Originally released in Arabic in 2005, the novel Girls of Riyadh or Banat al-Riyadh, was immediately banned in Saudi Arabia due to controversial and inflammatory content. Black-market copies of the novel circulated and the daring originality of Girls of Riyadh continues to create a firestorm all over the Arab world and has been a bestseller…

It’s part heritage, part occupational hazard–but I have seen more than my fair share of documentaries about Jews. Many of them center on the Holocaust, or the post-Holocaust triumph and redemption earned through the creation of the state of Israel. Others focus on “Jews and showbiz” or “Jews in comedy.” I live in New York,…

It’s no wonder the Writers Guild brokered a deal with actor Tom Cruise recently to make him the only studio head who can cross the picket line. According to Andrew Morton’s new book (Morton is best known for his Princess Di tell all) Tom Cruise has become the second most powerful Scientologist. This is actually…

Young, bright-eyed, handsome and charismatic to the core; an optimist and a visionary with a profound ability to evoke a deeply rooted, and perhaps dormant, sense of populism in the hearts and minds of Americans. Yes, it has hardly gone unnoticed that presidential hopeful Barack Obama shares more than just a few characteristics, particularly when…

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