Michael Kaminer
By Michael Kaminer
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The Schmooze Will Leonardo DiCaprio Convert to Judaism?
How does Leonardo DiCaprio look in a yarmulke? We might get a chance to find out. The (UK) Daily Mail reports the 36-year-old, Catholic-born megastar may convert to Judaism as a step toward nuptials with his Israeli supermodel girlfriend Bar Refaeli. “A source” apparently told the Daily Mail that “Leo’s sudden intense interest in Israel,…
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The Schmooze ‘Wandering’ Jews Head to Church
Some Florida Jews have become regular churchgoers. No, they haven’t converted; the members of tiny Congregation Matah Chaim in coastal Palm Bay have made a local Christian worship hall their temporary base while they raise money for a permanent home, reports Florida Today. Twice a month at the Riviera United Church of Christ, “a projection…
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The Schmooze Taxpayers Will Cover Cosmetics Bill for Skinhead’s Murder Trial
Do you like the makeup on John DiTullio’s face and neck? Hope so, because you may be paying for it. The skinhead, who goes on trial for murder today in Clearwater, Fla., will appear in court with special cosmetics covering his tattoos — including a swastika on his neck and green-tinted “scar” running from forehead…
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The Schmooze Happy Hanukkah — Don’t Burn Your House Down
Latkes sizzling, dreidels spinning, menorahs burning… They may love the first two Hanukkah traditions, but Israeli firefighters have come to dread the Festival of Lights for the menorah-related surge of house fires it brings, the Associated Press reports. Many Jews light the holiday candles “too close to the drapes,” firefighters say; Jerusalem fire department spokesman…
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The Schmooze New York Vs. Washington: Whose Menorah Is Bigger?
Is a New York-Washington rivalry about to erupt over menorah size? While NY1 News is claiming Mayor Michael Bloomberg lit “the world’s largest menorah” to kick off Hanukkah in New York last night, some news sources are claiming the National Menorah on the White House Ellipse — ignited yesterday in a ceremony attended by a…
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The Schmooze Nazi Memorabilia on the Block, Again
It seems to have become a monthly ritual: A trove of never-before-seen Nazi memorabilia goes up for auction somewhere in suburban Britain. This time, it’s a collection of “previously unpublished photographs of Adolf Hitler” taken by his personal photographer before the start of World War II, according to the Scotsman newspaper. The snaps are set…
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The Schmooze Embracing Judaism in Indonesia
A 62-foot menorah graces a mountaintop. Israeli flags flutter from taxi stands. The local synagogue shines after a government-sponsored renovation. The images don’t immediately bring Indonesia to mind. But a tiny northern outpost in the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population “has become the unlikely setting for increasingly public displays of pro-Jewish sentiments,” reports…
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The Schmooze Paul Simon Is the Latest Jew To Release a Christmas Song
In what’s become a beloved Christmas tradition, listeners are getting treated to a new song sharing the spirit of the season… by a Jewish pop star. Paul Simon’s the latest Semite to jump on the Yuletide bandwagon with “Getting Ready for Christmas Day,” a thumping, blues-tinged tune “with no mention of Jesus, Mary, Joseph or…
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