Success Has Many Parents, a Review of A Safe Haven, Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel by Allis and Ronald Radosh

by Daniel E. Levenson
May 9, 2010 

The period immediately after World War II was a time of great political change across the globe, and an ascendant America found itself grappling with the implications of an increasingly aggressive Soviet Union amidst the waning of several traditional colonial powers, chief among them, Great Britain. At the same time, the world was becoming more and more aware of the scale of the horrific acts perpetrated by the Germans and their allies throughout war-time Europe and the Middle East. The majority of the Jewish survivors of these unspeakable acts of barbarism wanted to leave Europe and go to Mandatory Palestine, but with the balance of power shifting dramatically between nations, the plight of the Jews seemed likely to go unheeded. There were a number of important figures who played a key role in ensuring that the Zionist dream would become a reality, ranging from David Ben-Gurion to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

A Review of the film Where I Stand, the Hank Greenspun Story

by Daniel E. Levenson, ALM

April 18, 2010

In the film, Where I Stand, the Hank Greenspun Story, Director Scott Goldstein presents the dramatic and engaging story of Hank Greenspun, a man who wore many hats in his lifetime, from gunrunner for the Haganah, to Las Vegas casino and publisher, to social activist.

An interview with Charles London,
author of Far From Zion

January 26, 2010

Charles London recently took some time to answer a few questions for the New Vilna Review via email. His most recent book, Far From Zion, offers a portrait of different Jewish communities around the globe, and was a finalist for the 2009 National Jewish Book Award. His first book, One Day the Soldiers Came, dealt with issues surrounding the impact of war on youth, including child soldiers.

A (Rather Disturbing, but Definitely Funny) Look Inside the Israeli Government

November 8, 2008 

Book Review by Daniel E. Levenson

In Shut Up, I’m Talking,  And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in The Israeli Government (Free Press, New York, 2008), author Gregory Levey, has written a hilarious, if at times slightly disturbing, memoir about his experiences working as an English-language speech writer for the Israeli government. While it may not be the most politically deep or lyrical of prose, Levey has written a very engaging and highly-readable memoir about the ups and downs of working for the Israeli government, first as a speechwriter at the Israeli mission to the United Nations in New York and then as a speechwriter in the offices of Israeli Prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.

Interview with Emily Mello, Director of Education at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University

July 25, 2008

Emily Mello, Director of Education at the Rose Art Museum recently took some time to answer a few questions from the New Vilna Review by email. In this interview she talks about the history of the museum, as well as upcoming exhibitions.

NVR: Can you tell us a little about your own background in education and the museum world?

I studied art history at Mount Holyoke College and knew that I wanted to pursue a career in arts that involved engaging diverse audiences. I was particularly interested in the way that the art of our time engaged directly with the issues and ideas of our time and felt that access to this work should be shared by all. After interning at the RISD Museum of Art I got my Masters in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I was attracted to pedagogical approaches that privileged process over product and I think that mirrors much of the art and readings of art that I am also drawn to. From Harvard, I went on to be a Curator of Education at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati Ohio for over 4 years. There I managed and directed our tour, school and community programs as well as developing public programming that included music, film, and performance. I came back to New England to work at the Rose as Director of Education in January.

Inside Yoav Liberman's Studio: Etrog Boxes and American Beauty

June 30, 2008

         Etrog                American Beauty

Artist Statement

Found objects and discarded wood serve as both the literal and the metaphorical “raw material” for all my work: they provide the actual physical basis out of which a new piece will be formed; but just as crucially, they provide the conceptual inspiration for that new piece.

Brandeis Hosts Exhibition of “Post-Jewish” Art

June 26, 2008 

by Daniel E. Levenson

Jewish artists have always found different ways to express not only Jewish ideas, but their own personal relationship to those ideas. In songs, poems, paintings and other art forms, each generation must wrestle anew with the rich and complex cultural and theological traditions of Judaism, and the one which was born in the 1960’s and 1970’s is no exception. This is clearly evident in “The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation,” an exhibit currently at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The exhibit is on loan from the Spertus Museum in Chicago, where it was created by Senior Curator Staci Boris.

Tales From the Jewish South

Book Review by Nina R. Schneider

 In the Mouth: stories & novellas by Eileen Pollack Four Way Books, 2008.

In her fiction, writer Eileen Pollack treats American-Jewish characters with honesty, affection and humor—yet adds a satiric edge that is both recognizable and disconcerting. The author of the novel Paradise, New York and the story collection The Rabbi in the Attic returns with tales set in the Jewish uber retirement community of Boca Raton, Florida, aka “Boca,” which means “mouth” in Spanish.  In her latest collection, In the Mouth, I was struck by the authenticity of both the characters and settings. Dramatic conflicts between adult children and their aging parents in distress reveal surprise role reversals.  Pollack’s themes include deception, loss, guilt, illness, as well as human yearnings for love and meaning at all stages of life.

