With a little more than 100 days having elapsed since he succeeded Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett has hewed to the status quo with respect to two major interrelated issues — the Palestinians and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Bennett leads an extremely diverse coalition consisting of eight of the 13 […]
A magnificent tree is a sight to behold and a majestic forest is awe-inspiring. I have walked and hiked through sun-dappled and dim forests and jungles alike and have never been disappointed by the sylvan and spiritual vistas. Trees are ubiquitous, whether in rural regions or in urban settings, but they should not be taken […]
A few days ago, at a Zoom event marking the first anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington, D.C., Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid invited yet more Arab nations to normalize relations with Israel. “The Abraham Accords club is open for new members as well,” said Lapid in […]
Ruthy Pribar’s debut feature film, Asia, which opens in theatres in Ontario on October 1, is a somber and affecting portrait of a mother and her daughter grasping for companionship, love and fulfillment. It unfolds over a short period of time in Jerusalem. Asia (Alena Yiv) and her daughter, Vika (Shira Haas), share a modest […]
A restored version of Joan Micklin Silver’s 1975 classic, Hester Street, awaits viewers who fondly remember and still savor it. Based on Abraham Cahan’s short story, Yekl, it will be screened at the forthcoming New York Film Festival. Silver, who died earlier this year, made Hester Street on a shoestring budget, and her husband distributed […]
Mark Rosenblatt’s live action short, Ganef, explores the all too persistent phenomenon of Holocaust trauma as passed on from one generation to the next. It will be screened at the Manhattan Short Film Festival, which runs from September 23 to October 3. Approximately 13 minutes in length, it unfolds in a house in London in […]
Vilified and idolized, William Randolph Hearst was the first media mogul in the United States, a larger-than-life figure brimming with arrogance and hubris whose appetite for power was limitless. A man who prized innovation and was always in search of the next big thing, he accumulated an empire of daily newspapers, magazines, radio stations and news serials. […]
Since the end of the 19th century, more Jews have lived in NewYork than in any other city. And for a time in the mid-20th century, Jews comprised one-third of its population, surpassing the number of Jews residing in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The city’s status as a Jewish center is such that, in […]
In the lead up to the Canadian election on September 20, a friend of mine voted at an advance poll for Sidney Coles, the New Democratic Party candidate running in the heavily Jewish riding of Toronto-St Paul’s, which is held by Carolyn Bennett of the ruling Liberal Party. Several days on, he regrets his choice, […]
Judging by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s meeting yesterday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in the Sinai Peninsula resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Israel’s mercurial relations with Egypt are improving. Describing it as an “important and very good meeting,” Bennett said it “laid the foundation for deep ties” in the future. He did not elaborate, but the […]