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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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Community Leaders Slam Campaign in Canada Targeting Accreditation of Jewish Summer Camps
Illustrative: People take part in “Shut it down for Palestine!” protest outside of Tyson’s Corner as shoppers participate in Black Friday in Vienna, Virginia, US, Nov. 24, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
Jewish community leaders across Canada are pushing back against a campaign by anti-Zionist activists that seeks to pressure accrediting bodies to reconsider recognition of several Jewish children’s summer camps.
The controversy centers around at least 17 overnight camps in provinces including Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia, according to a statement circulated by the activist group. A coalition of leftist and pro-Palestinian groups has identified the camps and is urging provincial associations to review and potentially revoke their accreditation.
Members of the anti-Israel coalition — which includes the Palestinian Canadian Congress, Just Peace Advocates, the Ontario Palestinian Rights Association, PAJU Montreal, and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign — claim that some of the camps promote or normalize support for Israel.
Organizers say institutions connected to Israel, which they falsely accuse of committing genocide against Palestinians, should face scrutiny.
“We have identified at least 17 overnight summer camps throughout Canada that support the State of Israel in some way,” the campaign says. “These camps are not problematic because they encourage connection to Jewish identity. Rather, they pose a problem because they encourage support for a genocidal, settler-colonial state.”
Among the claims cited are that camps celebrate Israeli national holidays, incorporate Israel-focused educational content, or employ staff members who have previously served in the Israel Defense Forces, including in non-combat capacities.
The messaging reflects themes commonly associated with the BDS movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination. The campaign against Jewish camps has been endorsed by the official Canadian BDS Coalition.
The campaign appears to represent a new front in a broader pattern of activism that has targeted universities, cultural organizations, and other institutions over perceived ties to Israel.
Camp leaders and Jewish organizations say the effort singles out Jewish institutions and risks politicizing spaces designed for children, while presenting a threat to effectively dismantle Jewish life.
The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto described the campaign as harassment and intimidation directed at Jewish families. Community leaders have emphasized that summer camps are focused on youth development, cultural enrichment, and recreation, not political advocacy
“This direct targeting of Jewish campers and staff is a deliberate act of intimidation,” UJA wrote in a statement.
The Ontario Camps Association, which accredits camps in that province, also condemned the initiative. The association said accreditation decisions are based on health, safety, and program standards, not political views, and characterized the coalition’s allegations as discriminatory.
The dispute has unfolded amid a surge in antisemitic incidents over the past two years, following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
According to the Jewish advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada, which tracks antisemitism across the country, antisemitic incidents in 2024 rose 7.4 percent from 2023, with 6,219 adding up to the highest total recorded since it began tracking such data in 1982. Seventeen incidents occurred on average every day, while online antisemitism exploded a harrowing 161 percent since 2022. As standalone provinces, Quebec and Alberta saw the largest percentage increases, by 215 percent and 160 percent, respectively.
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Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan and Government’s Four-Month Timeline
Men carry Hezbollah flags while riding on two wheelers, at the entrance of Beirut’s southern suburbs, in Lebanon, Nov. 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Terrorist group Hezbollah rejected on Tuesday the Lebanese government’s decision to grant the army at least four months to advance the second phase of a nationwide disarmament plan, saying it would not accept what it sees as a move serving Israel.
Lebanon’s cabinet tasked the army in August 2025 with drawing up and beginning to implement a plan to bring all armed groups’ weapons under state control, a bid aimed primarily at disarming Hezbollah after its devastating war with Israel in 2024.
In September 2025 the cabinet formally welcomed the army’s plan to disarm the Iran-backed Shi’ite militia, although it did not set a clear timeframe and cautioned that the military’s limited capabilities and ongoing Israeli strikes could hinder progress.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a speech on Monday that “what the Lebanese government is doing by focusing on disarmament is a major mistake because this issue serves the goals of Israeli aggression.”
Lebanon’s Information Minister Paul Morcos said during a press conference late on Monday after a cabinet meeting that the government had taken note of the army’s monthly report on its arms control plan that includes restricting weapons in areas north of the Litani River up to the Awali River in Sidon, and granted it four months.
“The required time frame is four months, renewable depending on available capabilities, Israeli attacks and field obstacles,” he said.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said, “we cannot be lenient,” signaling the group’s rejection of the timeline and the broader approach to the issue of its weapons.
Hezbollah has rejected the disarmament effort as a misstep while Israel continues to target Lebanon, and Shi’ite ministers walked out of the cabinet session in protest.
Israel has said Hezbollah‘s disarmament is a security priority, arguing that the group’s weapons outside Lebanese state control pose a direct threat to its security.
Israeli officials say any disarmament plan must be fully and effectively implemented, especially in areas close to the border, and that continued Hezbollah military activity constitutes a violation of relevant international resolutions.
Israel has also said it will continue what it describes as action to prevent the entrenchment or arming of hostile actors in Lebanon until cross-border threats are eliminated.
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American Jewish speedskater Emery Lehman wins silver in final Winter Olympics
(JTA) — Emery Lehman, a Jewish speedskater and four-time Olympian, captured a silver medal in the men’s team pursuit on Tuesday, his second career medal.
Lehman, 29, and his teammates Casey Dawson and Ethan Cepuran finished 4.51 seconds behind the host country Italy in what was considered an unexpected loss for the United States. Since the 2021-2022 season, Lehman’s team had set three world records and won five straight World Cup season titles, the 2022 Olympic bronze medal and a 2025 world championship.
Lehman has said he plans to retire from speedskating after the 2026 Olympics.
“Eight years ago, none of us had skated a team pursuit together,” Lehman said after the race, according to NBC. “Now, to be finishing off with two Olympic medals, I’m pretty proud of it.”
Lehman, a Chicago native, took up speedskating at 9 years old to improve his ice hockey skills at the urging of his mother, Marcia. Marcia Lehman is a former executive at Chicago’s Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership and at the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Israel. She is also an alum of the Yeshiva of Flatbush, according to her social media.
Emery Lehman went on a Birthright trip to Israel in May 2018.
“Unreal experience seeing those who fought for Israel throughout the years,” Lehman wrote in a post from Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem. “Seeing all sorts of graves from such a diverse group of people fighting to keep the people in Israel safe was very touching.”
The post American Jewish speedskater Emery Lehman wins silver in final Winter Olympics appeared first on The Forward.