An Interview With Novelist Jon Papernick

June 12, 2008

Boston-based Novelist Jon Papernick recently took some time to answer a few questions via email for the New Vilna Review. He is the author of The Ascent of Eli Israel and the novel Who by Fire, Who by Blood. and recently completed his second collection of short stories. He also working on adapting Who by Fire into a graphic novel with artist Sandy Jimenez. His website may be viewed at www.jonpapernick.com.

Nancy Schön Exhibition

May 27, 2008

On April 13, Mayyim Hayyim, Community Mikveh and Education Center in Newton, Massachusetts held an opening reception for a unique and exciting show by internationally renowned scultpor Nancy Schön. The pieces on display represent nine months of intensive work done in a shared studio in the Old City of Jersualem in 1979. In her artist's statement, part of which is reprinted here, Ms. Schön reflects on the many ways in which the sights and sounds she encountered during this period influenced her work. This show will be on display in the Mayyim Hayyim Gallery until July 11, 2008.

Jewish Punks Embrace Nazi Rhetoric and Imagery

May 14, 2008

by Michael Croland       

A half-heeb from Holland, Guy Tavares hoped to use his musical—Cohen, Blood, Speed, and Sperm—to talk about multiracial, swastika-worshipping, drugged-out punks.² When the film failed to materialize, Tavares salvaged the score for the most logical venue for a Jewish punk using Nazi symbolism: a punk rock band.

An Excerpt from the Play "Pulling Apart"

April 25, 2008 

by Ellen Kaplan

SARAH and JOSH sit on a  bench, overlooking Jerusalem.  SARAH is agitated.

JOSH:  Atrocities were committed.

SARAH:   On both sides.  Yes.

JOSH:  We didn’t grow up with this, Susie.  By the time we had any politics, Israel was a dirty word.   So, why now, out of blue nothing?   Why are you here? 

Inside Yoav Liberman's Studio: Flash Teapot

April 22, 2008

Artist Statement

Found objects and discarded wood serve as both the literal and the metaphorical “raw material” for all my work: they provide the actual physical basis out of which a new piece will be formed; but just as crucially, they provide the conceptual inspiration for that new piece.

Interview with Israeli Illustrator Liora Grossman

by Daniel E. Levenson

Award-winning Israeli artist Liora Grossman recently took some time out of her hectic schedule to answer a few questions for the New Vilna Review. Ms. Grossman was born in Lithuania and made aliyah with her family at the age of five.

Der Übermensch!!!

Comic Books, Golems, and Super-Jews Christen Punk

by Steven Lee Beeber

While the East Village rock movement now had the perfect band and the perfect club, it still didn’t have a name. Known variously as “street rock,” “New York rock,” and “downtown rock,” it was like a two-headed newborn whose parents are reluctant to legitimize it.

Chronicle of Heschel

Review by Daniel E. Levenson

Few Jewish thinks of the last century had the depth and breadth of the late Abraham Joshua Heschel. He was a man steeped not only in Jewish learning who reached out within the Jewish community across the spectrum from Reconstructionist to Orthodox, but also an activist deeply devoted to the political and spiritual causes he held dear.

Fleeing Hitler

Book Review by Daniel E. Levenson

There are many stories of hope and desperation, of luck and despair that arise out of the Shoah. We have seen these tales in books and on film, and although with each passing day we move further and further away from the tragedies of the Holocaust and World War II, there are still new stories emerging.

“Open Wounds, The Crisis of Jewish Thought in the Aftermath of the Holocaust”

Book Review by Daniel E. Levenson

Perhaps the greatest challenge to Jewish thought in the last fifty years is how to understand and find meaning in the world after the experience of the Holocaust.

The Golem Rides Again

Book Review by Daniel E. Levenson

The tales of the golem are among the most fascinating of Jewish legends, but for a generation which has no living memory of shtetl life, it could be argued that the golem and the tales surrounding him, has become less of a presence over time. As we move about our daily routines in twenty-first century

Questionable Courage

Film Review of "Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story"

by Chloe Safier

The inevitable and problematic nature of a historical documentary is that it lacks footnotes. While a book can convey layers of historical truth, a documentary on the same subject lays flat- conveying to the viewer that everything presented is equally verifiable as fact.

Roots Lost and Found

Film Review of "Roots", directed by Pavel Loungine. Russia/France, 2006 (Russian, English, Yiddish)
by Olga Gershenson

It seems that the whole world is obsessed with roots. The more globalized we become, the more important it seems to find the very hut (or yurt, or cave) from which our great grandparents tried so hard to escape.