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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5 Things We Just Learned About Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner
If Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner weren’t famous, they’d probably just be that annoyingly perfect couple you hate-stalk on Instagram. But with Republican nominee Donald Trump feeding the headlines day after day, they’ve become the Jewish power couple par excellence. And that means juicy new tidbits about their relationship drop regularly. Here’s a collection of…
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Son of Famous ‘Tevye’ Actor to Play Role on Broadway
Herschel Bernardi gained fame playing Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof,” a role for which he earned a 1981 Tony nomination. While his son Michael has played Sholem Aleichem’s famous milkman before, for a matinee this Wednesday he’ll step into the role on Broadway for the very first time. He’ll be wearing his father’s boots…
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Bette Midler in Trouble for Caitlyn Jenner Tweet Deemed ‘Transphobic’
Bette Midler landed in hot water this weekend after writing a tweet about Caitlyn Jenner that critics called transphobic. “Now that @IAmCait has been cancelled, will she go back to being Bruce? Will Kris take him back? Do I smell a re-wedding?!” the since deleted comment read. Midler’s tweet came after E! pulled the plug…
The Latest
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Siri Mispronounced Barbra Streisand’s Name — So Babs Called Apple’s CEO
Barbra Streisand proves yet again she reigns over everyone. The actress and singer called up Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO to complain that Siri – the iPhone voice assistant notorious for blundering – pronounces her last name wrong. Regram of an earlier meme! #barbrastreisand #meme #barbrameme #queen #werk #fierce #greateststar #greatestsinger #hellogorgeous #boss A photo posted…
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Sarah Silverman Posts Touching Tribute on Anniversary of Mother’s Death
Sarah Silverman took to Twitter today to share a moving post on the anniversary of her mother’s death. “A year ago today my mom left her human shell. So many times I went to call her this year, forgetting,” Silverman wrote. A year ago today my mom left her human shell. So many times I…
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WATCH: Jon Stewart Makes Surprise Appearance on Larry Wilmore After Show Cancellation
Jon Stewart made a surprise appearance on the last episode of Larry Wilmore’s “The Nightly Show” yesterday, delivering a heartfelt speech and a little serving of Yiddish. Wilmore, who regularly appeared on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” had the plug pulled on his show after Comedy Central decided it hadn’t “resonated” with their audience….
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Here’s How Amy Schumer Should Respond to Kurt Metzger’s Rape Comments
The latest public incident of rape mansplaining and victim-blaming — incident, mind, not controversy; publicly disrespecting and undermining women isn’t controversial, it’s just wrong — has centered on an unlikely figure: Amy Schumer. In a now-deleted Facebook post, comedian Kurt Metzger, who has written for Schumer’s Comedy Central Show “Inside Amy Schumer,” lambasted the decision…
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Meet the ‘Animal House’ Actor From Donald Trump’s First Major Commercial
For his first major TV commercial of the campaign, former “Celebrity Apprentice” host, bestselling author of self-help books and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has tapped actor Bruce McGill to perform his voiceover. This news comes to us via Media Matters. If you don’t recognize McGill’s face, that’s ok — McGill doesn’t appear in the…
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Conversation With Lars Kraume — Director Of ‘The People Vs. Fritz Bauer’
I was blown away by German director Lars Kraume’s riveting and revelatory film “The People vs. Fritz Bauer” starring Burghart Klaussner in a brilliant portrayal of indomitable Nazi hunter Bauer. A based-on-fact thriller, the film chronicles the travails and obstacles faced by Fritz Bauer—a German attorney general who—in the 1960’s— was unrelenting in his search…
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Helping Natalie Portman Sound Like a Real Israeli for ‘Love and Darkness’
(JTA) — While making the film “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” Natalie Portman had to put her palm in front of her mouth, repeat Hebrew words and feel how the air hit her skin. If Portman felt her breath, it meant she was saying the words in an Israeli accent — or something close…
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Amy Schumer Opens Up on Kurt Metzger Controversy
Amy Schumer opened up in depth about the controversy surrounding writer Kurt Metzger, a writer who worked on her Comedy Central series “Inside Amy Schumer” and ignited a firestorm online after commenting on a sexual abuse scandal. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Schumer went into detail about Metzger’s role in their writers’ room, and…
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Opinion I’m a Jew of color. Ta-Nehisi Coates can’t apply US lessons to Israel.
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In Case You Missed It
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Culture Arnold Rothstein did fix the World Series and other Jewish facts from a historian of baseball and New York
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Opinion How to celebrate Simchat Torah when our hearts are weighed down by grief
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Culture How sci-fi visionary Isaac Asimov foresaw the madness of our forthcoming election
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Culture ‘Humans of Judaism’ tells the Jewish story, from the shtetl to Sandy Koufax to Hasidic rapper Nissim Black
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