A few years ago, while serving as defence minister under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak unburdened himself of a comment that spoke volumes. Barak, no dove, claimed that the current Israeli government was incapable of making peace with the Palestinians. Regrettably, Barak’s analysis remains as true today as back then. Netanyahu professes to […]
A recent comment about racism in Israel by Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, transported me back in time. It was 1971, I had just arrived in Israel for an extended visit, and my aunt in Haifa had invited me for dinner. As we feasted on Polish and Israeli delicacies, she gave me some unsolicited advice. More […]
Torgny Segerstedt was a courageous Swedish newspaper editor as Europe lurched toward the precipice of World War II. A former theologian who had a knack for recognizing the face of evil, he believed that the chancellor of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, was the personification of the devil. Of course, Segerstedt’s assessment of Hitler was not […]
“Welcome to my world,” Elvis Aaron Presley crooned in velvety-soft tones. “Won’t you come on in.” This invitation, emanating from a hidden loudspeaker, could be heard shortly after my bus pulled into Graceland, the gated estate in Memphis, Tennessee, where the legendary rock ‘n’ roll star lived until his untimely death 37 years ago. It […]
Mel Brooks is indubitably a funny guy. A Borscht Belt comedian in an earlier incarnation, he wrote sketches for Sid Caesar’s prime time TV show before realizing he could adapt his material to the big screen. Brooks made his first movie, The Producers, in 1968 and just kept on going, writing and directing and often […]
The Halimi affair, which gripped France in the winter of 2006, has been brought to the big screen. Alexandre Arcady’s 24 Days will be presented by the Toronto Jewish Film Festival’s Chai Tea & A Movie series on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m and 4:30 p.m. Arcady’s fast-moving, suspenseful film is based on a book […]
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 […]