Documentary alleging Israel committed wanton killing in Gaza gets standing ovation in Venice

September 11, 2026

By DEBORAH DANAN

(JTA) — TEL AVIV – A documentary presenting testimony from Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers who say the IDF knowingly killed large numbers of civilians during its campaign in Gaza got a  25-minute standing ovation Thursday at...

Hollywood’s Jews take sides in Mark Ruffalo-Paramount antisemitism row

September 04, 2026

By ANDREW LAPIN

Some 170 notable Jewish personalities have released an open letter defending actor and producer Mark Ruffalo, who has been accused of antisemitism for his comments on Paramount Skydance’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Entertainers, rabbis and...

This historian’s classic ideas about memory fuel a new drama about Oct. 7 and Jewish identity

August 25, 2026

By PAMELA S. NADELL

In a lifetime of theater-going I have never heard the word “historiography” on stage.

But that is exactly what the Tony-Award winning playwright Jonathan Spector served up in his astonishing new play “Birthright.”

In its first...

As Christopher Nolan revives ‘The Odyssey,’ a scholar finds links between Homer and the Hebrew Bible

July 16, 2026

By ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL

(JTA) — Even before its release on Friday, buzz over Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated film adaptation, “The Odyssey,” is introducing a new generation to Homer’s tale of shipwrecks, monsters, gods and the long road home. But what does an...

Adam Sandler officiates Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding, fueling theories about singer’s Israel stance

July 07, 2026

By GRACE GILSON

(JTA) — A Jewish comedian who played one of cinema’s most notable Israeli characters took center stage — literally — at Taylor Swift’s wedding at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

Adam Sandler officiated the ceremony between Swift...

Bamba blankets NYC after Park Slope Food Coop vote to boycott Israeli products. What’s next?

June 04, 2026

By JACKIE HAJDENBERG

(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Jewish institutions are responding to a boycott of Israeli products at a Brooklyn grocery store by buying up Bamba.

Four thousand free bags of the Israeli peanut butter-flavored snack made...

Finalists announced for lucrative Jewish literary award

June 02, 2026

By LISA KEYS

(JTA) — Amir Tibon’s memoir about his family’s ordeal during the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and Laura Hobson Faure’s history of Jewish children who fled from Germany to France during World War II are among the...

London police are ‘reviewing’ video of Helen Mirren being called ‘an evil Zionist’

May 29, 2026

By SHIRA LI BARTOV

(JTA) — London police are reviewing footage that showed actress Helen Mirren being called “an evil Zionist b—h” by a person on the street.

The video, which circulated widely online this week, records Mirren walking with...

For the first time, a kosher restaurant has won a Michelin star

May 29, 2026

By GRACE GILSON

(JTA) — As golden confetti rained down around him Thursday, Israeli chef Raz Shabtai broke down in tears and was embraced by his cheering staff.

Moments earlier, a livestreamed Michelin ceremony had announced that his Miami restaurant,...

Children’s book of ‘The Tenth Man’ tells true story of Congregation Anshe Sfard

May 21, 2026

By ALAN SMASON

Artie Bennett knew a good story when he heard one. But this story was one he knew intimately as the protagonist – the so-called “tenth man” – was his wife Leah’s first cousin, Alex Brown.

The children’s...