Judging by their overblown reaction to the latest cross-border Gaza war, which ended with a truce on May 21, the leaders of Iran may as well be living in an alternate universe. As far as they’re concerned, Hamas won a spectacular victory and Israel was humbled by a crushing defeat after 11 days of fighting, […]
The Jewish Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) is the subject of Jacques Loeuille’s probing documentary, Modigliani And His Secrets. It will be screened online by the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, which starts on June 3 and ends on June 13. Before watching it, I wondered what secrets could possibly emerge. There are basically […]
Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi’a militia which perceives Israel as its prime enemy, was uncharacteristically mute as the Israeli armed forces and Hamas fought an eleven-day border war in and around the Gaza Strip from May 10 to May 21. Its usually outspoken leader, Hassan Nasrallah, remained deafeningly silent, even after one of its members was […]
For the past five decades, Lebanon, once the jewel of the Middle East, has lost its luster as an oasis of stability, having been engulfed by strife, chaos and bloodshed. In his incisive documentary, Lebanon — Borders of Blood, Duki Dror compares this small nation to an active volcano that explodes periodically, destabilizing everything in […]
During the latest cross-border war pitting Israel against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were in constant communication, taking to each other on the phone at least six times during the course of the eleven-day conflict. Biden was taken completely surprised by the outbreak of hostilities. […]
Ira Glasser led the American Civil Liberties Union from 1978 until 2001, transforming what had been a fairly obscure and somnolent group into a high-profile national organization. Mighty Ira, a documentary directed by Nico Perrino, Chris Maltby and Aaron Reese, sheds light on the dedicated and principled man who directed this process.Their engaging movie will […]
As might have been expected, Israel and Hamas each declared victory after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire ended the fourth cross-border Gaza war in 13 years. In fact, neither side won, failing to inflict the kind of decisive knockout blows that might have altered its outcome significantly. Hamas, though battered, remains unbowed and defiant. Israel, the strongest military […]
Avi Weissblei’s absorbing documentary, Desert Tested, is the story of a dream that imploded. It will be screened online by the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, which runs from June 3-13. Yitzhak Shabinsky was an ambitious and driven Israeli entrepreneur who dreamed of creating a home-grown car industry in Israel. His company, Autocars, manufactured an eclectic […]
Prior to the ceasefire that ended the eleven-day cross-border war between Israel and Hamas, the fourth in 13 years, the Democratic Party in the United States was torn asunder by the fierce fighting. Mainstream Democrats in the House of Representatives, like Ted Deutch and Elaine Luria, denounced Hamas’ brazen aggression and spoke up in defence […]
Saul Bellow was in the privileged and enviable position of knowing he was the most acclaimed American novelist of his generation. The winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize for literature, he was the author of critically praised novels that may yet stand the test of time: Seize the Day, Herzog, Mr. Sammler’s Planet, Ravelstein and […]