New Flesh for Old
In the second part of a two-part series, Sean Alexander explores the films of Brandon Cronenberg and the return of Jewish Body Horror. *Warning: this review contains spoilers Brandon Cronenberg’s second film, Possessor (2020), echoes much of the corporate themes of its predecessor, this time positing a technology that allows the cerebral transference of ‘agents’ […]
WandaVision and the Spectre of the Jewish Nazi
Alana Vincent The latest episode of WandaVision has re-ignited a long-running point of discomfort among Jewish comics fans, as it reminds us that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the young Wanda Maximoff willingly joined Hydra—a shadowy successor organisation to the Third Reich—as a volunteer. Why is this an issue? Well, in the comic books, […]
My Metal, My Judaism
Adam Kammerling reflects on metal, theatre and Judaism. The first song to move me to tears was the Avinu Malkeinu, as sung by the congregation of the Bristol and West Progressive synagogue. I was fifteen years old and it took me by surprise. It was the hyper-normative, mega-hetero, small-town, the early noughties. Boys couldn’t just […]
Mazel Tov to the Golden Globe Winners
The results of the Golden Globes were announced last night. To congratulate the Jewish winners and those shows with some Jewish content, here is a reminder of what our film and television critics thought of them. Schitt’s Creek (two awards) may not be The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, says Vincent Brook, but it is marvellous and very, […]
‘Law Not War’
Nathan Abrams reviews Parting Words by Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor for the Nuremberg war crimes trials. The American Jewish lawyer, Benjamin Ferencz has had a remarkable life. His career, which spanned more than seven decades, is a classic rags to riches story. From miserable poverty, he became the chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg […]
The Return of Jewish Body Horror
In the first of two articles, Sean Alexander explores the films of Brandon Cronenberg. ‘Long Live the New Flesh’ has become a mantra for the underlying themes in the films of David Cronenberg, long since it was first uttered by Max Renn (James Woods) in the climactic scene of 1983’s Videodrome. Cronenberg’s tracking of humanity’s […]
Challenging Jewish Stereotypes, One Client at a Time
Gus Condeixa interviews personal trainer Yoel Levy, ‘The Jewish Fitness Coach’. Yoel is a 21-year-old Personal trainer / online coach. From running the London Marathon at just 18, Yoel is on a mission to help other Jewish people achieve their fitness goals whilst enjoying a Friday Night Dinner! Your insta handle is thejewishftinesscoach. Have you […]
Albert Memmi
Jonathan Judaken remembers the most important Jewish thinker of the twentieth century (you may not know). Having just co-edited a compendium of Albert Memmi’s writing, The Albert Memmi Reader, I am always a little surprised when his name evokes nothing but a blank stare. He was, after all, one of the most important Jewish thinkers […]
Into the flatlands with Professor David Miller
Why rejecting David Miller’s antisemitism also requires rejecting the flatland he inhabits.
Shylock
Gloria Tessler shows how Shakespeare turned antisemitism on its head. I have often thought the Bard was the most enlightened philosemite of them all. And the reason? His controversial play, The Merchant of Venice. Many Jews applaud Michael Morpurgo’s decision not to include The Merchant in his forthcoming children’s book, Tales from Shakespeare, but I […]