Andrew Lapin

Anna Salton Eisen, a founding member of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, with her mother, Ruth Salton, a Holocaust survivor. Anna and Ruth both watched their synagogue's Jan. 15, 2022, hostage crisis unfold virtually, one week shy of Ruth's 100th birthday. (Courtesy of Anna Salton Eisen via JTA)

January 19, 2022, 4:38 am

Texas shul founder, daughter of Holocaust survivors, still optimistic despite attack

Anna Salton Eisen says she finds comfort in fact that community received so much support from government officials and neighboring communities

By Andrew Lapin

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a news conference at The National Press Club in Washington, on Sept. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

January 19, 2022, 3:46 am

Top US officials meet Jewish groups on synagogue security after Texas attack

‘This is not the way it should have to be in America, but unfortunately, it is the way,’ says Attorney General Garland after houses of worship step up protection efforts

By Andrew Lapin

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who was held hostage inside Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, January 15, 2022. (JTA)

January 16, 2022, 2:43 pm

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the ‘mensch’ liked even by the man who took him hostage

Friends and acquaintances describe a Jewish leader in Texas whose wholehearted dedication to community life and interfaith work has earned him friends everywhere

By Andrew Lapin

Adolf Hitler at a Nazi rally in Weimar, Germany, October 1930 (public domain)

January 11, 2022, 3:00 am

Indiana lawmaker apologizes for saying teachers should be ‘impartial’ on Nazis

Republican Scott Baldwin suggested letting kids make up their own minds on ‘isms’ like Nazism, Marxism and fascism; later says he misspoke

By Andrew Lapin

US film director, writer and actor Peter Bogdanovich at the Rome Film Festival in Rome on October 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Sandro Pace, File)

January 7, 2022, 3:13 am

Peter Bogdanovich, lauded Hollywood filmmaker and son of an Austrian Jew, dies at 82

Director and actor helmed hits including ‘The Last Picture Show’ in the 1970s; his Christian father sacrificed his career to help his Jewish mother flee the Nazis

By Andrew Lapin

Some of 2021's most iconic Jewish pop culture moments. (Collage by Janice Hwang/ JTA)

December 31, 2021, 3:22 am

The top Jewish pop culture stories from 2021

This year saw illuminating, controversial and entertaining releases onscreen, in the literary and musical worlds, as well as in podcasts. Here are some that made the biggest splash

By Andrew Lapin

Bob Einstein arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on June 27, 2018. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

December 22, 2021, 4:06 pm

‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ actor Bob Einstein gets posthumous HBO documentary

‘The Super Bob Einstein Movie,’ directed by Danny Gold, features interviews with Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David and Sarah Silverman reminiscing about the late comedian

By Andrew Lapin

Albert Speer with clapper board, as he is about to be filmed for a television interview, 1971. (Realworks LTD)

December 7, 2021, 10:22 pm

Israeli documentary about Nazi Albert Speer accused of misrepresenting quotes

Andrew Birkin says videos of him interviewing the German architect in the 1970s were doctored in the film, leaving the impression that he did not challenge antisemitic statements

By Andrew Lapin

Danny Fenster, center, hugs his mother Rose Fenster as former U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson, right, looks on at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

December 1, 2021, 4:16 pm

A determined US Jewish community helped bring home journalist imprisoned in Myanmar

How a campaign and behind-the-scenes advocacy by Jews worldwide put pressure on the military junta to free 37-year-old Danny Fenster, held since May 24

By Andrew Lapin

Honoree Mel Brooks speaks to the audience during the American Film Institute's 41st Lifetime Achievement Award Gala in Los Angeles on June 6, 2013. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

December 1, 2021, 5:41 am

Mel Brooks insists his humor is more ‘New York’ than ‘Jewish’

Comedy icon calls New York humor ‘tougher’ than Yiddish material, reveals his deli necessities, in interview with New Yorker ahead of memoir’s release

By Andrew Lapin

An adult Eric Cartman (Trey Parker) is now a rabbi on "South Park: Post COVID." (Screenshot via Paramount Plus via JTA)

November 30, 2021, 4:02 am

After decades of tormenting Jews, South Park’s Cartman converts to Judaism

In new series of movies, the audience is left confused by the notorious cartoon antisemite’s change of heart, as is his on-screen nemesis Kyle

By Andrew Lapin

Katia Pascariu in 'Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn.' (Magnolia Pictures/ via JTA)

November 28, 2021, 4:13 am

Lauded indie film uses porn to launch a discussion on Jewish persecution in Romania

In Radu Jude’s ‘Bad Luck Banging,’ a teacher’s online sex clip gets parents riled up, and they soon let the worst fly in a cartoonish indictment of society

By Andrew Lapin

Aulcie Perry is interviewed for a new documentary about his life as a star player for Maccabi Tel Aviv. (Hey Jude Productions/ via JTA)

November 19, 2021, 5:58 am

US-born baller who became Israel’s ‘Michael Jordan’ in the ’70s stars in new doc

Still a household name after leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to 2 EuroLeague and 9 Israeli League championships, Aulcie Perry is the subject of a documentary that fans might love or hate

By Andrew Lapin

Danny Fenster, right, with his brother Bryan at a friend's wedding in Krakow, Poland, September 2019. It was the last time they saw each other. (Courtesy of Bryan Fenster)

November 12, 2021, 11:20 pm

American Jewish journalist sentenced to 11 years in Myanmar prison

Danny Fenster was arrested by military junta earlier this year; human rights groups call ruling ‘a travesty of justice in a kangaroo court’

By Andrew Lapin

Susie Essman with Larry David on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.'(John P. Johnson/HBO/ via JTA)

November 12, 2021, 11:06 pm

Susie Essman, TV’s most outrageous Jewish mother, talks ‘Curb,’ cancel culture

As Larry David’s long-running hit series enters its 11th season, the comic behind the foul-mouthed character Susie Green opens up about the show – which is not just ‘for the Jews’

By Andrew Lapin