For nearly two weeks in 1978, the Middle East metaphorically held its breath as the leaders of the United States, Israel and Egypt attempted to make an historic break with the past. The Camp David summit brought together Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat for the purpose of forging a peace treaty between Israel […]
The 18th annual Reel Asian International Film Festival in Toronto runs from Nov. 6-16. Movies ranging from China and India to Japan and the United States will be screened. Judging by two films I previewed, Brahmin Bulls (Nov. 16) and Fandry (Nov.11), this should be a fine showcase for Asian cinema. Brahmin Bulls, directed by Mahesh […]
When I was last in Warsaw in the summer of 2009, the site of the future Museum of the History of Polish Jews was cordoned off to the public, and it wasn’t clear when construction would begin, much less end. The project to build a museum in honor of what had been one of the […]
A marriage can change for better or worse in the bat of an eyelash. In Force Majeure, a Swedish film by Ruben Ostlund scheduled to open at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Oct. 31, this is precisely what happens when an avalanche thunders down a mountain in the Alps and alters the lives of a […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has got things backwards, much to Israel’s detriment. Lashing out at U.S. condemnation of Israeli plans to build more than 1,000 apartments in areas of eastern Jerusalem annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War, Netanyahu declared, “I have heard a claim that our construction in Jewish neighborhoods in […]
Has there ever been a Toronto mayor in recent history like Rob Ford? I doubt it. Ford was a drunkard, a drug addict, a racist and an antisemite who besmirched and disgraced our fair cosmopolitan city. He was not even fit to be a dog catcher. After yesterday’s municipal election, during which Ford’s equally unpalatable […]
Since the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, Poles who had concealed their Jewish ancestry with a zealousness bordering on fear and/or self-hatred have come out of the closet in droves, proclaiming and embracing their Jewishness to various degrees. The “new” Jews, whatever their Jewish lineage may be, are Jews by choice, says Poland’s […]
I‘ll say it straight 0ut: I dread autumn. Not because it’s the worst season, but because it’s a harbinger of winter, which in these remorseful parts tend to be cold, dreary and far too long, unless you’re a skier, a skater or, let’s face it, a masochist. Autumn, however, has one redeeming feature that compensates […]
A visitor to India, population 1.1 billion, is immediately struck by its overflowing jumble of humanity. After a few days in its congested and polluted cities, you long for the solitude of its open, sparsely-populated spaces. There are a number of options to consider. You can raft down the rapids of the Ganges River. You […]
Thirteen years after 15 Arab terrorists linked to Al Qaeda attacked the United States, Canada is facing the wrath of Islamic radicalism. In the past few days, two Canadian soldiers — Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo — have been murdered by Canadian acolytes of Islamic State, the jihadist organization that has conquered […]