels stifled and suicidal…
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Culture The Forward investigates: Is Doron from ‘Fauda’ hot?
We need to talk about Doron’s body count. Not the many, many terrorists the antihero of “Fauda,” played with bracing intensity by the former special forces soldier Lior Raz, has dispatched over three seasons. I’m talking about Doron’s record with women. Against walls and kitchen counters, and in the war room within earshot of his…
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Culture Israeli Independence Day goes virtual with ‘IsraPalooza’
Israeli Independence Day usually finds the team behind the podcast “Israel Story” trekking to venues throughout the United States with dancers, musicians and storytellers to perform a live version of their show. This Yom Ha’atzmaut, coronavirus has put a damper on traveling, but the show is making up for this setback by hosting an all-day,…
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Culture With COVID-19 raging in New York, a klezmer-tinged fanfare for the essential worker
From his rooftop on the Lower East Side, Grammy-winning composer and trumpeter Frank London has been hearing the nightly 7:00 PM calls of gratitude for New York City’s healthcare, food service and transit personnel working through the coronavirus pandemic. Now, he’s enriching the ritual by composing a fanfare for the essential worker for winds, strings…
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Culture ‘The Beastie Boys Story:’ a sad, stilted epilogue from a once outrageous band
The Beastie Boys are feeling their age. In “The Beastie Boys Story,” a taped performance of the band’s non-musical stage show from 2019 available now on Apple TV+, Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) and Michael Diamond (Mike D) — the two surviving members of the legendary hip hop trio — dive into their 30-year history through anecdotes…
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Opinion I’m a Jew of color. Ta-Nehisi Coates can’t apply US lessons to Israel.
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Culture Columbus may have had Jewish heritage — that doesn’t mean he was Jewish
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Sports 5 Jewish things about the Mets — and why Jewish fans adore them
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Culture Will Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally resemble a fascist one from 1939?
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