Talya Zax is the Forward’s opinion editor. Contact her at zax@forward.com or on Twitter, @TalyaZax.
Talya ZaxOpinion Editor
By Talya Zax
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The Schmooze A History Of Jon Stewart And 6 Other Things To Read, Watch, And Do This Week
Whether you love or hate the result, the election is over, and it’s time to find comfort and re-focus. A historical festival in New York, talk with Masha Gessen in San Francisco, and Israeli film festival in Chicago might prove just the ticket; if you’d rather stay home (we don’t blame you), unwind with the…
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Life My Mother Dreamed Of Being President, And JFK Responded
When my mom was eight years old, in 1963, her older brother wanted to be the President of the United States, and her boyfriend — also eight — told her she couldn’t be. She fiercely believed she deserved the same opportunities as both, so she decided she would be one day be Commander in Chief….
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News This Ultra-Orthodox Jew Dedicated His Vote to Slain Muslim Soldier Humayun Khan
At the end of an election filled with divisiveness, Yosef Rapaport didn’t know what to expect when he tweeted that he had dedicated his vote to the American Muslim soldier Captain Humayun Khan — the American Muslim soldier killed in combat whose father Khizr spoke movingly about his sacrifice at the Democratic National Convention. That…
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The Schmooze Get Ready For “The Hamilton Mixtape” — With A Jewish Note!
This morning, Lin-Manuel Miranda announced his long-promised “Hamilton Mixtape” is available to preorder, and will be out December 2nd. It will include new takes on songs from “Hamilton” by a diverse array of artists, as well as previously-unheard material. And one of its songs — “Dear Theodosia” — will be performed by beloved Jewish songstress…
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The Schmooze SNL’s Election Special, Art Spiegelman In Chicago, And 5 Other Things To Read, Watch And Do This Weekend
This week we start sharing events outside of New York as part of our normal roster; festivals of arts and ideas in Chicago and Washington, D.C. are up first. There’s a slew of new books to tempt you, regardless of what you’re craving – history, science fiction, some hearty Yiddish humor – and a few…
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Culture How We Tracked Down the Best Yiddish Stories of the Past Century — and More
‘Jews say that if you change where you live you’ll change your luck, but is America really that different?” That’s the first line of an excerpt from Abraham Cahan’s “The Additional Soul,” a story that, translated to English from Yiddish by Jordan Kutzik, appears in the new anthology, “Have I Got a Story For You:…
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Culture “First Jewish Americans” Were Anxious About Intermarriage, Assimilation — Just Like Us
In 1742 Phila Levy-Franks, the daughter of a well-off family in New York’s growing Jewish community, secretly married the Huguenot Oliver de Lancey. Her mother, Abigail, who had immigrated to the United States from England in 1695, went into mourning and never spoke to her again. It might be harder, now, to find Jewish parents…
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The Schmooze On New #HanukkahStamps, Oil Burns Forever
Hanukkah might not start for nearly another two months, but for mail enthusiasts, it’s come early. At a ceremony today in Boca Raton, the United States Postal Service unveiled a brand new Hanukkah-themed Forever stamp. Yes, folks, the Hanukkahstamp — USPS’s name, not ours — is here to stay. The stamp features a fully-lit Hanukiah…
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
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Fast Forward Progressive Jewish groups back Senate resolutions against arms sales to Israel
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Fast Forward Sotheby’s to auction a Ten Commandments tablet with a disclaimer: Israel always wanted it to be put on public display
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