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‘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
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Danny Wolf will see you now
When the Brooklyn Nets drafted Danny Wolf this summer out of the University of Michigan, scouts said they were getting a versatile big man who could get buckets, create for his teammates and rebound.
But the last few days of NBA action have shown the Jewish seven-footer picking up a surprising new habit: putting his opponents on posters.
After scuffling through the first two months of the season with a bum ankle, Wolf announced his arrival Saturday with a thundering jam on the Milwaukee Bucks’ Kyle Kuzma, for two of the forward’s career-best 22 points.
He claimed his next victim, in a 10-point, 7-rebound outing two days later, driving from the top of the arc before leaping off his left foot and dropping the hammer on the Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges:
“That may get two howls!” Nets play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco cried.
Early returns have been limited since the Brooklyn Nets grabbed Israeli point guard Ben Saraf and Wolf with the 26th and 27th picks this summer. The learning curve for young floor generals is notoriously steep, and Saraf — who wears the number 77 to represent the Hebrew word mazal, meaning good fortune — has struggled to stay in the playing rotation.
But Wolf, an American-Israeli who was bar mitzvahed in Israel, is finding his footing — at least when he’s not taking off for a dunk. He dropped in five high-arcing three pointers against the Bucks, eliciting excited howls from Nets color commentator Sarah Kustok; before the Charlotte game, he apparently told teammates he was going to posterize somebody.
“I was kinda saying that as a joke,” he said, “but looking at it as an opportunity, and just trying to attack the rim, I did it, with rewards.”
“He manifested it,” said teammate Nic Claxton.
Let’s enjoy one more picture of Claxton and Wolf:
And here’s a Danny Wolf meme for good measure, courtesy of the Nets social media.
The post Danny Wolf will see you now appeared first on The Forward.
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Turkey Pushes for Closer Ties With Iran Despite Mounting Sanctions as Both Countries Pursue Regional Ambitions
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Despite the recent reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran, Turkey has called for closer diplomatic and trade relations with the Iranian regime, as both countries seek to bolster their influence in the Middle East while openly targeting Israel.
In a new interview with the semi-official Iranian news outlet ISNA, Turkey’s Ambassador to Iran, Hicabi Kırlangıç, said Ankara was working to expand bilateral cooperation with Tehran by leveraging existing capabilities to increase economic ties between the two countries.
“One of the obstacles to expanding trade relations between Iran and Turkey is the issue of sanctions. However, we should not cling to this excuse and refrain from trying to increase trade relations,” Kırlangıç said.
“The goal is to raise the level of trade relations to $30 billion, but we are still far from this figure,” he continued, emphasizing the vast potential for economic growth and the need for careful planning to achieve it.
The Turkish diplomat’s latest remarks followed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit on Sunday to Tehran, where he also pushed for stronger bilateral cooperation between the two countries and denounced what he called “unfair sanctions” on Iran.
In a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Fidan reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Tehran while calling for the country’s nuclear program to be addressed through dialogue amid ongoing discussions to restart nuclear talks with the West.
After repeated unsuccessful negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, European countries launched the process to reinstate wide-ranging UN sanctions earlier this year under the so-called snapback mechanism, adding further pressure on Tehran, which was already facing mounting US sanctions.
Fidan called for the removal of these “unrighteous” sanctions, stressing that the Iranian regime must resolve outstanding issues “on the basis of international law.”
“Turkey has always stood with Iran and will continue to stand with Iran within the framework of international law,” the top Turkish diplomat said, adding that “these unfair sanctions should be lifted.”
During their high-level meeting in Tehran, officials from both countries vowed to significantly expand cooperation on trade, energy, border management, and regional security, noting that economic ties remain well below their potential.
As part of their announced initiatives, the two nations agreed to build a new joint rail line that will serve as a strategic trade corridor between Asia and Europe, with construction expected to take three to four years and cost roughly $1.6 billion.
Fidan also said both countries consider Israel “the biggest threat to stability in the Middle East,” pointing to the war in Gaza, tensions in Lebanon and Syria, and broader concerns over what he called “Israeli expansionist policies.”
“The international community must fulfill its responsibilities,” he said, calling for stronger global pressure on the Jewish state.
Amid international efforts to uphold the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and chart a path for post-war Gaza, Turkey — a longtime backer of Hamas — has been pushing to expand its role in Gaza’s reconstruction efforts, which experts have warned could potentially strengthen Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure.
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Israeli Real Estate Firm Denies Canceling New York Event Due to Anti-Zionist Group’s ‘Stolen Land’ Protest
Illustrative: Demonstrators attend an anti-Israel protest on the day of the two-year anniversary of the attack on Israel by Hamas, in New York City, US, Oct. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
An Israeli real estate firm has denied canceling an event set to take place in New York City on Tuesday due to a planned demonstration organized by a notorious anti-Israel group, saying the cancellation was for unrelated reasons.
