Sigal Samuel is the former Opinion Editor at the Forward. When she’s not tackling race or identity politics, she’s hunting down her Indian Jewish family’s Kabbalistic secret society. Her novel THE MYSTICS OF MILE END tells the story of a dysfunctional family with a dangerous mystical obsession. Her writing has also appeared in The Daily Beast, The Rumpus, and BuzzFeed. Follow Sigal on Twitter.
Sigal Samuel
By Sigal Samuel
-
Opinion VIDEO: What’s More Offensive — ISIS Or Israel?
What do American students hate more: ISIS or Israel? Media personality Ami Horowitz took to the University of California, Berkeley campus to find out — by way of a strange experiment. Hint: It involves flags. The students’ vitriolic reaction to the Israeli flag, as compared to the ISIS flag, is striking. A few caveats, though: First,…
-
The Schmooze Google Doodle Pays Tribute to Ofra Haza
The Israeli Google homepage pays tribute to Ofra Haza Israelis visiting the Google homepage today got a fun surprise, in the form of a Google Doodle dedicated to the one and only Ofra Haza. Haza, a famous Israeli singer of Yemenite Jewish heritage, died in 2000 of AIDS-related pneumonia. She was 42. Today would have…
-
Opinion 17 Ways Israel’s Anime Propaganda Video Creeped Me Out
Well, here’s something you don’t see every day. The Israeli Embassy in Tokyo has launched an anime web series to encourage Japanese tourists to visit the Holy Land — and it’s kind of amazing. “Israel, Like!” is an unusual blend of hasbara and manga — I hereby dub it “hasbaranga” — featuring two Japanese sisters,…
-
Opinion Young Israelis Say No to Separate Buses
An Israeli soldier walks past a bus on which suspected Jewish vandals painted graffiti reading ‘Gentiles in the land are enemies’ / Getty Images Young Israelis don’t want separate bus lines for Palestinians — and they’re asking American Jews to ensure segregation never becomes a reality. That’s the nutshelled version of a letter sent today…
-
Opinion Israeli Soldiers Create Least Sexy Pin-Up Ever
Just a couple of months after the Gaza war, Israel has found a new way “to show the world the beauty of Israel and its people” — via the power of a pin-up calendar featuring real IDF soldiers. Or, as the creators of the MTKL Israeli Army Women Calendar like to call them, “the chosen amongst…
-
Opinion Gay Party Organizers Use ISIS Imagery in Ads
Drek’s ISIS-inspired party poster / Facebook Advertising is a tough business. People are busy. Getting them to come out to your event can be hard. But does that justify using ISIS imagery to gain publicity for your party? Tel Aviv’s popular gay party organizers, Drek, apparently think so. In recent advertising, they used imagery from…
-
Opinion Would Talmud Approve of 91 Lashes for Iranian ‘Happy’ Dancers?
A still from the Iranian version of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” music video / YouTube It’s a weird aftereffect of a Jewish day school education that, when I see a headline like “Iran Court Sentences ‘Happy’ Dancers to 6 Months and 91 Lashes,” I immediately ask myself: WWTDD? Or: what would the Talmud do? You might…
-
Opinion Haredi Meets Hollywood in Anti-Vaccine Debate
A health worker administers a polio vaccination to a child / Getty Images If you had to guess which neighborhood — Boro Park or Beverly Hills — the following quote applies to, which would you pick? Parents in these schools are submitting a form called a “personal belief exemption,” which states that they are not…
Most Popular
- 1
News Dutch Jews grapple with ‘weaponization’ of their fear following attack on Israelis
- 2
Opinion Almost all voting groups shifted toward Trump, except American Jews. Why?
- 3
News What a Secretary of State Marco Rubio would mean for American Jews and Israel
- 4
Fast Forward ‘Antisemitic hit-and-run squads’: Amsterdam temporarily bans demonstrations after Israeli soccer fans attacked by street mobs
In Case You Missed It
-
Yiddish World New Los Angeles Yiddish scene continues a long tradition
-
Fast Forward Israel’s proposed wartime budget would slash benefits for new immigrants
-
Fast Forward ‘Wanted’ posters at U of Rochester target Hillel director, Netanyahu’s brother and others with ‘ties’ to Israel
-
Fast Forward Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco will close for a year, citing financial woes
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism