Althea Gibson, one of America’s legendary tennis players, broke racial barriers in an era when racism was rampant and African Americans were second-class citizens. Gibson’s rise to stardom, and her abject tumble into penury, are charted in Althea, an illuminating documentary scheduled to be broadcast by PBS’ American Masters series on September 4 at 9 p.m. […]
Having had more than an inkling she might be remembered long after her untimely death, she left behind a paper trail — 16,000 letters, 16 diaries, seven archeological field books, dozens of notebooks, hundreds of political position papers and eight published books. Gertrude Bell, probably the most remarkable British woman of her generation, was a […]
When Islamic State seized Palmyra in May, it announced it had no plans to bulldoze the Syrian city’s wonderful ancient ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site. But according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — a British-based organization which has documented the four-year-old civil war in Syria in minute detail — Islamic State recently […]
The nuclear agreement signed by six world powers and Iran in July has split the American Jewish community institutionally and politically like no other event in memory. Taking their cue from the Israeli government, major Jewish organizations and federations, as well as conservative and Orthodox Jews, have generally come out against it. Supporting it, in the […]
Seniors are supposed to enjoy their golden years in comfort and security, but all too often they’re denied these benefits because their pensions can’t support a lifestyle of ease. Martin Himel’s 45-minute documentary, Pensioner Power: A Voice for Change highlights this problem in Israel, Canada and two southern European countries, Slovenia and Croatia. Vision TV will […]
Has the National Front, the far-right French party, truly shed its antisemitic carapace, or is this a good cop-bad cop routine? On August 20, the party’s founder and longtime leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was expelled from its ranks at the insistence of his daughter Marine, the current head of the NF. They had already […]
Of all the intimidating mountain peaks in the Himalayas, the most technically complicated and dangerous one may well be Shark’s Fin crowning Mount Meru, which rises to an altitude of 21,850 feet amid spectacular alpine scenery. Towering over the Ganges River in India, it defies the world’s finest climbers. Many have tried to reach the […]
Marielle Heller’s coming-of-age film, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, focuses on the sexual awakening of a love-starved teenager on a voyage of self-discovery. Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley), the young woman in question, is 15 years old and anxious to lose her virginity. Thinking that she won’t look as good as Lori Buckby in the […]
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, straddling the border of northeast Arizona and southeast Utah, conjures up an aura of deja vu in the best sense of the word. As soon as I arrived here on my first visit, I felt an immediate and personal connection. The iconic red sandstone mesas, buttes, pinnacles and spires held me […]
The Rototom Sunsplash Reggae Festival in Spain has apologized for having dropped the Jewish American singer Matisyahu from its program. Matisyahu had been scheduled to perform at the Valencia-based festival on August 22, but was disinvited when he declined to endorse Palestinian statehood. Pressure was brought to bear on the festival — an advocate of […]