The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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Bethenny Frankel Says She Has — Ahem! — Some History With Meghan Markle’s Jewish Ex
Internationally renowned aid worker Bethenny Frankel* announced this week that she “kind of” went on a date with Meghan Markle’s ex-husband Trevor Engelson. Should your memory need refreshing: Markle, who is set to marry heir-to-the-British-throne Prince Harry on May 19, is divorced from American Trevor Engelson, a greasy-yet-affable movie producer who just happens to be…
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Tiffany Haddish Slams Diversity On SNL: “Thank You For Not Hiring Me”
“Girls Trip” breakout star and former Bar Mitzvah party dancer Tiffany Haddish continued to steal hearts across America this week on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” speaking about times she was happy not to be cast. (She also spoke, at length, about whale watching, but that’s another article.) In two radically different examples, Haddish spoke…
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Tells TMZ She Wouldn’t Do Judge Judy’s Job
Look. It’s not okay to harass the elderly. That being said — there really is nothing more delightful than watching a paparazzo chasing down Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, shouting, “I LOVE YOUR WORK!” Early Wednesday morning the celebrity gossip site TMZ posted a video of an unnamed reporter jogging through Reagan International Airport…
The Latest
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In 20th Anniversary ‘Harry Potter’ Cover Art, Hermione Finally Gets Her Moment
The rich colors and emotive illustrations that artist Mary GrandPre created for the original American editions of the “Harry Potter” series made an indelible impression on the imaginations of millions. 20 years later, Jewish artist Brian Selznick has created seven beautiful, eerie new covers for the anniversary edition of the series, set for release by…
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Teens Are Wearing Yellow Squares To ‘Combat Sexist Dress Codes’
No spaghetti straps. No shorts above the mid-thigh. No leggings without sweaters that cover the butt. Bras are required. Teenage girls at Joseph-François-Perrault High School seem to be channeling Nazi-era yellow stars of David on the eve of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, in protest of their school’s dress code, which leaders of the student…
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Seth Meyers’ Wife Gives Birth In Apartment Lobby
Mazal tov to the Meyers family! Late night talk show host Seth Meyers, and his wife, Alexi Ashe, welcomed a second son, Axel Strahl, to their family. Alexi gave birth in the lobby of their apartment building. Their newest addition joins two-year-old son Ashe Olsen into the fold. “We get into the lobby of our…
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Jewish Entrepreneurial Events Are Just Like Kiddush Except With Better Alcohol
Jewish entrepreneurial events remind me of kiddush: Brooklyn accents; lots of people talking about how exactly they’re related to so-and-so, or how they made that seven-figure deal; reminders about the importance of tzedakah; all laced with some daytime drinking (in this case, a smooth white wine). At the ‘Scaling Chutzpah’ summit yesterday, held in Manhattan’s…
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Fashion Designer Marc Jacobs Gets Engaged After Chipotle Flashmob Proposal
Would it really be Passover in the Diaspora if a gay Jewish fashion designer wasn’t proposing to his boyfriend with a flashmob at a Chipotle? Candlemaker and model Char Defrancesco lived out billions of people’s dreams on Wednesday night when he received a wedding proposal from his boyfriend, designer Marc Jacobs, in a Chipotle. Jacobs,…
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How To Celebrate Burrito Day and Deep Dish Pizza Day On Passover
There is a short passage in the book of Exodus that has beguiled and befuddled rabbinic scholars throughout the ages. It occurs immediately after the burning bush sequence, as Moses, his wife Zipporah, and their son, leave Zipporah’s homeland and travel to Egypt, where Moses plans to demand freedom for the enslaved Israelites. Suddenly, the…
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‘The Female Persuasion,’ ‘Paterno’ And More To Read, Watch And Do This Weekend
If you are like me, this week has left you extremely tired. Who is even in the government any more? Are Jews still allowed to date? Why is the Upper East Side suddenly the chosen home of white supremacists? Is it now truly out of fashion to advocate for women who get abortions to be…
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Listen To Bob Dylan Reimagine A Classic Ballad As A Gay Love Song
Bob Dylan is a little gay and a little corporate these days. Doesn’t sound much like the Robert Zimmerman you know and love to be confounded by? Well, he’s funny that way. On a new collaboration, “Universal Love,” Dylan joins artists including Kesha and St. Vincent in reworking classic love songs so that each singer…
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Most Popular
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
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Music After decades of waiting, we’re finally getting a Bob Dylan-Barbra Streisand duet
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Mosab Abu Toha, Palestinian writer targeted by far-right pro-Israel activists, wins Pulitzer for commentary
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Fast Forward A Jewish nonprofit may have accidentally caused Michigan to drop charges against pro-Palestinian activists
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Culture For Christian nationalists, Trump’s pope picture isn’t a joke
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Opinion Is Israel really going to reoccupy Gaza? Ask Trump
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