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Anna Sokolow Way honors fierce Jewish dancer and choreographer

Editor’s note: This article is part of a new series, Sign Post, which explores street signs and other locations around the city that are named in honor of Jewish New Yorkers.

(New York Jewish Week) — For more than 50 years, Jewish dancer and choreographer Anna Sokolow would sit at the window of her apartment at 1 Christopher Street, drawing inspiration from the colorful parade of people walking by. 

A pioneer of modern dance, Sokolow was known for exploring the pressing issues of her lifetime, including the Great Depression, the Holocaust, the anti-Vietnam War movement and the American counterculture of the 1960s. Her aim, according to Jewish Virtual Library, was to challenge her audiences to think deeply about the world around them,

On March 31, 2004 —  four years after her death at age 90 — the Christopher Street block where she lived, between Greenwich Avenue and Sixth Avenue, received the name “Anna Sokolow Way.” Linda Diamond, a dancer, neighborhood fixture and a friend of Sokolow, led the effort to name the street. As part of the dedication ceremony, Diamond and her dance company performed several of Sokolow’s works at the Lucille Lortel Theater down the street, the New York Times reported that day. 

Sokolow, whose most famous works include “Lyric Suite” (1953) and “Rooms” (1955), gained renown for creating work that commented on society. And yet, “She was very clear about not being political, but that she made dances about what she saw,” Samantha Geracht, the artistic director of the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble, told the New York Jewish Week. “So she would consider it humanity.” 

Sitting at Greenwich Village’s Rosecrans Florist and Cafe, located just below Sokolow’s apartment, Geracht — who joined Sokolow’s dance company, then known as Players Project and later renamed Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble — reflected on her mentor’s life and legacy. “Like Jewish tradition, modern dance — and particularly the way Sokolow coached modern dance —  is an oral tradition,” said Geracht, emphasizing that Sokolow’s works must be passed down person-to-person.  

Anna Sokolow was born in 1910 in Hartford, Connecticut to Russian Jewish immigrants, but soon after, her family moved to the Lower East Side, where she grew up. She first stepped into dancing shoes at Emmanuel Sisterhood of Personal Service, a Jewish social welfare organization run by women, and later, the Henry Street Settlement House, where she trained under modern dance legend Martha Graham, among others. 

In the 1930s, Sokolow became affiliated with the “radical dance” movement, which helped establish choreography as a way to shed light on society’s problems. Her first big choreographed dance, “Anti-War Trilogy,” was performed at the 1933 First Anti-War Congress, and, according to Jewish Virtual Library, in the mid-1930s, Sokolow became the youngest American choreographer to lead her own professional dance group. The first showcase of her work took place at the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in 1936.

Eventually, Sokolow went on to choreograph Broadway shows, including 1955’s “Red Roses for Me,” for which she was nominated for a Tony award. She also staged work for the New York City Opera. 

Sokolow also incorporated her Jewish identity into her work: In 1945, as the horrors of the Holocaust came to light, Sokolow choreographed her artistic response, “Kaddish,” in which she wrapped herself in tefillin and depicted scenes of mourning. “Dreams,” which premiered in 1961, was another dance exploration of the Holocaust.

In the 1950s, Sokolow was invited to travel to Israel to work with the Yemenite dance company Inbal Dance Theater, and continued her visits until the 1980s. 

“Sokolow belongs to American Jewish culture, and people don’t know, and they should,” Geracht said. 

To that end, Geracht and the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble have worked to incorporate Sokolow’s dances into synagogue programming and have even written a curriculum for religious school students to learn about Sokolow and her legacy. They also teach at various colleges, often partnering with Hillel and dance organizations. 

As a choreographer, Sokolow knew exactly what she wanted from her dancers, and got just that. But at the same time, she was generous to her company. “She would personalize [her choreography] to the point of each person feeling complete ownership of what they were doing,” Geracht said. “I think that was a gift to the dancer and a gift to the audiences.”

Geracht reflected how Sokolow could often be heard saying: “It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s that I love dance more.”

