Uncategorized
‘Fabelmans’ flops at the Oscars, but Hollywood’s Jewish history gets a nod
(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, actress, and original screenplay, all to the same movie: chaos-theory multiverse comedy “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” where the aforementioned hot-dog fingers play a starring role.
But while the most Jewish movie came up empty-handed, other Jewish stories played out on the movies’ biggest night. Here’s what you need to know.
‘Fabelmans’ follies
Spielberg’s autobiographical opus may have come up empty-handed Sunday, but it got a booby prize: “The Fabelmans” was host Jimmy Kimmel’s favorite punchline. Kimmel used his monologue to drop a series of jokes about the film, including dubbing Spielberg and star Seth Rogen “the Joe and Hunter Biden of Hollywood”; speculating that nominated co-star Judd Hirsch was actually absentee Tom Cruise in a mask; and warning anyone plotting to slap him Will Smith-style, “You’re gonna have to go through the Fabelman to get to me.”
Later, Kimmel kept up the bit, introducing Paul Dano and Julia Louis-Dreyfus to present an award. Kimmel billed them as “Steven Spielberg’s dad and Jonah Hill’s mom,” referencing not only Dano’s role in “The Fabelmans,” but also Louis-Dreyfus’ part as a clueless white Jewish mother in the much-maligned Netflix film “You People.”
Getting loud for ‘All Quiet’
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Netflix’s grueling drama about German soldiers on the frontlines of World War I, ended the night with four Oscars: international feature film, original score, cinematography and production design. In addition to having a Jewish producer, the movie was also adapted from a novel and 1930 film that both met the ire of the Nazi party and were tarred as Jewish plots to destroy the German state.
Another anti-dictator winner on Sunday was “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio,” which won the animated feature Oscar. Set in Fascist Italy, the Netflix film features a scene of Pinocchio mocking Il Duce himself, Benito Mussolini.
A Jewish ‘Goonies brother for life’
One of the most heartwarming moments of the evening was the best supporting actor win for Ke Huy Quan for “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Quan, a former child actor, had abandoned his onscreen career for decades before his big comeback role last year. In his emotional acceptance speech, Quan gave a special shout-out to “my ‘Goonies’ brother for life,” Jeff Cohen — a Jewish former child star turned entertainment lawyer. Cohen and Quan appeared in “The Goonies” together in 1985, and when Quan landed his big “Everything Everywhere” role, Cohen negotiated the terms of his deal.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Sarah Polley
There were a couple big-name Oscar winners with Jewish parents. Immediately after Quan’s big moment, veteran actress Jamie Lee Curtis picked up her first-ever Oscar, also for “Everything Everywhere.” It was also a big moment for the “Halloween” star. “My mother and my father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories,” Curtis noted during her speech. Tony Curtis, Jamie Lee’s Jewish father, was one of the biggest stars of Golden Age Hollywood yet received only one Oscar nomination, in 1959 for “The Defiant Ones.”
Another winner with a Jewish father: the writer-director-actor Sarah Polley, who won best adapted screenplay for “Women Talking.” Polley explored the secret of her biological parentage in her 2013 documentary “Stories We Tell.” “Women Talking” is set inside a different religious community: an isolated Mennonite society in which the women have been systematically, sexually abused by the men.
Navalny and the neo-Nazis
The winner for best documentary went to a profile of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose 2020 poisoning by KGB agents after he publicly criticized Vladimir Putin was an international scandal. Navalny is currently imprisoned in Russian solitary confinement; the filmmakers dedicated the award to him. The documentary also details an aspect of Navalny’s campaign more controversial to Western observers: his onetime support of the “Russian march,” a gathering of Russian neo-Nazi organizations.
Diane Warren’s no-win situation
Did you know the songwriter Diane Warren is a 14-time Academy Award nominee? Singer Sofia Carson reminded everyone in the middle of the evening’s first performance for best original song. Warren, who is Jewish, joined in the performance of “Applause,” her composition from the feminist documentary “Tell It Like A Woman.” She has never won an Oscar, and unfortunately for her, the streak continued Sunday night as the viral sensation “Naatu Naatu,” from the Indian film “RRR,” took the prize. (As a consolation, Warren received an honorary Oscar at the Governor’s Awards preceding the telecast.)
