Thursday, March 30th 2023   |

Arts and Culture

Agatha Christie novels edited by HarperCollins to remove offensive references to Jews

By GABE FRIEDMAN

(JTA) — HarperCollins has revised multiple novels by the famed British mystery writer Agatha Christie to remove references to Jews and other minorities deemed offensive by sensitivity readers.

The edits, which the British Telegraph first reported on Sunday, add Christie to a growing list of authors whose work is getting tweaked for contemporary audiences. Roald Dahl, the children’s book author whose family recently apologized for his antisemitism,...

This Jewish studies professor won $60,000 on ‘Jeopardy!’ — despite missing out on a question about Yom Kippur

By PHILISSA CRAMER

(JTA) — The most notable message Melissa Klapper got during her four-night run this week on “Jeopardy!” didn’t come because the Jewish studies scholar was unable to answer a question about Yom Kippur. It also wasn’t an unkind note from a game-show stickler who believed she’d gotten credit for a wrong response.

Instead, it was an email from a past student who recognized herself in the story Klapper...

Munich says it can’t block Roger Waters concert

By DAVID I. KLEIN

(JTA) — Weeks after the city of Frankfurt canceled a Roger Waters concert over his anti-Israel activism, the mayor of Munich says he cannot find legal standing to do the same.

“We do not currently see any legally secure possibility … to reverse the decision already made,” said Mayor Dieter Reiter, according to Deutsche Welle. “I do not want to have him [Waters] here, but now...

A fake reality show trailer shines light on the real issue of child marriage

By JON KALISH

(JTA) — A three-minute trailer teases a new reality show called “Unseen Housewives,” and features women describing their experiences as child brides in forced marriages. 

“I was groomed by a pedophile at age 14 and married by age 16,” one of four young women in the trailer tells the camera.

“I turned into a housewife at 14 but no one seemed to care when it happened,” says...

‘Fabelmans’ flops at the Oscars, but Hollywood’s Jewish history gets a nod

By ANDREW LAPIN

(JTA) – With seven nominations for his most personal film ever, this could have been Steven Spielberg’s biggest year at the Academy Awards. But the hot-dog fingers had other plans.

“The Fabelmans,” the director’s highly personal dramatization of his Jewish upbringing, didn’t win a single one of the Oscars it was nominated for Sunday night. Spielberg’s film lost out on the biggest categories, including best picture, director,...

With his New York restaurant Shmoné, Israeli chef Eyal Shani earns his first Michelin nod

By RISA DOHERTY

(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani, who currently boasts 40 restaurants worldwide, became a sensation on these shores when he opened Miznon in 2018 at Chelsea Market. There, he introduced New Yorkers to a new style of Mediterranean street food that eclipsed the usual falafel, hummus and shawarma offerings. Locals and tourists alike lined up to devour Shani’s smashed potatoes, inventive...

In Mel Brooks’ ‘History of the World Part II,’ Jewish jokes reign from BCE to the Beatles

By JACKIE HAJDENBERG

This article contains spoilers for “History of the World Part II”.

(JTA) — In a scene that will soon stream on Hulu, a group of early Christian bishops gathers to set a promotion strategy for their newish religion — to “make the Bible an international blockbuster,” as one puts it.

But the plot is unclear: “Who are the bad guys in this story?” asks one. He and his...

Frankfurt cancels Roger Waters concert, calling him ‘one of the world’s most well known antisemites’

By DAVID I. KLEIN

(JTA) — Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd bassist who is a leading proponent of the movement to boycott Israel, has been blocked from performing in Frankfurt after the city called him “one of the world’s most well known antisemites.”

Waters had been scheduled to perform May 28 at Frankfurt’s Festhalle, which during the Holocaust was the site of the deportation of 3,000 Jews to their deaths...

‘Cocaine Bear’ star Alden Ehrenreich got his big break after Steven Spielberg saw him at a bat mitzvah

By GABE FRIEDMAN

(JTA) — By this point, the film’s title might only be unknown to those who have been hibernating: “Cocaine Bear,” a black comedy very loosely based on a true story from 1985, is the talk of the town in Hollywood and beyond leading up to its theatrical debut on Friday.

One of the movie’s stars, Alden Ehrenreich, got his big break in the industry under less bizarre...

Beatles.net owner Bruce Spizer warns of possible Facebook scam

By ALAN SMASON, Exclusive to the CCJN

Local Beatles expert and author Bruce Spizer is warning his fans and followers of a possible online scam using his logo and established website Beatle.net.

In an email sent Wednesday to his customers and friends, Spizer stated that the offer on Facebook of the complete Beatles catalog on compact disc for just $49 is not valid or sanctioned by him, his 498 Productions,...