During the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Chinese city of Shanghai was home to more Jews than any other metropolis in Asia. Congested, cosmopolitan and utterly exotic, its population exceeded three million, of whom 49,000 were foreigners, including about 20,000 Jews. Shanghai’s Jewish community was extremely diverse, consisting of Middle Eastern, Russian and Central […]
I missed Sacha Baron Cohen’s first Borat film, so I have no way of comparing it to the sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which was released late last week. Judged on its own merits, the second one is sophomoric. With the exception of a few punchy scenes, I watched it with a straight face, disappointed by […]
Israel’s damaging and counter-productive settlement expansion program in the West Bank continues apace. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defence body responsible for authorizing the construction of settlements, the Civil Administration’s High Planning Subcommittee, advanced plans to build 4,948 homes, bringing this year’s total to a record-breaking figure of 12,159. Much of the construction will […]
Sudan is on the cusp of normalizing relations with Israel, and this is a significant development, a milestone, in the annals of the bitter Arab-Israeli conflict. According to reports, Sudan — a strategically key nation on the shores of the Red Sea and the largest country in Africa — will formally establish diplomatic ties with […]
The Knesset approved Israel’s normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain by an overwhelming margin of 80 to 13 last week. All the dissenting votes were cast by the Arab Joint List, the third largest political party, though 27 parliamentarians were absent and two MK’s, both from the Arab Joint List, were unable […]
Although there have been a wide range of Jewish-Indigenous encounters in Canada, they have never been at the center of Jewish concerns, according to historian David Koffman. Indeed, aboriginal people have been “written out” of Canadian Jewish history, said Koffman, who holds the J. Richard Schiff Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry at York […]
Much to Israel’s disappointment, Saudi Arabia in the short term is unlikely to follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and sign a normalization agreement with Israel. Saudi Arabia — the seat of Islam and the site of some of the holiest shrines in the Muslim world — is sticking to its […]
The rescue of Jews in Nazi-occupied countries is an oft-repeated story in Holocaust literature. Max Wallace’s impassioned book, In The Name of Humanity: The Secret Deal To End The Holocaust (Penguin Random House), is the latest addition to that list. Wallace focuses on the efforts of three Swiss nationals, a Swedish-based German Jew and a […]
One of the most sensational trials in American history got underway in Chicago on September 26, 1969 and dragged on for 151 days. It was essentially about enduring values that Americans cherish so much, namely free speech and freedom of assembly. In effect, American democracy was on trial. The defendants were left-wing radicals who believed […]
Israeli actress and former Miss Israel Gal Gadot recently announced that she will portray Cleopatra in a forthcoming Paramount Pictures movie. In a series of tweets, she wrote that she and director Patty Jenkins and screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis will “bring the story of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, to the big screen … through women’s eyes.” […]