Another Jew-ish shutout
Also drawing blanks was “Tár,” the cerebral classical-music psychological drama with somewhat inexplicable Jewish themes.
Hollywood’s Jewish history gets a nod
The broadcast included a promotional video for the Academy Museum, which opened last year to celebrate the history of Hollywood. In the video, a curator named Dara Jaffe explains that one of the museum’s roles is to “bring important film histories to light, from the Jewish immigrants who founded the Hollywood studios to the early innovators of African-American cinema.” The inclusion is notable because the museum drew steep criticism when it first opened for giving short shrift to the industry’s robust Jewish history; Jaffe was appointed to put together a permanent exhibition about that history in response. The exhibition has not yet opened.
On this #Oscars night, we celebrate the incredible work of our team at the Academy Museum. This institution advances the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible exhibitions, screenings, programs, initiatives, and collections. pic.twitter.com/6DEM9TUXiG
— Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (@AcademyMuseum) March 13, 2023
—
The post ‘Fabelmans’ flops at the Oscars, but Hollywood’s Jewish history gets a nod appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Israel’s National Security Council Warns Israelis Abroad Not to Attend Passover Events in Open, Public Spaces
El Al planes are seen on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion International airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 10, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) has “strongly recommended” that Israelis traveling abroad avoid public Passover events, following its assessment that the ongoing war with Iran increases the risk of them being targeted in terrorist attacks around the world orchestrated by the Iranian regime.
The NSC issued the warning on Wednesday, one week before the Jewish holiday of Passover is set to begin, explaining that the Islamic Republic will increase efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad.
“Throughout Passover (as well as other spring holidays and commemorative days such as Shavuot, Memorial Day, and Independence Day) there are large gatherings of Israelis abroad. These constitute potential targets for terrorists, both organized and lone-wolf attackers,” the NSC said in a statement. “In light of the above, and based on the current situational assessment, the NSC calls on Israelis abroad to exercise increased precautionary measures in any country worldwide. We strongly recommend not attending Passover events that are unsecured or held in open, public spaces.”
“In recent weeks, several terrorist attacks, led by Iran and its proxies as well as lone-wolf attackers acting under Iranian inspiration, have been carried out or thwarted,” the NSC added. “Several attacks and attempted attacks have targeted synagogues and Jewish sites (explosives in synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands, and an attempted attack on a synagogue in the United States).”
Regarding countries bordering Iran — including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Gulf states — the NSC advised that Israelis should not participate in holiday events, including holiday meals, at venues identified with Israelis or Jews, “due to concerns that these will be targets for kinetic attacks by Iranian elements.”
A separate advisory on the same topic was published on March 5.
Last week, the NCS urged Israelis in the United Arab Emirates to exercise extreme caution as Iran continued its campaign of drone and missile attacks across the country and broader Gulf region, warning that their safety could be directly at risk.
Jews and Israelis living in the UAE were advised to avoid public events, synagogues, Israeli-linked businesses, and unnecessary gatherings, including at airports, unless holding a valid flight ticket.
In Wednesday’s statement, the NSC also advised Israelis abroad to take “increased precautions” in Asia, especially in Thailand and the Philippines, and said it strongly recommended Israelis not to stay in the region of the Sinai Peninsula, except if they are traveling to and from Taba Airport in Egypt.
Israeli authorities also urged citizens to enter and exit Israel through Ben Gurion Airport. Those choosing to travel through Egypt or Jordan are advised only to use Taba Airport or Aqaba Airport in Jordan, “and avoid staying in these countries longer than your flight requires.” The NSC additionally recommended that Israelis try to avoid connecting flights in countries classified as Level 4 (high threat).
