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“If journalism aims to serve the public, it must strive for as large circulation as possible. And the reason is simple – larger circulation means more publicity, which means more money, which means optimal journalistic freedom” – said Joseph Pulitzer, the Jewish journalism magnate who immigrated to America in the 19th century and was one of the founding fathers of American journalism, along with William Hearst. Though Pulitzer prospered in Uncle Sam’s country, he obtained the basic principles in his land of origin, Hungary. His quote defines the four elements of the financial model of journalism ever: journalism=publicity=money=freedom. These four[�]

With the opening of Beit Hatfutsot’s new exhibition, “Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World,” the Museum has welcomed Tefillin Barbie into its collection of objects that inspire, amuse, provoke, and enrich the story of the Jewish people. This year, Tefillin Barbie is celebrating her bat mitzvah: 12 years of bringing joy, laughter, and greater inclusivity to the Jewish world. Jen Taylor Friedman – Tefillin Barbie’s creator and a scribe who is the first known woman to have written a Torah scroll – sat down with us for an interview in which she discusses the unexpectedly funny[�]

Everybody who lived in at least part of the 20th century can easily recognize the cultural icon of the roaring lion before every movie by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, known worldwide as MGM. Today the company functions mainly as an archive owned by Sony, but at its peak in the 1930’s and 1940’s it was not only the main production studio in Hollywood, but has also set the foundations of cinema, with classics such as The Wizard of Oz, I’m Singing in the Rain, Ben Hur, Gone with the Wind, the Marx Brothers films and many other movies that became eternal pillars[�]

Miki and Sally Schneider’s only son was born in Long Island in 1925. He was circumcised when he was 8 days old, and named Leonard Alfred, or “Lenny”. Little did his parents know then, that this baby was about to smash the idols of his time and announce a new religion: counter-culture. “Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had”, Bob Dylan wrote after Lenny’s death. And this is, perhaps, Lenny’s story in a nut shell. Dylan always knew how to nail it. For him and his friends, Lenny was a spiritual brother who pulled the[�]

They were both unusual characters. He – head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, a bright young star in the Zionist movement during the 1930’s; she – a Third Reich celebrity and the renowned wife of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda. Were they romantically involved? Can Joseph Goebbels be standing behind the most famous unsolved crime in the history of Zionism? Is he the answer to the most repeatedly asked question in Zionist mythology: who was responsible for the assassination of Haim Arlosoroff? Magda Goebbels and Haim Arlosoroff were almost the same age. She was born[�]

What makes a great speech? A great speech confronts two universal values with one another and forms an unsolvable conflict. Such was the steering speech by Elazar ben Yair, which led to mass suicide on the Masada. A great speech can be addressed in a seemingly insignificant occasion, and still enter indifferent hearts, like Elie Wiesel’s speech in the White House; in other cases a great speech is addressed in a crucial historical event, such as Gideon Hausner’s speech in the opening of the Eichmann Trial, which sent shivers down the spine of the entire nation. Finally, a great speech can[�]