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For theatergoers at Broadway’s recent spate of Jewish shows, attendance is a form of witness
(JTA) — Jewish stories have had top billing on Broadway this season — and Jewish audiences have been flocking to the theater.
Audiences have lined up to see Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt,” the multigenerational saga of a Jewish family in Vienna, and the devastating consequences of the Holocaust upon its ranks. They have packed the house for “Parade,” a musical retelling of the infamous antisemitic show trial and subsequent lynching of Leo Frank in Marietta, Georgia, in 1915. And just off Broadway, “The Wanderers” (which closed April 2) invited us into the slowly disintegrating marriage of two secular Jews born to mothers who dramatically left the Satmar sect of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, a show replete with intergenerational trauma and a pervasive sense of ennui.
None of these shows offers a particularly lighthearted evening at the theater. So why have they proven so popular? Critics have penned countless reviews of the three plays, analyzing the quality of the productions, the scripts, scores, performances of principal actors, set and design. But for our new book exploring what audiences learn about Judaism from Jewish cultural arts, my colleague Sharon Avni and I have been interviewing audience members after seeing “Leopoldstadt,” “Parade” and “The Wanderers.” We are interested in turning the spotlight away from the stage and onto the seats: What do audiences make of all this? What do they learn?
Take “Leopoldstadt,” for example, a drama so full of characters that when it left London for its Broadway run the production team added a family tree to the Playbill so that theatergoers could follow along. “Leopoldstadt” offers its audience a whistle-stop introduction to modern European Jewish history. In somewhat pedantic fashion, the family debates issues of the day that include Zionism, art, philosophy, intermarriage and, in a searing final scene, the memory of the Holocaust.
For some of the theatergoers that we interviewed, “Leopoldstadt” was powerful precisely because it packed so much Jewish history into its two-hour run time. It offered a basic literacy course in European Judaism, one they thought everyone needed to learn. Others, however, thought that this primer of Jewish history was really written for novice audiences — perhaps non-Jews, or assimilated Jews with half-remembered Jewish heritage, like Stoppard himself. “I don’t know who this play is for,” one interviewee told us. “But it’s not me. I know all this already.”
Brandon Uranowitz, left, who plays a Holocaust survivor, confronts Arty Froushan as a young writer discovering his Jewish roots, in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt.” (Joan Marcus)
Other interviewees thought the power of “Leopoldstadt” lay not in its history lessons, but in its ability to use the past to illuminate contemporary realities. I spoke at length with a woman who had been struggling with antisemitism at work. Some of her colleagues had been sharing social media posts filled with lazy caricatures of Jews as avaricious capitalists. Upon seeing “Leopoldstadt,” she realized that these vile messages mirrored Nazi rhetoric in the 1930s, convincing her that antisemitism in contemporary America had reached just as dangerous a threshold as beheld European Jews on the eve of the Shoah.
We heard similar sentiments about the prescience of history to alert us to the specter of antisemitism today from audiences who saw “Parade.” Recalling a scene where the cast members wave Confederate flags during the titular parade celebrating Confederate Memorial Day, Jewish audiences recalled feeling especially attuned to Jewish precarity when the theater burst into applause at the end of the musical number. “Why were we clapping Confederate flags?” one of our interviewees said. “I’ve lived in the South, and as a Jew I know that when you see Confederate flags it is not a safe space for us.”
“Parade” dramatizes the popular frenzy that surrounded the trial of Leo Frank, a Yankee as well as a Jew, who was scapegoated for the murder of a young Southern girl. Jewish audience members that we interviewed told us that the play powerfully illustrated how crowds could be manipulated into demonizing minorities, comparing the situation in early 20th century Marietta to the alt-right of today, and the rise of antisemitism in contemporary America.
What we ultimately discovered, however, was that audience perceptions of the Jewish themes and characters in these productions were as varied as audiences themselves. Inevitably, they tell us more about the individual than the performance. Yet the fact that American Jews have flocked to these three shows — a secular pilgrimage of sorts — also illustrates the power and the peril of public Jewish storytelling. For audience members at “Leopoldstadt” and “Parade,” especially, attending these performances was not merely an entertaining evening at the theater. It was a form of witnessing. There was very little to be surprised by in these plays, after all. The inevitable happens: The Holocaust destroys Jewish life in Europe, Leo Frank is convicted and lynched. Jewish audiences know to expect this. They know there will be no happy ending. In the secular cultural equivalent to saying Kaddish for the dead, Jewish audiences perform their respect to Jewish memory by showing up, and by paying hundreds of dollars for the good seats.
The peril of these performances, however, is that audiences learn little about antisemitism in reality. The victims of the Nazis and the Southern Jews of Marietta would tell us that they could never have predicted what was to happen. Yet in “Parade” and “Leopoldstadt” audiences are asked to grapple with the naivete of characters who believe that everything will be all right, even as audiences themselves know that it will not. By learning Jewish history on Broadway, audiences are paradoxically able to distance themselves from it, simply by knowing too much.
In the final scene of “Leopoldstadt,” Leo, the character loosely based on Stoppard himself, is berated by a long-lost relative for his ignorance of his family’s story. “You live as if without history,” the relative tells Leo. “As if you throw no shadow behind you.” Audiences, at that moment, are invited to pat themselves on the back for coming to see the show, and for choosing to acknowledge the shadows of their own Jewish histories. The cold hard reality, however, is that a shadow can only ever be a fuzzy outline of the truth.
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The post For theatergoers at Broadway’s recent spate of Jewish shows, attendance is a form of witness appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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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).
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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.
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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.