When it comes to women’s rights, Saudi Arabia is arguably the most repressive society on earth. Most of the kingdom’s subjects are members of the Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam, often described as “ultraconservative” or “puritanical.” Known as Muwahhidun, they adhere to the strict Hanbali school of jurisprudence. This form of Islam particularly affects the position […]
A recent antisemitic incident in the French city of Marseille has spiralled into a cause celebre that amplifies the crisis afflicting Jews and Islam in France today. On January 11, a machete-wielding 15-year-old Muslim Turkish boy slashed Benjamin Amsellem, a Jewish teacher, as he was taking a walk. The assailant told police he had acted […]
Andrew Haigh, in 45 Years, draws an exquisite portrait of a relationship marked by the vicissitudes of time. Geoff and Kate Mercer, a retired childless couple, live peacefully in the English countryside. As the film open, they’re one week away from celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary. Puttering around their modest house, they seem to be […]
Possessing the largest concentration of Iranians outside the Islamic Republic of Iran, Los Angeles could well be called Little Iran. More than 70,000 of these exiles are Jews, and one of them, Saba Soomekh, is a religious studies scholar who teaches at the University of California in Los Angeles. Born in Tehran in 1976, she and […]
A sedate, cosmopolitan city of picturesque canals, charming neighborhoods, exquisite buildings and superb museums, there is something for everyone in Amsterdam. There is even a cool museum for both kids and adults to bring families together. Amsterdam is best explored by bike, boat, bus and foot. Smaller and friendlier than Paris, to which it can […]
The publication of a new, annotated edition of Adolf Hitler’s incendiary manifesto, Mein Kampf (My Struggle), has set off a passionate debate in Germany that forces it to face its ugly past yet again. The nearly 2,000-page book, replete with some 3,500 annotations, is supposed to immunize readers from misusing or exploiting its horrific contents […]
A year ago this month, France was profoundly shaken by two jihadist rampages in Paris. The incidents underscored an alarming phenomenon — the extent to which a minority of European Muslims have fallen under the baneful and destructive spell of radical Islam. It’s a grave problem which is far from resolved. Last November, jihadists launched […]
Israel is one of the most advanced countries in the Middle East, its high-tech economy a model of brain power, innovation and efficiency. Out with the old, in with the new. For a country with precious few natural resources, Israel has fared reasonably well thanks to its can-do, entrepreneurial spirit. If you take a walk in […]
A remote village, near Turkey’s Black Sea coast, is the venue of a Turkish coming-of-age movie about adolescence, sexuality, tradition, repression and the longing for freedom. These interlocking themes are woven into the fabric of Deniz Gamze Erguven’s skillfully crafted debut feature film, Mustang, which opens in Toronto on January 15. Five playful, close-knit sisters, ranging in […]
The American Jewish-style delicatessen is struggling for survival. In his elegiac book, Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli (New York University Press), Ted Merwin delves into its rise and falling importance and does so with commendable ease and thoroughness. As a seasoned aficionado of Jewish culinary traditions, Merwin — a professor […]