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 Charles Grodin, beloved grump and talk show guest from hell, dies at 86
The 'Beethoven' and 'Midnight Run' star was a man of many talents
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Culture Marjorie Taylor Greene says “Jewish lives matter,” and then posts a Soros conspiracy theory
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had a storied pre-Congress career spreading lies about Rothschild-funded space lasers, tweeted in support of Jewish lives Monday night and just this morning trotted out a Jewish conspiracy theory. Both tweets were bad in distinct, but non-mutually exclusive ways. “Jewish lives matter,” Greene replied to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who…
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Culture John Oliver draws praise and condemnation for his segment on conflict in Gaza
John Oliver is no stranger to upsetting people — I mean, he upset the city of Danbury so much they named a sewage plant after him. But on Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight,” Oliver took his own trademark Etonian anger to the Levant, accusing Israel of war crimes in their response to rocket fire…
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Film & TV An Oscar winner gives new life to a classic story of exile
When Caroline Link reread “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit,” decades after she first read it for school, she underlined a passage where Swiss boys throw gravel at the young Jewish protagonist. She couldn’t wait to direct that scene. It’s a curious, if not quite startling moment in the chapter book, a 1971 semi-autobiographical novel of…
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Culture Will Seth Rogen’s very Jewish book upset Jews?
It’s been nine months since Seth Rogen agitated the Jewish community by expressing a sentiment increasingly common among his generation. You’d be forgiven for forgetting all about it. In August, the actor-writer appeared on Marc Maron’s podcast and said he was “fed a huge amount of lies about Israel” throughout his Jewish education. The backlash…
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Culture A reply to Van Morrison’s totally sane song about media control
New antisemitic Van Morrison track dropped! At least it sure sounds like it. The Irish songster, after months of COVID denial and “Braveheart” talking points about the UK “taking our freedom” for wanting to curb the spread of a deadly virus, released the song “They Own the Media” on streaming platforms Thursday. And boy is…
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Culture ‘Jesus,’ ‘Jeffrey Epstein’ and more sign on to ‘Jewish Harper’s Letter’
Anyone who’s anyone, living or dead, vile criminal or ancient sage, can add their name to the “Jewish Harper’s Letter” — and they are. The initial letter from the newly-minted Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, which slammed “suppression of dissent” among Jews, was unveiled with such notable signatories as Bari Weiss, Bret Stephens and Rabbi…
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Culture What We Get Wrong About Karl Marx
While never a believer in Judaism, and at times vicious about the faith, the revolutionary philosopher Karl Marx came from an indisputably Jewish background: Both of his parents’ fathers were rabbis. The fact that he was not, himself, Jewish is the result of a curious historical circumstance. Marx’s father, Heinrich, born Herschel Levi, earned his…
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Fast Forward Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to helm EPA, says he received bomb threat with ‘pro-Palestinian themed message’
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Opinion We can be thankful this year — and Jewish wisdom can help
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