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Turner Classic Movies is airing a ‘Jewish Experience’ series of films this month
(JTA) — Turner Classic Movies admits that capturing the “Jewish experience” in a series of films is a daunting task, but the network is attempting to do so anyway.
Every Thursday night in January, the channel is showing movies spanning from the 1930s through the 1990s on the theme. According to an article on the TCM website, the series aims to show “how filmmakers have attempted to deal with such themes as assimilation, antisemitism, religion, family life and the Holocaust, sometimes with clarity and honesty, other times with varying degrees of distortion and caricature.”
There are a couple of films in the series set during the Holocaust, but notably none involve concentration camp settings. Instead, the general focus seems to be on portraying comedy, romance and the joy of everyday Jewish life.
Antisemitism does come up often in the Jewish experience, and that is reflected in the films, including in “Crossfire,” a film noir from 1947 about the murder of a Jewish man that helped kick off the series last week. The theme is also prominent in “Fiddler on the Roof,” which also aired on the series’ first night.
Here are the remaining movies to look forward to, in the order in which they will air in EST.
“Bye Bye Braverman” (1968), Jan. 12 at 8 p.m.
In this film adapted from the novel “To An Early Grave” by Wallace Markfield, four Jewish writer friends — played by George Segal, Jack Warden, Sorrell Brooke and Joseph Wiseman — travel to the funeral of their other friend after he dies suddenly. Though the film was not as well received as other films directed by Sidney Lumet (who started his career as a child actor in Yiddish theater), it includes a Black-Jewish character, which is still rare in cinema today.
“The Angel Levine” (1970), Jan. 12 at 10 p.m.
Speaking of Jews of color on screen: this movie has a Jewish angel played by Harry Belafonte, whose real-life father was of Jewish descent. The angel visits a poor Jewish tailor, played by Zero Mostel, who starred as the original Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway. It was directed by Hungarian-born Jew Ján Kadár.
“Annie Hall” (1977), Jan. 13 at 12 a.m.
This is the only Woody Allen film in the lineup. Before the scandalous accusations against the director picked up steam again over the past decade, “Annie Hall” was a landmark for American Jews in film, encapsulating the neurotic Jewish New York comedic archetype. Allen plays comedian Alvy Singer who falls in love with the titular character played by Diane Keaton.
“Soup For One” (1982), Jan. 13 at 2 a.m.
This is not a Woody Allen film, but his influence is all over this comedy written and directed by Jonathan Kaufer, in which a New York Jewish television producer played by Saul Rubinek tries to find his perfect woman.
“Set Me Free” (1999), Jan. 13 at 3:45 a.m.
Most of the movies in the series are American, but there are a couple of international films, including this French-Canadian coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old Jewish girl obsessed with the character that Anna Karina plays in Jean-Luc Godard’s film “Vivre sa vie.” Directed by Léa Pool, it’s the most recent film in the lineup, though it is set in 1963. Pool, whose father was a Holocaust survivor from Poland, is one of several women directors represented in the series.
“Crossing Delancey” (1988), Jan. 19 at 8 p.m.
Probably the most famous of the romantic comedies in the series, “Crossing Delancey” was also directed and written by women: Joan Micklin Silver and Susan Sandler, respectively. Amy Irving stars as Isabelle Grossman, a young New Yorker who works for a bookstore and is close with her grandmother — who wants to see her granddaughter settle down. She has a matchmaker set her up with Sam Posner (Peter Riegert), a pickle salesman, and Isabelle is torn between him and the intellectual world. The film also shows the Lower East Side from the era when it was bustling with Jewish immigrant shops and vendors, before gentrification irrevocably changed it.
“Over the Brooklyn Bridge” (1984), Jan. 19 at 10 p.m.
One can never have too many romantic comedies set in New York. In this one, directed by Israeli-born Menahem Golan, Elliott Gould plays Alby Sherman, a business owner whose wealthy uncle will only loan him money if he breaks up with his gentile girlfriend (Margaux Hemingway). The very Jewish cast also includes Sid Caesar, Carol Kane, Shelley Winters and a very young (and uncredited) Sarah Michelle Gellar.
“Girlfriends” (1978), Jan. 20 at 12 a.m.
This pioneering indie film — which according to The New York Times was the first independent American film to be funded primarily by grantmaking organizations — is also is notable for its portrayal of female friendship between Susan Weinblatt (Melanie Mayron), a Jewish photographer, and her ex-roommate Anne Munroe (Anita Skinner), who moves out to get married. Directed by Claudia Weill, who also wrote it along with Vicki Polon, the film is a precursor to so many contemporary indies, including Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s “Frances Ha.”
“The Frisco Kid” (1979), Jan. 20 at 1:45 a.m.
Jews are not usually associated with Westerns. But in this comedy, Gene Wilder stars as a rabbi from Poland who is set to lead a congregation in San Francisco. He gets stuck en route in the Wild West and befriends a bank robber played by Harrison Ford. Some scenes don’t hold up in contemporary times, especially ones portraying Native Americans, but TCM doesn’t shy away from showing how stereotypes are part of film history.
“Au Revoir, Les Enfants” (1987), Jan. 20 at 4 a.m.
This French film is one of the few in the series that takes place during the years of the Holocaust. Louis Malle’s autobiographical film is based on his time at the Catholic school Petit-College d’Avon, at which the real headmaster Pére Jacques (Pére Jean in the film) attempted to hide Jewish children from the Nazis. The film focuses on the friendship of two fictionalized 12-year-old boys, Julian Quentin (Gaspard Manesse) and Jean Bonnet, whose real name is Jean Kippelstein (Raphael Fejtö).
“Biloxi Blues” (1988), Jan. 26 at 8 p.m.
Neil Simon adapted his own play, the second in his semi-autobiographical trilogy about growing up in Brighton Beach, for the screen. Eugene Jerome (Matthew Broderick), a young Jewish Brooklynite, is drafted into the army during World War II and is sent to bootcamp in Mississippi. The movie is helmed by prolific Jewish film and theater director Mike Nichols, who was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States as a young boy in 1939.
“The Chosen” (1981), Jan. 26 at 10 p.m.
Many of the movies selected for this series unsurprisingly take place in Brooklyn, including this one based on Chaim Potok’s 1967 novel set towards the end of World War II. It shows the conflict between different sects of Judaism by focusing on the friendship of two Jewish teenagers — Reuven Malter (Barry Miller), who is Modern Orthodox, and Danny Saunders (Robby Benson), who is Hasidic.
“Portnoy’s Complaint” (1972), Jan. 27 at 12 a.m.
Richard Benjamin stars in this movie based on Philip Roth’s book, adapted and directed by Ernest Lehman. Though the novel — which is written as a monologue from Alexander Portnoy to his psychoanalyst — turned Roth into a celebrity author, the film adaptation was not critically or commercially successful, especially when compared to another Roth adaptation starring Benjamin: “Goodbye Columbus.”
“The Last Metro” (1980), Jan. 27 at 2 a.m.
The other Holocaust movie in the series is also from France, and is one of director French New Wave pioneer François Truffaut’s most commercially successful films. The manager of a small theater company in Paris (Catherine Deneuve) hides her Jewish husband (Gérard Depardieu) during the Nazi occupation.
“Tevya” (1939), Jan. 27 at 4:15 a.m.
The series closes with another take on Sholem Aleichem’s stories that makes a nice bookend with “Fiddler on the Roof.” Adapted and directed by Maurice Schwartz, who also stars in the titular role, the Yiddish film was thought to be lost until a print was found in 1978. In 1991, it became the first non-English film to be selected for preservation in the library of Congress National Film Registry for its cultural significance.
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Swiss Eurovision Winner Nemo to Send Trophy Back in Protest Over Israel’s Participation
2024 Eurovision Song Contest winner Nemo performs during the Grand Final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Swiss Eurovision winner Nemo on Thursday said they were handing back their trophy in the latest protest about Israel’s continued participation in the contest over the war in Gaza.
