So Long, Schmekel
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Naomi Zeveloff April 1, 2014
Schmekel was Brooklyn’s trans Jewish band. The group’s lyrics probed queer and trans identity to a klezmer/punk beat. In February, after three years of musical irreverence the group disbanded.
“Schmekel ended amicably,” drummer Simcha Halpert-Hanson said in an email to the Forward. “We felt finished with the project and wanted to pursue other life goals and endeavors.” The Forward caught up with Schmekel in advance of the publication of our “Transgender & Jewish” eBook, now available on Amazon.
Take a look at our video homage to the group.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