A spokesperson for CapitIL, which provides information about buying real estate in Israel, said the gathering was canceled so the firm could focus its resources on holding a larger event in the coming months, according to the Times of Israel.
The Israeli publication reported that CapitIL’s event for this week had already been canceled when the local chapter of the radical anti-Zionist activist organization Pal-Awda announced the protest on Friday.
“When we as a community challenge the zionists’ genocidal settler-colonial machine we can win! And we did! We forced the cancellation of zionist land thieving CapitIL Real Estate’s planned illegal land sale in Manhattan,” Pal-Awda posted on social media on Tuesday.
“All this shows the importance and strength of our community when we turn out to challenge these genociders,” the group continued. “Please continue to follow us as we will continue to expose and, with our community’s support, challenge the zionist entity’s long tentacles here in [New York and New Jersey].”
Pal-Awda celebrated the cancellation of the so-called “illegal” sale of “stolen land” in Israel.
“This series of cancellations speaks to the power of our mobilization: with every principled protest and disruption, we are making the theft of Palestinian land untenable in our neighborhoods,” the group wrote. “As our protests have grown in size, we have seen more and more agencies and organizations similarly cancel and delay events, fearing the consequences of accountability and community outcry.”
On Friday, Pal-Awda initially advertised the planned protest.
“A zionist real estate event attempting to sell land in occupied Palestine will be held in Manhattan,” it posted. “This event is part of the zionists’ ongoing effort to ethnically cleanse Palestine. Join as we confront the white supremacist, settler-colonial project!”
The group called for supporters to gather in force.
“As the United States continues to provide political cover & military support for the ongoing indiscriminate assaults on Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, & Yemen, zionist settlers are exploiting this moment to further their settler-colonial agenda,” it said. “This expansion is facilitated by zionists from all over the world, including most prominently in the US, through real estate events where Stolen Land is sold & discounted mortgages are provided by “isr@eli” banks backed by the zionist entity’s government.”
Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, called on New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who takes office next month, to take an aggressive stand against such protests and push for a ban of such demonstrations in front of houses of worship.
“In my conversation with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani recently, I made it clear that the Jewish community will not stand idly by for such antisemitic and violent protests,” Schneier told The Algemeiner. “I hope that we will be able to work together to put my plan into action, creating a ban of protests on the property of any house of worship. This cannot be the new norm in New York City.”
Last month, Pal-Awda organized a gathering of demonstrators who called for violence against Jews outside a prominent synagogue.
The protesters were harassing those attending an event being held by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a Zionist organization that helps Jews immigrate to Israel, at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan.
“We don’t want no Zionists here!” the group of roughly 200 anti-Israel activists chanted in intervals while waving the Palestinian flag. “Resistance, you make us proud, take another settler out.”
One protester, addressing the crowd, reportedly proclaimed, “It is our duty to make them think twice before holding these events! We need to make them scared.”
Footage on social media also showed agitators chanting “death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces, as well as “globalize the intifada” and “intifada revolution.” Community figures described the scene as openly threatening and a stark escalation of anti-Jewish hostility in New York City.
Mamdani, a strident critic of Israel, drew immense backlash after releasing a statement which “discouraged” the language used by the protesters but also condemned the event for supposedly using “sacred spaces … to promote activities in violation of international law.”
Jewish leaders reacted with disappointment, arguing that Mamdani effectively provided political justification for a protest that targeted Jews for participating in a mainstream, fully legal pro-Israel program. Critics said the mayor-elect’s framing implied that the synagogue event, not the threatening chants outside, was the real problem, a position they described as deeply irresponsible amid rising antisemitism in the city.
Pal-Awda has vowed to hold demonstrations at “private homes, businesses, and houses of worship” if necessary “to stop the pipeline of settlement and zionist colonial expansion.”
In addition to the nixed CapitIL event, Pal-Awda also claimed on Tuesday that it caused Nefesh B’Nefesh to cancel a separate event planned for Thursday in Manhattan. The Algemeiner could not immediately confirm the veracity of that claim.
New York City has been ravaged by a surge in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. According to police data, Jews were targeted in the majority of hate crimes perpetrated in New York City last year. Meanwhile, pro-Hamas activists have held raucous — and sometimes violent — protests on the city’s college campuses, oftentimes causing Jewish students to fear for their safety.
Leaders of the Jewish community have raised alarm bells following the rapid political ascendance of Mamdani, a far-left democratic socialist and anti-Zionist. Mamdani is an avid supporter of boycotting all Israeli-tied entities who has been widely accused of promoting antisemitic rhetoric. He has repeatedly accused Israel of “apartheid” and “genocide;” refused to recognize the country’s right to exist as a Jewish state; and refused to explicitly condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which has been associated with calls for violence against Jews and Israelis worldwide.