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The Merchant of Venice

US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, July 3, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP/Charlie Neibergall)
July 5, 2025, 4:50 am
Trump says he didn’t know ‘Shylock’s’ antisemitic history when he used term at rally
Reporters press Trump after he cites villainous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ to criticize modern-day unscrupulous moneylenders
By AP and JTA
Tracy-Ann Oberman in 'The Merchant of Venice 1936.' (Marc Brenner)
December 17, 2024, 10:07 am
A female Shylock battles 1930s UK fascists in new adaptation of ‘The Merchant of Venice’
Skyrocketing UK antisemitism after Oct. 7 adds meaning and poignancy as acclaimed actress and playwright Tracy-Ann Oberman puts a new spin on a play she’s ‘always hated’
By Robert Philpot
British actor/author Simon Callow on August 5, 2019 at the Samuel Goldwyn theatre in Beverly Hills. (Chris Delmas/AFP)
July 8, 2023, 8:05 am
‘Four Weddings’ star Simon Callow lambasts UK theaters for trigger warnings
‘Sound of Music’ performance alerted audience to Nazi themes; earlier this year, Jewish star Tracy-Ann Oberman said ‘The Merchant of Venice’ didn’t need antisemitism caution
By Helen Rowe
Dara Horn (Michael B. Priest)
September 17, 2021, 12:08 pm
‘People Love Dead Jews,’ says Dara Horn, but the living ones don’t fare as well
The acclaimed novelist pivots to non-fiction, explaining the myriad ways Jews have been — and still are — forced to erase their particularistic identity when living among non-Jews
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Illustrative: Shaul Bassi, coordinator of the Venice Ghetto 500 anniversary committee, on the Ghetto Nuovo bridge in Venice, Italy, July 2016. (Ruth Ellen Gruber)
August 3, 2016, 4:19 am
Venice welcomes back Shylock in marking its Jewish history
Audiences gathered for six sold-out shows of controversial play in secluded main plaza of city’s historic Jewish Ghetto
By Ruth Ellen Gruber
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with university students in Tehran, Iran, July 2015. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
April 25, 2016, 5:14 pm
Shakespeare fan Khamenei singles out ‘Merchant of Venice’
In Twitter post, Iranian supreme leader says play that features scheming Jew Shylock is ‘in accordance with Western values’
By Tamar Pileggi
Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Feb. 6, 2015. (Carlos Osorio/AP Images via JTA)
March 29, 2016, 2:28 am
Ruth Bader Ginsburg to make ‘Merchant of Venice’ cameo
American Jewish Supreme Court justice to take part in 500th year celebration of Venice’s Jewish ghetto
By JTA
People sitting by the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, September 25, 2014. (AP/Luca Bruno)
March 9, 2016, 10:11 pm
Ghetto to mark 500 years with ‘Merchant of Venice’
Performance of Shakespeare play on Venetian Jewish moneylender to headline events in Italy’s ‘floating city’
By AFP
British author Howard Jacobson rewrites 'The Merchant of Venice' in a wickedly funny novel, 'Shylock Is My Name.' (courtesy)
February 3, 2016, 12:44 pm
How would Shylock have fared in 21st century Britain?
Howard Jacobson finds a different pound of flesh in a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic ‘The Merchant of Venice’
By Jenni Frazer
Argentina's then-president Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires on January 30, 2015. (AFP Photo/Alejandro Pagni)
July 8, 2015, 9:14 pm
Argentine president invokes Shylock in perceived anti-Semitic slur
Kirchner tells students to study Shakespeare villain to better understand debt crisis; local Jewish leaders and ADL outraged
By Tamar Pileggi
Al Pacino as Shylock in the Michael Radford-directed 2004 production of Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice.' (Courtesy: Sony Pictures Classics)
January 21, 2015, 2:54 pm
Quebec paper rapped for ‘Shylock’ jabs
La Presse repeatedly invokes Shakespearean anti-Semitic term referring to dishonest moneylenders
By JTA
Al Pacino as Shylock in the Michael Radford-directed 2004 production of Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice.' (Courtesy: Sony Pictures Classics)
July 1, 2013, 5:11 am
Media syndicate apologizes for Shylock puzzle clue
Crossword puzzle’s Shakespeare reference ‘perpetuates classic anti-Semitic stereotypes,’ ADL charged
Stephen Kuperberg
June 26, 2012, 1:28 pm
Stephen Kuperberg
Shylock in the Middle East
The irony of Shylock’s dilemma can’t be lost on modern Israel supporters, who are forced to decide between emphasizing Israel’s compassion and standing firmly for its rights
The Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv. (Photo credit: Meir Partush/Flash90)
May 25, 2012, 9:04 pm
If you boycott us, do we not bleed?
Israel’s national theater brings ‘Merchant of Venice’ to the Globe, braces for pro-Palestinian demonstrations and disruptions
By Miriam Shaviv
The revamped Habimah in Tel Aviv, pictured in November 2011. (photo credit: Yosef Zeliger/Flash90
April 2, 2012, 5:56 pm
Despite Thompson-led protest, Israeli theater still set for London shows
Habima performances to go ahead as scheduled at Shakespeare festival
By Jessica Steinberg and Nathan Burstein
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