Andrew Lapin

Ben Cosgrove attends a special screening of "Black Christmas" in Los Angeles, Dec. 5, 2019. (Rachel Luna/Getty Images via JTA)

September 23, 2022, 6:27 am

New indie production company to specialize in making Jewish stories for film and TV

Leviathan acquires rights to planned adaptations of a play about British Jewish chemist Rosalind Franklin, a novel on King David and a book on US role in Israel’s Independence War

By Andrew Lapin

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. (Department of Justice)

September 23, 2022, 1:50 am

Nazi sympathizer who stormed Capitol handed 4-year prison term

Judge says Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, whose Hitler mustache and antisemitic ‘jokes’ gained him notoriety, was motivated by his ‘sexist, racist and antisemitic comments’

By Andrew Lapin

View of a newly built water pools in the Jewish settlement of Nokdim, in the West Bank, on October 20, 2021 (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

September 22, 2022, 11:29 am

Israel vows ‘diplomatic war’ over Booking.com safety warnings on West Bank listings

Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov disputes travel site’s explanation that planned alerts are needed because area has become unsafe, says move is ‘political’

By Andrew Lapin

Jewish man wearing tefillin and reading religious text. (Getty Images)

September 22, 2022, 8:25 am

New Shabbat-friendly security system will alert US synagogues to potential danger

Currently being trialed, device enables command center to notify congregants of possible threat, without worshipers touching electronics generally forbidden on Shabbat

By Andrew Lapin

Pennsylvania candidate for governor, Atate Attorney General Josh Shapiro, waits to speak at an event with President Joe Biden at the Arnaud C. Marts Center on the campus of Wilkes University, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

September 17, 2022, 3:01 am

GOP candidate makes opponent’s Jewish day school an issue in PA governor race

State Sen. Doug Mastriano says Josh Shapiro attended ‘one of the most privileged schools’ and ‘has disdain for people like us’; some see an antisemitic dog whistle

By Andrew Lapin

Jewish partisans during the Second World War as shown in the documentary 'Four Winters,' written and directed by Julia Mintz. (New Moon Films via JTA)

September 16, 2022, 2:17 pm

Jewish partisans recount struggle against Nazis in new documentary ‘Four Winters’

Film features archival images and interviews from eight fighters who fled from persecution to battle German occupiers, countering narrative that Jews did not resist regime

By Andrew Lapin

In this file photo taken on May 18, 2004 Franco-Swiss film director Jean-Luc Godard attends a press conference for his film "Notre Music" during the 57th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. (BORIS HORVAT / AFP)

September 14, 2022, 2:26 am

A trailblazing filmmaker, Jean-Luc Godard was a polarizing figure to Jews offscreen

The French New Wave pioneer who died Tuesday long faced accusations of antisemitism, but while his opposition to Zionism was clear, his views on the Jewish people were more complex

By Andrew Lapin

Julia Garner accepts the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for 'Ozark' at the 74th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, September 12, 2022. (Danny Moloshok/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

September 13, 2022, 11:11 pm

Julia Garner and Brett Goldstein are Emmy winners, again

Visibly Jewish shows ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ don’t make the cut; Zendaya wins for Euphoria, based on Israeli TV show

By Andrew Lapin

Graffiti targeting 'Zionist' student groups was spotted in multiple locations around the University of Wisconsin campus on the first day of the semester, September 2022. (Screenshot/WKOW, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

September 10, 2022, 5:52 am

U of Wisconsin apologizes after ‘Zionism is genocide’ graffiti seen around campus

Messages at one location included ‘Zionism is racism,’ referenced unnamed ‘Zionist’ organizations at the university with ‘blood on their hands’

By Andrew Lapin

Jewish refugees on deck of the MS St. Louis in 1939. (Courtesy of the Arlekin Players)

September 10, 2022, 4:46 am

Ken Burns’ PBS documentary asks hard questions about how US treated Jews during WWII

Filmmakers explain why ‘The US And The Holocaust,’ which premieres on September 18, is not just another Holocaust film

By Andrew Lapin

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaks at the group's 2018 National Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. (Michael Brochstein/ SOPA Images/ LightRocket/ Getty Images via JTA)

September 8, 2022, 11:29 pm

ADL to ‘thoroughly review’ education materials after Fox News calls group ‘far left’

Fox accuses anti-hate group of including ‘concepts from critical race theory’; ADL says it will review its materials but stresses its commitment toward ‘marginalized communities’

By Andrew Lapin

A view of the Umpqua National Forest in Oregon, the home of Swastika Mountain. (Public domain)

August 30, 2022, 1:43 am

Oregon’s Swastika Mountain to soon be renamed

History of 4,000-feet mountain predates Nazi Germany, may soon be dubbed Mount Halo after a chief who led the area’s Indigenous Yoncalla Kalapuya tribe in the 1800s

By Andrew Lapin

Samantha Woll, president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit, welcomes attendees to the congregation's centennial celebration and groundbreaking on a major renovation project, August 14, 2022. (Andrew Lapin/Jewish Telegraphic Agency/ via JTA)

August 28, 2022, 2:59 am

Detroit’s last inner-city synagogue hopes to lead its Jewish communal future

With a planned $5 million renovation set to be complete in 2024, a young contingent is revitalizing the century-old congregation and renewing Jewish life in the urban center

By Andrew Lapin

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer tours the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, for a special airing on the network on August 26, 2022. (Courtesy/CNN via JTA)

August 27, 2022, 3:02 am

Wolf Blitzer, the son of survivors, discusses new CNN special on US Holocaust Museum

Longtime network anchor talks about his family’s Holocaust history, his views on Israel and AIPAC and lessons from US media coverage of the genocide during WWII

By Andrew Lapin

In this May 14, 2022, file photo, Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen, center, takes the stage after winning the party's endorsement for governor, at the Minnesota State Republican Convention in Rochester, Minn. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP, file)

August 25, 2022, 3:17 am

GOP nominee for Minn. governor: ‘Legitimate’ to compare COVID policies to Holocaust

Scott Jensen, a former state senator, doubles down on parallels between ‘what happened in the 1930s’ and pandemic-related ‘government policies intruding on American freedoms’

By Andrew Lapin