Early in the pandemic, many writers wondered if their productivity would increase or decrease during the weeks and then months of isolation. One viral tweet from March 2020 read, “Just a reminder that when Shakespeare was quarantined because of the plague, he wrote King Lear.” UC Berkeley student Kayla Harris Cohen seems to have found…
Read More
Culture
Art
Palo Alto JCC unveils ‘mind-blowing’ musical sculpture
As visitors return to the reopened Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, they will be greeted by a new four-story art installation by renowned local sculptor…
TV
‘Black Space’: Exploring teenage darkness in Netflix’s latest Israeli series
These days, it’s sometimes hard to remember that the world had problems even before we heard the word “coronavirus.” But various dramatic series — “13…
Off the Shelf
Jewish writers with Soviet roots have deep stories to tell
Irving Howe famously theorized that American Jewish literature would decline as the immigrant experience that informed so much of it became consigned to…
Books
For your summer reading list: New Jewish books, authors and themes
The month of June is gifting us with a wide variety of Jewish stories, from a reissue of an antifascist novel published in 1938 to a heartwarming YA…
Film
Eytan Fox, pop prince of Israeli cinema, keeps it queer in ‘Sublet’
Cosmopolitan without being condescending, au courant without the arrogance of hipness, Eytan Fox has been the pop prince of Israeli cinema for nearly…
Film
Shira Haas gives life to deadly illness in decorated Israeli film ‘Asia’
Shira Haas, the Israeli actress who vaulted into superstardom with her roles in the TV series “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox,” has a track record of playing…
Books
How a N.Y. novelist found his voice in S.F.
Books coverage is supported by a generous grant from The Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund. Joshua Henkin has lived in New York for most of his life, but he…
Celebrity Jews
Shatner on Nimoy; Jamie Lee Curtis rebuilds Hungarian shul; etc.
Captain Kirk and his old pal Spock In a recent interview with the Guardian, William Shatner opened up about his friendship with the late Leonard Nimoy,…