Nemo, the non-binary singer who won in 2024 with “The Code,” a drum-and-bass, opera, rap and rock song, said Israel’s continued participation went against the contest’s ideals of inclusion and dignity for all people.
The comments are the latest protest against the European Broadcasting Union, the Eurovision organizer that has seen five countries pull out after it cleared Israel last week to take part in next year’s event in Austria.
“Eurovision says it stands for unity, for inclusion, and dignity for all people. And these are the values that make this contest so meaningful for me,” Nemo said in a post on Instagram.
“But Israel’s continued participation, during what the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry (on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel) has concluded to be a genocide, shows there’s a clear conflict between those ideals and the decisions the EBU is making.”
Israel has repeatedly rejected any accusation of genocide, saying it has respected international law and has a right to defend itself after the cross-border Hamas-led attack from Gaza on October 7, 2023, that precipitated the war.
Iceland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, the country’s public broadcaster RUV said on Wednesday, joining Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia who have also pulled out, citing Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza.
Nemo said it was clear something was deeply wrong when countries pulled out of the contest, adding they would send their Eurovision trophy back to the EBU’s headquarters in Geneva.
“This is not about individuals or artists. It’s about the fact that the contest was repeatedly used to soften the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing, all while the EBU insists that this contest is non-political,” Nemo said.
The singer said they had a clear message for the EBU, which organizes the contest that reaches around 160 million viewers.
“Live what you claim. If the values we celebrate on stage aren’t lived off stage, then even the most beautiful songs become meaningless,” Nemo said.
“I’m waiting for the moment those words and actions align. Until then, this trophy is yours.”
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US Aims for International Gaza Force Deployment Early Next Year, Say US Officials
The Beaver Moon supermoon rises above destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Nov. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US officials told Reuters, but it remains unclear how Palestinian terrorist group Hamas will be disarmed.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the International Stabilization Force (ISF) would not fight Hamas. They said lots of countries had expressed interest in contributing and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, composition, housing, training, and rules of engagement.
An American two-star general is being considered to lead the ISF but no decisions have been made, the officials said.
Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on Oct. 10 and Hamas has released hostages and Israel has freed detained Palestinians.
“There is a lot of quiet planning that’s going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. “We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace.”
INDONESIA PREPARING TROOPS
Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks in Gaza.
“It is still in the planning and preparation stages,” said Rico Sirait, spokesperson of the Indonesian Defense Ministry. “We are now preparing the organizational structure of the forces to be deployed.”
Israel still controls 53% of Gaza, while nearly all the 2 million people in the enclave live in the remaining Hamas-held area. The plan – which needs to be finalized by the so-called Board of Peace – is for the ISF to deploy in the area held by Israel, the US officials said.
Then, according to the Trump peace plan, as the ISF establishes control and stability, Israeli troops will gradually withdraw “based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization.”
A UN Security Council resolution adopted on Nov. 17 authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish the ISF. Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement on which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace will be made early next year.
DEMILITARIZING GAZA
The Security Council authorized the ISF to work alongside newly trained and vetted Palestinian police to stabilize security “by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.”
However, it remains unclear exactly how that would work.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz noted on Thursday that the ISF was authorized by the Security Council to demilitarize Gaza by all means necessary – which means use of force.
“Obviously that’ll be a conversation with each country,” he told Israel’s Channel 12, adding that discussions on rules of engagement were under way.
Hamas has said the issue of disarmament hasn’t been discussed with them formally by the mediators – the US, Egypt, and Qatar – and the group’s stance remains that it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Sunday that the second phase would move toward demilitarization and disarmament.
“Now that raises a question: Our friends in America want to try and establish a multinational task force to do the job,” he said. “I told them I welcome it. Are volunteers here? Be my guest,” Netanyahu said.
