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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Was Ivanka Trump’s Charity Coffee Date Canceled Over Ethical Issues?
A charity auction offering up a coffee date with Ivanka Trump has been dropped over possible ethical concerns. The one-on-one opportunity, donated by The Eric Trump Foundation to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, was set up as 30-45 minute long engagement at Trump Tower in NYC or Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Both…
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WATCH: This ‘Harry Potter’ Character Got Schooled With Epic Jewish Lesson
The magical world of “Harry Potter” just got a Jew-y twist. Leigh Lahav, an artist who specializes in animations with a pop culture twist, has created the ultimate Hanukkah lesson — courtesy of the two Jewish witches in J.K. Rowling’s spin-off series “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” The video, which features amazingly exact…
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You Need to Watch Natalie Portman as a Young Environmental Pop Singer
Yes, there was a time Natalie Portman sang in an environmental pop group called World Patrol Kids. And yes, there is footage of it. The 35-year-old actress sat down with talk show host James Corden on Wednesday night to discuss her legacy as a 5th grade activist/vocal artist. Her band had 8 members and nailed…
The Latest
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The Internet is Puzzled by Diversity Discussion Featuring Seth Rogen and 6 Other White Guys
The Hollywood Reporter published a roundtable conversation featuring seven animation producers and directors discussing their respective films. The talk centered around how cultural biases affect their approach to making movies and their portrayals of princesses on screen. Each director, you guessed it, was a white man. It didn’t take long for the internet to call…
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Emmy Rossum Wins ‘Shameless’ Pay Dispute
Emmy Rossum just nabbed a major victory in the long haul fight for equal pay in Hollywood. The “Shameless” star has been locked in a contract dispute with Showtime executives over the salary discrepancy between herself and co-star William H. Macy. Rossum was asking not only for a raise, but to make more than Macy,…
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How Emmy Rossum’s Fierce Contract Dispute Could Help Close the Hollywood Pay Gap
Emmy Rossum is locked in a fierce contract renegotiation battle with Showtime. If she wins, it will make for a major victory in an ongoing fight to close Hollywood’s gender pay gap. According to multiple sources who have spoken to The Hollywood Reporter, the “Shameless” star seeks to earn more than her co-star William H….
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Henry Kissinger, Sanford Weill Honored at 99th Annual Hebrew Home at Riverdale Gala
Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, Sanford Weill, Chairman Emeritus of Citigroup and Maurice “Hank” Greenberg Chairman & CEO, C.V. Starr & Co. were honored at the 99th Annual Hebrew Home at Riverdale Gala at the Waldorf Astoria. Jeffrey Maurer—Board of Trustees Chairman of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale— welcomed the more than 500…
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Remembering Jack Rudin – A Developer Extraordinaire Who Never Forgot His Roots
Jack Rudin—who died at 92 on December 2—had been among the 300 “brothers” and “sisters” [including the Forward’s Sam Norich] at the Jewish Labor Committee’s Human Rights Award March 14, 2001 Dinner at the New York Sheraton that honored then AFL-CIO president of the Building and Construction Trades Department Edward Sullivan and Jack Rudin’s younger…
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Bernie Marcus, Home Depot Co-Founder & Prof. Alan Dershowitz Honorees at ZOA Gala
Bernie Marcus, philanthropist, pro-Israel activist and co-founder of Home Depot was among the honorees at the ZOA’s November 20th Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner at the New York Hyatt. Introduced by Dinner Co-Chair Michael Leven—whose comment: “I’ve never been to a hardware store—I’m a Jew!” elicited chuckles and a few groans, was rescued by…
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After Anti-Semitic Rap Blows Up, Lupe Fiasco Says He’s Quitting the Music Business
Lupe Fiasco has apparently decided to end his music career after being accused of an anti-Semitic lyric. The artist faced backlash over his freestyle verse on J. Cole’s “Everybody Dies” track in which he rapped: “Artists gettin’ robbed for their publishing/By dirty Jewish execs who think that it’s alms from the covenant.” In a series…
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After Intense Backlash, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman Loses Her Role Model Title
Wonder Woman is hanging up her cape as United Nations’ honorary ambassador. The news comes after the UN was hit with a large-scale backlash for appointing the superhero as the face of Sustainable Development Goal 5, a campaign that promotes female equality. Almost 45,000 people signed a petition asking the UN to reconsider their appointment…
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
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Fast Forward Columbia staff receive texts asking if they’re Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Trump nominee Ed Martin, who praised a Nazi sympathizer, also compared Biden to Hitler
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Opinion RFK Jr. and Trump are talking about an ‘autism registry’ — this sounds disturbingly familiar
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Fast Forward Heavy police presence blocks anti-Israel protest in Brooklyn from reaching Jewish neighborhood
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Yiddish קאָקני־ייִדיש“: אַ פּאָדקאַסט, אַ לשון און אַ שטײגער לעבן‘Cockney Yiddish’: A podcast, a language and a way of life
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