Uncategorized
A new book of contemporary Yiddish poetry with Russian translations
נישט יעדער ווייסט, אַז די ייִדישע פּאָעזיע לעבט און בליט נאָך אינעם 21סטן יאָרהונדערט. די נײַע זאַמלונג „איך קער זיך אום“, וואָס איז אַרויס אין מאָסקווע סוף 2025, קומט דווקא צו ווײַזן, אַז דאָס פּאָעטישע לעבן אויף ייִדיש גייט אָן ווײַטער — אין פֿאַרשידענע לענדער, שפּראַכן און סטילן. דאָס בוך האָט אַרויסגעגעבן דער ייִדישער פֿאַרלאַג „קניזשניקי“ מיט דער הילף פֿונעם פּריוואַטן אַרויסגעגעבער ברוך־לייב (באָריס) זײַטשיק.
די אַנטאָלאָגיע איז צווײ־שפּראַכיק אוןמע קען זי לײענען פֿון בײדע זײַטן׃ אײן טײל איז אױף ייִדיש, און דער צווייטער – אױף רוסיש. די אויסגאַבע שליסט אײַן צוועלף דיכטער. יעדער אײנער פֿון זײ ווערט פֿאָרגעשטעלט מיט צען לידער. אַוודאי זענען דאָ אַ סך מער ייִדישע דיכטער הײַנט אױף דער וועלט, אָבער, ווי עס שרײַבן אינעם אַרײַנפֿיר־וואָרט ברוך־לײב זײַטשיק און יואל מאַטוועיעוו, דער צונויפֿשטעלער און רעדאַקטאָר פֿון דער זאַמלונג, איז דער ציל געווען צו געבן אַ פּאַנאָראַמישן איבערבליק פֿון דער ייִדישער פּאָעטישער לאַנדשאַפֿט.
די צוועלף דיכטער רעפּרעזענטירן פֿאַרשידענע דורות און לענדער׃ לעוו בערינסקי, פֿעליקס חײַמאָוויטש, מיכאל פֿעלזענבאַום, וועלוול טשערנין, גיטל שעכטער־ווישוואַנאַט, ישׂראל נעקראַסאָוו, ברוריה וויגאַנד, שלום בערגער, יואל מאַטוועיעוו, מאַרעק טושעוויצקי, דוד־עומר כּהן און אַני הקטנה. זײ זענען געבוירן געוואָרן צווישן 1938 און 1993 און ווױנען אין ארץ־ישׂראל, רוסלאַנד, בעלאַרוס, די פֿאַראײניקטע שטאַטן, ענגלאַנד, פּוילן און האָלאַנד.
דער טיטל פֿון דער אַנטאָלאָגיע איז אַ שליסל צום בוך – אַ ציטאַט פֿון וועלוול טשערנינס ליד וועגן דעם אײביקן אומקער און זוכן אַ באַשטימטן צוועק. אין אָט דעם קאָנטעקסט מײנען די ווערטער אינעם טיטל, אַז די ייִדישע פּאָעזיע בײַט זיך און אַנטוויקלט זיך ווײַטער. דער פֿאַקט, וואָס מע שרײַבט הײַנט ווײַטער אױף ייִדיש און נײַע זאַמלונגען לידער זענען אַרױס כּמעט יעדעס יאָר, קען זײַן אַ חידוש אַפֿילו פֿאַר די, וואָס פֿאַרנעמען זיך מיט ייִדיש.
ווי עס שרײַבט דער מיטרעדאַקטאָר וואַלערי דימשיץ אין זײַן הקדמה צום בוך׃ „מענטשן, וואָס זײַנען ווײַט פֿון דער הײַנטצײַטיקער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור, גיבן פֿון צײַט צו צײַט אַ ביטערן קרעכץ און טענהן, אַז ייִדיש, שױן אָפּגערעדט פֿון דער שפּראַכס ליטעראַריש לעבן, איז געבליבן אינעם עבֿר.“
די שאַפֿער פֿונעם בוך וואַרפֿן אָפּ אַזעלכע פֿאַרשפּרייטע סטערעאָטיפּן. זײַטשיקס און מאַטוועיעווס אַרײַנפֿיר־וואָרט איז באַטיטלט „נײַע רינגען פֿון דער ׳גאָלדענער קײט׳“ — די קייט, וואָס פֿאַרבינדט די מאָדערנע ייִדישע דיכטונג מיט דער לאַנגער טראַדיציע פֿון פֿאַרגאַנגענע דורות. די הײַנטצײַטיקע פּאָעטן זענען נישט קײן אײנצלנע איזאָלירטע עפּיזאָדן, נאָר טײלן פֿון אײן גרױסן ליטעראַרישן פּראָצעס.
