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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Billy Crystal Roasts Donald Trump at Star-Studded Clinton Fundraiser
On Monday night, the stars of Broadway and Hollywood crammed into one midtown New York theater to headline a benefit concert for Hillary Clinton. Predictably enough, many Jews ended up in the show, from Joel Grey of “Cabret and “Chicago” fame, to Matthew Broderick of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” to the queen herself, Barbra Streisand….
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Ivanka Trump Finally Addresses Her Father’s Lewd Tape
Ivanka Trump finally addressed her father’s explicit remarks on women last night—in a tidy 27 word message. “My father’s comments were clearly inappropriate and offensive, and I’m glad that he acknowledged this fact with an immediate apology to my family and the American people,” she said in a statement to Fast Company. This is actually…
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5 Jewish Celebrity Siblings You Didn’t Know Existed
Last month, Buzzfeed dropped a bombshell of epic proportions on us. Zac Efron, our favorite surprisingly Jewish celebrity/overall dreamboat, has an equally chiseled brother named Dylan. “Gird Your Loins,” the article said. “…There are two of them.” Photo evidence below: Happy belated sibling day to my legit brother- who I love despite taking the good…
The Latest
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Howard Stern Says Won’t ‘Betray’ Donald Trump by Rerunning Sex-Fueled Interviews
In the aftermath of the release of the “Trump Tape” — for those under a political rock that’s the leaked 2005 recording of Donald Trump, on a hot mic, bragging about sexually assaulting women— clips of Trump making sexual claims on Howard Stern’s radio show have exacerbated public outrage. Those claims include Trump’s declaration that…
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Amy Schumer’s Trump Bashing Caused 200 Fans to Walk Out — Out of 10,000
Amy Schumer’s Donald Trump zingers didn’t quite land in the swing state of Florida this weekend. According to the Tampa Bay Times, roughly 200 people walked out of her stand-up performance on Sunday after the comedian called the Republican nominee a “orange, sexual-assaulting, fake-college-starting monster.” The venue holds about 10,000 people, meaning the disgruntled group…
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That Time Bob Dylan Went To Shul Incognito
When Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize for Literature announcement hit the waves, what immediately came to mind was my mother’s oft-repeated Yiddish assurance: “az men lebt-derlebt men” (if one lives long enough…. one lives —to experience being appreciated, rewarded…) I don’t recall the dates and/or venues in 1990-91 at which I had met him—possibly a convention/concert…
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Sorry, Nobel Committee. Bob Dylan is a Not Taking Your Calls Right Now.
If Bob Dylan is at all excited about winning a Nobel prize in literature, he’s playing it very close to the vest. The 75-year-old musician has yet to respond to phone calls from the Nobel Committee, nor has he RSVP-ed to the prize winner’s banquet in Stockholm, the Guardian reports. “Right now we are doing…
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No, Mel Gibson is Not Making a Comeback Now. Here’s Why.
Lately, news has been swirling around that Mel Gibson, ten years after outing himself as an anti-Semite, has “officially been released” from a sort of “director’s jail”, ending his de facto status as “persona non grata” in Hollywood. The proof given for this “official release” includes the fact that he’s now coming out with a…
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VIDEO: Etgar Keret Reminisces on a Night That Didn’t Happen
Etgar Keret was scheduled to appear at the London Jewish community center — the JW3 — with celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi and star Guardian columnist (and novelist) Jonathan Freedland. Due to an accident he couldn’t attend the event on October 13 in person, so he sent this charming video and cheekily stole the evening.
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Meet Sarah Hurwitz, Who Writes Michelle Obama’s Speeches — Including Yesterday’s Breakout
In 2008, Sarah Hurwitz wrote Hillary Clinton’s historic concession speech. In it, Clinton talked about her run for the presidency and how she didn’t quite break the glass ceiling, but instead left behind “about 18 million cracks in it.” She gracefully complimented her opponent, and empowered listeners to get behind the democratic ticket. Two days…
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How Philip Roth Won the Battle for the Jews
This month Anne reads “The Conversion of the Jews,” by Philip Roth In 1959, Philip Roth published a novella and five stories. The collection was called “Goodbye, Columbus,” and it won that year’s National Book Award. Everybody was talking about the new young writer who had a brash, unconventional, authentic voice and a thumb-in-your-eye spirit….
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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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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.
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion The secret cost of Israel’s wars ravaged my family. It’s only getting worse
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Yiddish מחשבֿות פֿון אַן אַהיים־געקומענעם (אַ מלחמה־טאָגגבוך)Reflections of a soldier after returning home (a wartime diary)
דער מחבר איז אַ סטודענט אינעם ירושלימער העברעיִשן אוניווערסיטעט, אינעם צווייטן יאָר ייִדיש־לימוד
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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 At Harvard, reports on antisemitism and anti-Palestinian bias reflect campus conflict over Israel
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