“We know there are certain tasks that this force can perform … but some things are beyond their abilities, and perhaps the main thing is beyond their abilities, but we will see about that,” he said.
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Irish Minister Defends ‘Limited’ Trade Curbs on Israeli Settlements
A bicycle with the Palestinian and Irish flags is seen at the University College Dublin (UCD) ‘Palestinian Liberation Encampment’ on June 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland’s planned curbs on trade with Israeli settlements will be limited strictly to goods, a minister told Reuters, offering the first clear signal on the scope of the contested legislation and rejecting accusations that the country is antisemitic.
Ireland has been preparing a law to curb trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank, facing pressure at home to widen the scope of the ban from goods to services, while Israel and the United States want the bill scrapped.
Ireland has been one of the European Union’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
‘EXTREMELY LIMITED MEASURE,’ SAYS MINISTER
But Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs and Defense, told Reuters that the bill is limited to the import of goods and that it would not become law this year.
“It’s an extremely limited measure, which would prohibit imports of goods from illegally-occupied territories,” he said in an interview. “Similar measures have already been brought in in a number of European countries.”
Byrne’s comments give insight into Dublin’s thinking as Ireland seeks to deflect pressure, including from US companies based in the country, to soften its criticism of Israel. Ireland’s bill is expected to help shape how other European nations launch similar curbs on trade with Israeli settlements.
The Irish government has signaled the bill is imminent but has yet to publicly announce its scope.
Byrne declined to say when it would be sent to parliament, as the government weighs the bill’s implications. “It’s certainly not going to be implemented this year,” he said.
Earlier this year, sources told Reuters that the government intended to blunt the law, curbing its scope to just a limited trade of goods, such as dried fruit, and not services.
That more ambitious move could have entangled companies in technology and other industries in Ireland doing business in Israel. Business lobby groups had sought to kill the idea.
Limiting the bill to goods only would catch just a handful of products imported from Israeli settlements such as fruit that are worth just 200,000 euros ($234,660) a year.
LAWMAKER BLACK SAYS SHE STILL WANTS SERVICES BAN
Much of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.
Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area. It says the settlements provide strategic depth and security. Defenders of Israel also note that, while about one-fifth of the country’s population is Arab and enjoys equal rights, Palestinian law forbids selling any land to Israelis.
On Gaza, Israel says it acted in self-defense following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages. Israel has repeatedly said it is committed to international law and tries to minimize harm to the civilian population of Gaza.
Frances Black, the lawmaker who proposed the Irish bill, told Reuters she would push to include a ban on services. “It will take a lot of work in the new year to get services included but that’s exactly what I’m prepared to do.”
Byrne also defended Ireland’s government, after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar recently posted a video online where he accused the Irish government of having an “antisemitic nature.”
Saar said the Irish government’s response had been slow to a local proposal to rename a park bearing the name of Chaim Herzog, the former president of Israel who was raised in Dublin.
Irish ministers had roundly criticized the idea and Dublin City Council has since delayed a decision on whether to remove the name.
US Senator Lindsey Graham had also labeled Ireland a “cesspool of antisemitism.”
EU LAWMAKER REJECTS ANTISEMITISM CHARGE AS ‘NONSENSE’
“I reject outright that the country is in any way antisemitic,” said Byrne. “We’re deeply conscious of the contribution that Jewish people have made in Ireland.”
Ireland’s relations with Israel have been fraught. Last December, Israel shut its embassy in Dublin amid a row over Ireland’s criticism of its war in Gaza, including Ireland’s recognition of a Palestinian state last year.
Barry Andrews, an Irish member of the European parliament, urged Dublin to go ahead with its “occupied territories” bill. “Claims that Ireland is antisemitic are nonsense,” he said. Ireland has nothing to fear. We are no longer the only ones doing this.”
On Wednesday, Ireland’s central bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf was forced to abandon a public speech in Dublin by pro-Palestinian protesters objecting to the central bank’s earlier role in the sale of Israeli bonds.