Fom the opening lines of Arik Einstein’s 1979 song “San Francisco al HaMayim” (San Francisco on the Water), it’s clear that something is off.
Romero’s complaint raises questions about the nature of creative inspiration and the politics of acknowledgments in works of fiction. It also brings a real and potentially offensive game about the Holocaust — and one that was created by a non-Jew — into the spotlight.
“Sometimes I wish that I was more brown because a lot of people don’t understand that I’m half and half,” says a 15-year-old girl who is half white and half Ethiopian. “People always think I am Yemenite or Indian.”
Joanie Leeds, a children’s musician and Grammy winner in New York City, and Mikey Pauker, a self-described “devotional rock” artist from California, are working on a formal proposal to add “best Jewish music album” to the list of Grammys awarded each year.
During these times of strife, one wishes for a transcendent work of art, a film perhaps, that can help break down the walls of fear and resentment between our peoples, push back against stereotypes and foster healing. “You People” is not that film.