אין דער זעלבער צײַט געהערט יעדער פֿון זײ צו דער ליטעראַרישער טראַדיציע פֿון זײַן לאַנד און סבֿיבֿה. הײַנט, ווי מיט אַ הונדערט יאָר צוריק, זענען ייִדישע דיכטער פֿילשפּראַכיק. זײ זענען אױפֿגעוואַקסן אַלע מיט אַנדערע ליטעראַטורן אַרום זיך – די רוסישע, אַמעריקאַנער, פּױלישע. דעריבער ברענגען זיי מיט זיך זײער לאָקאַלע ירושה.
די אַנטאָלאָגיע ווײַזט אױך ווי פֿילפֿאַרביק ס׳איז די וועלט פֿון דער הײַנטיקער ייִדישער פּאָעזיע׃ די דיכטער האָבן גאַנץ פֿאַרשידענע סטילן און טעמעס. פֿון דער וויסנשאַפֿטלעך־טעכנישער רעוואָלוציע בײַ לעוו בערינסקי ביז צום „חסידישיזם“ פֿון דוד־עומר כּהן; פֿון טושעוויצקיס „דזשאָגינג“ (לויפֿלען) אין וויליאַמסבורג ביז שעכטער־ווישוואַנאַטס ליד וועגן דעם קאָוויד; פֿון מאַטוועיעווס קבלה־מאָטיוון ביז וויגאַנדס שפּילן מיטן ייִדישן פֿאָלקלאָר. די געזאַמלטע ווערק שטײַגן איבער אַלע דערוואַרטונגען.
דאָס אױסזען פֿונעם בוך קען אַרױסרופֿן עפּעס אַן אַנדער רושם. די הילע – פּרעכטיקע „רײזעלעך“ מיט בלומען און חיות – דערמאָנט אין דער ייִדישער פֿאָלקסקונסט און מע קען דענקען, אַז דאָס בוך האָט עפּעס אַ נאָסטאַלגישן טעם. אָבער נײן, דער תּוכן פֿון די לידער איז ווײַט פֿון דער שטעטל־עסטעטיק. אַגבֿ, וועגן די קאָמפּליצירטע באַציִונגען מיטן אימאַזש פֿון אַ שטעטל רעדט דאָס טרױעריק־איראָנישע ליד פֿון שלום בערגער אין זײַן ליד „דער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור“:
דער ייִדיש־דיכטער שעפּט פֿון שטעטל־חלום
אַ טעם געמישטן פֿון חרוסת־כרײן,
נאָר פֿונעם שטעטל איז אַנטלאָפֿן יעדער,
און צו דעם שטעטל קען מען ניט דערגײן.
דאָס בוך איז די ערשטע דוגמא פֿון אַן אַרומנעמיקער צווײ־שפּראַכיקער אַנטאָלאָגיע פֿון דער הײַנטיקער פּאָעזיע אױף ייִדיש, הגם אַ קורצע באַשיידענע אַנטאָלאָגיע פֿון אַזאַ מין איז דערשינען אינעם אַלמאַנאַך „ביראָבידזשאַן“ אין 2023. הגם עס זענען געווען עטלעכע לידער־אַנטאָלאָגיעס אױף ייִדיש (צום בײַשפּיל, „אַ רינג“, 2017) איז „איך קער זיך אום“ די ערשטע ברייטע פּרעזענטאַציע פֿון דער טעמע פֿאַר אַ נישט־ייִדיש־רענדניקן עולם. דאָס מאַכט די זאַמלונג אױך אַ מין מאַניפֿעסט גופֿא – ייִדישע פּאָעזיע איז לעבעדיק, זי האָט אַ שטאַרק און זיכער קול. פּאָעזיע אױף ייִדיש דאַרף פֿאַרנעמען אַ גלײַך אָרט צווישן אַלע אַנדערע הײַנטצײַטיקע פּאָעטישע טראַדיציעס און קען זײַן אינטערעסאַנט דעם ברייטן עולם אױסער דער ייִדישיסטישער סבֿיבֿה.
