Some of the touchstones of Woody Allen's celebrated and enduring film career have been his leading ladies. Beautiful, intelligent and flawed women are the trademarks of his movies, and he's worked with some amazing actresses over the years. Diane Keaton was the flighty and perplexing namesake of “Annie Hall.” Scarlett Johansson officially became Allen's muse in “Match Point.” Mia Farrow... well, she and Allen's relationship is better known for the scandal that erupted out of it than for …More

The kidnapped Israeli opens up about his four-day long captivity under Bedouins in the Sinai. [Times of Israel] Rare photos and video from the Nazi’s first concentration camp, Dachau, have been released. [Times of Israel] Historical Passover seder antiques cost up to $35,000. [Algemeiner] Former British foreign secretary, David Miliband, announced he is leaving the British political world to take a job in New York as the head of the International Rescue Committee. [Forward] Four rabbis describe their …More

Robert Gluck, JNS.org Judaism may not be the first thing that comes to mind when watching “2001: A Space Odyssey,” but Jan Harlan, the brother-in-law of its legendary director Stanley Kubrick, makes that connection. “In ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Kubrick takes a big bow to the unknowable,” Harlan told JNS.org. “I told him this was a very Jewish film, and I explained why I thought so. Judaism is a breakthrough in thinking; it is like the discovery of the fact that the earth …More

James Franco recently joined the ranks of entertainment legends whose names have been immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to be remembered and read by LA tourists for the remainder of time. As the 2,492nd star added, Franco was introduced at Thursday’s ceremony by fellow Jewish funnyman Seth Rogen and tearfully thanked “the people who have been there for me, all the way through.” But as a wider range of both untouchable superstars and questionable one-hit wonders are added to this beloved …More

Israel's kosher police are facing a pastry conundrum. [Tablet] The SNL Israel sketch you didn't see. [Heeb] Is Woody Allen in the dog house? [NYPost] Shimon Peres says Obama will "deal with" Iran. [Times of Israel] Peres also has some words for outgoing Pope Benedict XVI. [Times of Israel] Holocaust survivors protest a Boca Raton golf tournament. [Forward] Noam Chomsky backs British MP David Ward's Holocaust comments. [Algemeiner] The Jewish Billy Graham, the Israeli Martin Luther King. [JPost] The …More

Woody Allen is a hypochondriac. Stop the presses! [NYT] The investigation into the "Holocaust ash art" continues. [Ynet] A Maimonides text is part of an $11 million Judaica sale. [JC] Aaron Swartz's father blames the feds at his son's funeral. [Forward] Holocaust survivors affected by Sandy receive aid from Germany. [Jewish Week] One of Judaism's most famous prayer books has landed in New York. [Daily Beast] A Baltimore Jewish day school teacher is arrested on child abuse charges. [Jewish Press] The …More

Judy Gross turns up the heat to get her husband freed from Cuba. [Times of Israel] Tzipi Livni blames Benjamin Netanyahu for yesterday's UN vote. [Times of Israel] Tablet looks at why the Czechs voted with Israel. [Tablet] A new poll says half of Israelis believe peace with Palestine will not happen. [Algemeiner] Boycotters are targeting Alanis Morissette for her planned performance in Israel. [JC] Christian groups are seeking to reconcile after a recent anti-Israel letter that caused tensions with the …More

Actor Liev Schreiber has reconnected to his Jewish roots for an upcoming film entitled “Fading Gigolo.” In the movie, Schreiber plays Ode, a Hassidic volunteer for the Williamsburg (Brooklyn, that is,) “shomrim,” the neighborhood watch for the ultra-religious. The story revolves around a bookstore owner, Murray (played by Woody Allen), who convinces a pal, Fioravante (played by John Turturro, who is also directing the picture), that he can make a bundle by becoming a gigolo when he is …More

New York may be done with Woody Allen, but Paris is just getting started. Sophie Lellouche’s first feature film is an effusive love letter to the auteur. A talky romance between an unlucky-in-love pharmacist and a jaded locksmith who designs unlikely alarm systems, “Paris-Manhattan” will likely become the favorite of the Jewish film festival circuit for its light banter, twisting plot and authentic Allen cameo. It’s already taken the surprise screening slot at the Boston Jewish Film …More

AbbaNibi Team, AbbaNibi.com - Israel/Jewish Entertainment and Culture Newswire Actress/producer Noa Tishby landed in Israel over the weekend, after she was signed up for a new campaign for the Israel Ministry of Tourism, to encourage tourists to visit Israel in 2013. Tishby, who’s also signed an endorsement deal with Israeli jewelry designer Michal Nagrin, won the Ministry of Tourism campaign fair and square, after her in depth involvement with Israel issues in Los Angeles, where she currently resides. …More

A Web site featuring correspondence between famous individuals recently published a lengthy message from Groucho Marx, written to Woody Allen. The exchange was released on Letters of Note, and included an apology after years of silence between the two Jewish comedians. Woody and Groucho developed a friendship in the early years of Allen’s career, but had a falling out after the famous Marx brother ignored a letter sent by Woody. Years after the snub, Groucho wrote of his regrets, in a humorous style fans …More

Michel Blanc may be the French Woody Allen. It seems a ridiculous comparison to make—and nothing can truly compare to Allen in his heyday—but Blanc recalls an earlier, simpler Allen, whose hijinks involved casually being depressed about the inevitable expansion of the universe. When Blanc argues with a bathroom attendant about whether or not he put almost a Euro’s worth of change in the dish while she was away, it’s textbook Allen, and it warms the heart to see someone other than Larry …More