When it comes to the latest Arab peace initiative, two questions are circulating in Washington: Why Qatar? And why now? The three answers: Because Qatar is rich; it is scared; and why not? Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, in recent weeks has driven the revivification of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, moderating it slightly to hew closer to the outlines touted by the Obama administration since 2011. The updated version, outlined by Hamad in remarks to …More

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But that won't stop the interviewees of "Herblock: The Black and The White," playing at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York this weekend, from waxing rapturous on political comic Herbert Block. The Washington Post cartoonist, who signed all his work with the moniker Herblock on the suggestion of his father, enjoyed a career spanning 13 presidents and earning three Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His cartoons skewered Joe McCarthy long before …More

It’s not hard to see the parallels to “Little Red Riding Hood” in the opening of “Big Bad Wolves,” writer-director pair Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado’s second foray into the thriller/horror blend. A golden-haired child in a red dress and bright red, patent leather shoes plays hide and seek with friends in the woods. Foreboding music pounds, the picture slows and she smiles, nymph-like, as she shuts herself in a wardrobe in an abandoned building. Then, suddenly, she is …More

A writer struggles with inspiration. Then, a chance moment of synergy with a barista in a hipster coffee shop provides a muse. He is obsessed. He has found the perfect woman. He decides to craft himself into the perfect man for her. If “A Case of You” already sounds like a combination of “Ruby Sparks,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and every other indie-aspiring romantic comedy you’ve seen lately, you’re not wrong. Nothing is terribly unique about director Kat …More

One, two, three, four. Counting rings out as children repress their giggles and face each other. Meeting arm-to-arm, elbow-to-elbow, they step right, right, right, right and turn. It could be any youth ballroom dance class, but it is one in Jaffa, one of Israel's only cities where Arabs, Christians and Jews live together in relative peace, so forces together children of opposing cultures. This is Pierre Dulaine’s program Dancing Classrooms, which is still going strong two years after the ballroom dance …More

Inspired by true events, “Six Acts” chronicles the destruction of a girl as she attempts to reinvent herself through six acts of increasing sexuality that begin to look more like sexual abuse. This opening salutation by Israeli director Jonathan Gurfinkel will undoubtedly divide critics and audiences between those who hail it as an arresting, gritty exploration of teenage desire and those who dismiss it as smutty and sometimes dull. Gili, a forceful performance by Sivan Levy, changes schools to …More

No more Mister Nice Rudd. Hitting theaters in August but currently playing at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, “Prince Avalanche” is an obvious attempt by Paul Rudd to rebrand his image. Directed by David Gordon Green, the American remake of 2011 Icelandic comedy “Either Way” positions Rudd as the stodgy, stern Alvin, a far cry from his typical nice, everyman—check out the mixed reviewed “Admission” for more of the same. Alvin is dismissive, elitist, and at times …More

HaGashash HaHiver, affectionately shortened Gashash, is arguably the most influential comedy act in the history of Israel. The trio, who won an Israeli Prize for lifetime achievement in 2000, worked with elaborate wordplay, enacting classic skits—“The Judge and the Referee,” “Kreker vs. Kreker”—which are still quoted today. In Israel, they inspired the same fierce loyalty and homages that the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges continue to enjoy. Never heard of Gashash? Not a …More

Welcome to the party! Pull up a chair, trade inappropriate jokes with your Uncle Shlomo, get the fish instead of the chicken you requested, and try to price the gaudy centerpieces. But don’t get comfortable, the gauntlet of every American Jewish celebration is approaching: “Hava Nagila.” This bar mitzvah and wedding staple has successfully crossed over from niche Jewish culture to mainstream kitsch in the decades it has held prominence. Linked with the hora, there is simply no more identifiable …More

The title sounds like the setup of a raunchy joke told only by tipsy college grads in the back of New York City dive bars. But newly released memoir “Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde” is anything but a punch line. Chronicling the painful year following a major breakup in the life of fashion worshiper and journalist Rebecca Dana, the book reads like a heartfelt conversation held over five bottles of cheap wine and Ruffle chips. Dana attempts to move on from her heartbreak by taking a cheap room in …More

Rob Lattin is Jspace News' Foreign Affairs Correspondent. In addition to covering foreign affairs for Jspace, Rob is a blogger on Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for the Foreign Policy Association, as well as a freelance writer. He can be reached by email at rob@jspacecorp.com. When Israeli leadership says it will not allow the Syrian regime to transfer weapons of any kind to the enemies of the Jewish state, it means it. Even though leadership is remaining largely silent about this issue, last Tuesday …More

Becky Griffin is an Israeli-American television journalist living in New York. A basketball and music lover, Becky can be found on Twitter at @DorothyofIsrael. Beitar Jerusalem fans continue to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. Yes, the racist ones are (hopefully) a minority amongst the team’s supporters – but their behavior and values are nothing short of a disgrace, and shed light on a rising problem in Israeli sports and culture. The “La Familia” group is the main aggressors in …More