אױב מע זוכט וואָס צו קריטיקירן אינעם בוך, קען איך אָנמערקן, אַז עס זענען דאָ נאָר דרײַ דיכטערינס קעגן נײַן דיכטערס. די פּראָפּאָרציע שפּיגלט אָפּ, צום באַדױערן, דעם אמתדיקן מאַנגל פֿון פֿרױען־שטימען אין דער ייִדישער פּאָעזיע. אָבער איך בין אָפּטימיסטיש – מירצעשעם וועלן מיר הערן מער און מער נײַע פֿרוייִשע קולות. ווער ווײסט, אפֿשר אין אַ פּאָר יאָר אַרום וועט מען קענען אַרױסגעבן אַ גאַנצע אַנטאָלאָגיע פֿון הײַנטיקע ייִדישע דיכטערינס.
The post A new book of contemporary Yiddish poetry with Russian translations appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
At least 40% of Russia’s Oil Export Capacity Halted, Calculations Show
The Druzhba oil pipeline between Hungary and Russia is seen at the Hungarian MOL Group’s Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta, Hungary, May 18, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
At least 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity is at a halt following Ukrainian drone attacks, a disputed attack on a major pipeline and the seizure of tankers, according to Reuters calculations based on market data.
The shutdown is the most severe oil supply disruption in the modern history of Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, and has hit Moscow just as oil prices exceeded $100 a barrel due to the Iran war.
Russia’s oil output is one of the main sources of revenue for the national budget and is central to the $2.6 trillion economy.
UKRAINE HAS INCREASED ATTACKS
Ukraine intensified drone attacks on Russia’s oil and fuel export infrastructure this month, hitting all three of Russia’s major western oil export ports, including Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.
According to Reuters calculations, about 40% of Russia’s crude oil export capabilities – or around 2 million barrels per day, were shut as of Wednesday after the most recent attack.
That includes Primorsk and Ust-Luga as well as the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia.
Kyiv has also targeted pipeline oil pumping stations and refineries. Kyiv says it aims to diminish Moscow’s oil and gas revenue, which accounts for around a quarter of Russia’s state budget proceeds, and weaken its military might.
Russia says the Ukrainian strikes are terrorist attacks and has tightened security across its 11 time zones.
PORTS, PIPELINES, AND TANKERS
Ukraine said that part of the Druzhba pipeline was damaged by Russian strikes at the end of January, while both Slovakia and Hungary demanded Kyiv restart the supplies immediately.
The Novorossiysk oil terminal, which can handle up to 700,000 bpd, has been loading oil below plan since damage from a heavy Ukrainian drone attack early this month.
In addition, frequent seizures of Russia-related tankers in Europe have disrupted 300,000 bpd of Arctic oil exports flowing from the port of Murmansk, traders said.
With its westward export routes under fire, Moscow must rely on oil exports to Asian markets, but those routes are limited due to capacity, traders said.
Russia continues uninterrupted supplies via pipelines to China, including the Skovorodino-Mohe and Atasu-Alashankou routes, as well as ESPO Blend exports by sea via the port of Kozmino.
Together, the three routes account for some 1.9 million bpd of oil.
Russia also continues to load oil from its two far eastern Sakhalin projects, shipping about 250,000 bpd from the island.
Traders also say that Russia is supplying the refineries in neighboring Belarus with around 300,000 bpd of oil.