Upon her death in 2000, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency wrote that Sokolow was known for embracing “pessimistic themes” in her work. “I’m not neurotic,” a JTA News Bulletin quoted Sokolow as saying. “But I don’t have that happy philosophy, because what the hell is there to be happy about?”

Her stubbornness when it came to dance translated to other parts of her life as well. Geracht says she can’t recall a time — even when the choreographer was well into her 80s — when Sokolow would take the elevator. Sokolow was notorious for refusing to take a cab or the subway. Walking was another way for Sokolow to people watch, and everyone talked to her. 

“Every storekeeper knew her. The homeless people knew her. They all knew who she was,” Geracht said. “And so she was a fixture of the neighborhood by nature of her personality and by nature of being a people-watcher.” 

“She was a force to be reckoned with,” she added. 

To find out about upcoming performances and learn more about Anna Sokolow’s dance legacy, visit SokolowTheatreDance.org


The post Anna Sokolow Way honors fierce Jewish dancer and choreographer appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Israeli Singer Noa Kirel Leads New Rom-Com Series With Argentine Pop Star Agustin Bernasconi

Agustín Bernasconi and Noa Kirel co-star in the new series “NOA.” Photo: Provided

Israeli singer Noa Kirel is starring alongside Argentine actor and fellow pop singer Agustín Bernasconi in a new music-centered romantic comedy series that will begin filming in March, The Algemeiner has learned.

The 25-episode series “NOA,” which will be filmed entirely in Argentina, is a global co-production from Argentina’s FAM Contenidos and Israel’s entertainment studio Sipur.

In the series, Noa (Kirel) travels to Argentina to meet her boyfriend, after months of having a long-distance relationship, but things don’t turn out the way she thought they would. She then meets Tomy (Bernasconi), “a young man who tries to reconcile with his past and forge a new life away from music, all while Noa begins a journey of discovery in search of her musical identity, while dealing with pressure from her parents and her new reality in Buenos Aires,” according to a provided synopsis.

Kirel is a singer, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and actress. She competed on behalf of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 and finished third with her song “Unicorn.” She was also formerly a judge on “Israel’s Got Talent.”

Bernasconi is an Argentine actor, singer, composer, and musician, with over 100 million views on YouTube.

“It will be a great experience to star in the series with Noa,” said Bernasconi. “She is an exceptional artist, and we complement each other very well.”

“NOA” producer and Dori Media Group founder Yair Dori, who originated the series, said: “I am very proud to be part of this great project, which I believe will have a very solid performance worldwide.”

Sipur CEO Emilio Schenker added: “NOA marks the beginning of our co-financing and co-producing major IP franchises globally. I can’t think of a better team or first project to invest in outside of Israel. It fits perfectly with our mandate to bring high-quality fiction, documentary, and unscripted projects to the world through high-level strategic partnerships and the support of powerful investors.”

Sipur’s latest projects include the Hebrew-language scripted drama series “Bad Boy,” from original “Euphoria” creator and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Ron Leshem and Hagar Ben-Asher. Netflix acquired streaming rights for “Bad Boy” in November 2024. Sipur’s recent works also include the medical thriller series “Heart of a Killer,” starring “Tehran” lead actress Niv Sultan, the documentary “We Will Dance Again,” “The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes,” and the documentary series “Munich ’72” about the Palestinian terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.

The showrunners for “NOA” are Alejandro Cacetta and Mili Roque Pitt, and the director is Mauro Scandolari.

The post Israeli Singer Noa Kirel Leads New Rom-Com Series With Argentine Pop Star Agustin Bernasconi first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Freed Hamas Hostage Agam Berger Begs Trump to Help Get Israeli Captives Home: ‘Don’t Stop Until All Are Back’

Released Israeli hostage, Agam Berger, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, is reunited with her parents following her release, in a handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 30, 2025. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Former Hamas hostage Agam Berger urged US President Donald Trump to continue pushing for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in a Hebrew-language video message that the president shared on his Truth Social app on Monday night.

A soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, Berger, 20, also thanked Trump for helping to secure her release from Hamas captivity in Gaza last month.

