CULTURE
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Special commendations — Jewish Renaissance
Ahead of announcing the winner of JR’s inaugural Emerging Journalists Award, Dani Silver speaks to four of the candidates who received special commendations Last November, JR launched a six-week online journalism programme for aspiring journalists. The series, supported by Jewish News and the Union of Jewish Students, was made up of masterclasses and lectures covering everything from news reporting and…
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2nd Prize — Jewish Renaissance
When arriving at international airports, you’ll see posters about ‘modern slavery’. Jews know all about slavery – every Passover we tell the story of how we were slaves. For most, that’s where the story ends. But not for all Jews. The Bible (Genesis 24) tells how Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. Laden with riches,…
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1st Prize — Jewish Renaissance
Last December, two days after assuming office as Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei attended a Chabad Hanukkah menorah lighting in Buenos Aires. The next day, Argentinian media was full of images of the president wearing a kippah, a rabbi by his side, reaching out to light a candle. Although raised Catholic, the president has been enthusiastic about his love of…
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Michael Graubart 1930-2024 — Jewish Renaissance
The Austrian-born conductor and composer has died aged 93 Michael Graubart was born in Vienna in 1930 and came to England as a Jewish refugee in 1938. He studied physics at Manchester University, but spent most of his time there composing and playing the flute. He also studied composition with Mátyás Seiber, flute with Geoffrey Gilbert and conducting with Lawrence…
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Rabbi Sacks’ archive to be digitised — Jewish Renaissance
Much of the work, notes and more once belonging to the renowned religious leader and philosopher has been acquired by Israel’s National Library The personal archive of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) was received this week by the National Library of Israel (NLI) in Jersusalem. Comprising around 50 boxes of material – including sermons, books, notes, correspondence and…
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Jewish Connections in Unexpected Places — Jewish Renaissance
On our way back to London we’ll stop at another little-known but fascinating location: St Matthew’s Church on the outskirts of Northampton, which, thanks to the intervention of Dean Walter Hussey in the 1940s, is home to two impressive artworks: Henry Moore’s serene Mother and Child, and Graham Sutherland’s tortured Crucifixion, which was, by the artist’s own admission, partly inspired…
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Questioning belief — Jewish Renaissance
Shimon ben Azzai was a second century rabbinic scholar, who would walk up and down the bustling market in Tiberius declaring, “I welcome anyone asking about the Torah and I’m ready to respond”. He typified the positive attitude of our sagest of questions. They wanted to discuss what we believe and practice. They relished challenges, not just to help the…
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Kafka ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Kafka was an intense, haunted, genius with neurotic paranoia. His constant apprehension of terror inhabits novels such as The Trial, where an arrest for an unknown crime leads to incarceration and a horrific death. He may not have lived through the Holocaust, but his imaginings seems to foreshadow it. If it were not for his close friend Max Brod, we…
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A Song of Songs ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Woodyatt’s is a tall and imposing figure, his voice authoritative as narrator and his presence compelling, almost sinister. The score, a collaboration between Daniel and co-composer Lior Ben-Hur with Ali Paris and Yuval Ron, is one of the jewels of the production, always beautiful and hauntingly evocative of Arabic and Spanish music. At times it all seems almost too in-your-face,…
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JR hears from Mexico’s first president to be a woman – and Jewish — Jewish Renaissance
Sheinbaum never considered a political career until López Obrador made her his environment secretary when he was mayor of Mexico City between 2000 and 2005. At the time she was married to a middle-level political leader whom she had met through student politics in the 80s. From then on Sheinbaum’s dedication to the projects López Obrador gave her to oversee…
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