“I want to take this chance to say to you, President Trump: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done and continue to do for the hostages,” Berger said in the clip. “Thanks to you, we’re home. But we must remember there are still people who truly depend on you and are waiting for you to save them. They’re waiting for your help and you have the power to do it.”

Berger was kidnapped from the IDF’s Nahal Oz military base on Oct. 7, 2023, along with four other Israeli soldiers. Dozens of IDF soldiers were murdered at the military outpost. Berger was released from Hamas captivity in January a week after four of her fellow IDF soldiers, as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the US-designated terrorist organization.

The ceasefire deal took effect the day before Trump entered office last month and it put a pause to the 15-month war in Gaza. The agreement was mediated by the outgoing Biden and incoming Trump administrations, and the framework of the agreement was agreed upon last year.

“I beg you, don’t stop until all the hostages, both living and deceased, are brought back as quickly as possible,” Berger also told Trump in her video message. She then talked about her time in Hamas captivity, saying: “I went through many hardships there. The days didn’t pass. They stood still. Every night and day felt eternity. That’s how those [hostages] still feel there.”

“We must act fast to bring everyone home. They’re just waiting to be rescued,” she added.

Monday marked 500 days since Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists infiltrated southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, slaughtered 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Seventy-three men, women, and children remain in Hamas captivity. The bodies of four deceased hostages will be returned to Israel on Thursday, two days before the next round of living hostages will be released.

The post Freed Hamas Hostage Agam Berger Begs Trump to Help Get Israeli Captives Home: ‘Don’t Stop Until All Are Back’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Ritchie Torres Calls for Hamas to Be ‘Eradicated’ Following Group’s Announcement of Bibas Children Deaths

Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother Yarden (34) was taken hostage with his wife Shiri (32) and 2 children Kfir (10 months) and Ariel (4), holds with her friend Tal Ulus pictures of them during an interview with Reuters, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas continues, in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 13, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Tuesday called for Hamas to be “eradicated from the face of the earth” after the Palestinian terrorist group said that its two youngest hostages, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, would be among the four Israeli bodies returned to the Jewish state later this week as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Hamas announced that it would release the bodies of four hostages to Israel on Thursday, including two-year-old Kfir Bibas and his five-year-old brother Ariel. They were nine months and four years old, respectively, at the time of their abduction. The body of their mother, Shiri Bibas, is also expected to be included in Thursday’s hostage releases.

The cold-blooded murder of an infant is as barbaric a crime against humanity as one can commit. Hamas has murdered the Bibas family, including Kfir who was only 9 months old at the time of his abduction,” Torres posted on social media in response to the news.

The Bibas brothers and their mother were among the roughly 250 hostages taken captive by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists during their Oct. 7, 2023, rampage across southern Israel, which also included the murder of 1,200 people. Their father, Yarden Bibas, was also abducted but was released by Hamas earlier this month.

“A terrorist organization that murders babies in cold blood cannot be allowed to stand.  Hamas must be removed from power and eradicated from the face of the earth,” Torres wrote.

Torres, a progressive lawmaker from a heavily liberal and Democratic district, has emerged as a stalwart ally of Israel.  Since his arrival in the US Congress, Torres has been highly outspoken against antisemitism, oftentimes criticizing fellow liberals over their unwillingness to combat bigotry against the Jewish community. Torres has criticized efforts to withhold arms from Israel and has repeatedly called for the immediate release of hostages from Gaza. 

The fate of the Bibas family has long loomed over the consciousness of the Jewish state in the 16 months following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 slaughters. Both Bibas siblings, the two youngest individuals taken captive by Hamas, have been prominently featured on Israeli promotional materials bringing attention to the remaining hostages in Gaza. 

Hamas declared in November 2023 that the Bibas siblings had been killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike. Hamas did not present evidence for its claim.  

Israel has not confirmed the accuracy of the Hamas announcement regarding the Bibas family. 

In a statement on Tuesday, the Bibas family said it had not received confirmation from Israeli authorities on Hamas’s declaration but was “in turmoil” waiting for news about their loved ones.

The post Ritchie Torres Calls for Hamas to Be ‘Eradicated’ Following Group’s Announcement of Bibas Children Deaths first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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