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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Matisyahu Launches Hillel-Sponsored College Tour With Arab-American Artist
Matisyahu has launched a U.S. college tour co-sponsored by Hillel chapters with a musician born to an Egyptian-Palestinian father and American-Jewish mother. The formerly Hasidic reggae artist, who kicked off the tour with special guest Nadim Azzam on Sunday at Boston University’s Metcalf Ballroom, has said the decision to play with an Arabic musician is…
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Recalling Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland’s Toughest Gig Ever: Theater Critic
“Moreover, the progress of human isolation is now complete as well.” That grammatically iffy quote, a morose musing on the inevitable shortfalls of human communication, stems from an unlikely source: a review of a triple-bill of Harold Pinter plays, written in 1973 by a Harvard undergraduate by the name of Merrick Garland. Yes, it’s true:…
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We Dare You to Look Away From This Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump GIF
We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Internet genius that created this GIF of Bernie Sanders scaring the bejesus out of Donald Trump at a rally. And it seems everyone was a fan: Here it is, the best GIF of this entire election cycle: pic.twitter.com/hEK3ovBWJm — Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) March 14, 2016 Trump…
The Latest
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Laurie Tisch Among Honorees at Women’s Leadership Council Luncheon
There’s an old adage that if you want to get something done — then have a woman do it. And that was at the heart of the 10th Annual Women’s Leadership Council Luncheon: “Power of Women to Make A Difference” held at Cipriani 42nd Street. Benefiting United Way of NYC’s ReadNYC Initiative it was attended…
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Amy Schumer Gives a $1,000 Tip to Hamilton Bartenders
Holy Hamilton! Comedian Amy Schumer went to see the beloved musical this weekend and gave quite a presidential tip to the theater’s bartending staff. She added cool $1000 for a tab of just $77. That’s an approximately 1230% tip. Which is crazy. Fortunately for you skeptics, actress, singer and bartender Madeleine DeJohn posted the following…
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The Story of Purim Told in Pop Culture GIFs
Purim is this week! We hope you have your costumes picked out, are getting ready to bake some hamantaschen and flexing your hands in preparation for all that vigorous grogger shaking. If you need a refresher on the story of Purim and only have, say, 30 seconds, we’ve got you covered. Here’s the story of…
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Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee Herman Returns — to Netflix, Natch
There is nothing more urgent on Netflix today than the subversive Paul Reubens’ return as Pee-Wee Herman in “Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday.” Reubens, 63 (yes, he is 63 now!), reprises the delightfully creepy Pee-Wee in a full-length movie produced by the actor and his fellow Jew, famed funny man Judd Apatow. It’s been nearly three decades…
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‘The Daily Show’ Takes On Anti-Semitic Trump Supporters
“The Daily Show’s” Senior Jewish Correspondent Adam Lowitt took a crack at the recent flare ups of anti-Semitism from Donald Trump supporters with good humor and a uniquely positive perspective. That Trump supporter caught on tape “go to fucking Aushwitz”? Well, as Lowitt pointed out, the sound bite could very well have been taken out…
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Diane Von Furstenberg Pays $100K to Clone Her Jack Russell Terrier Shannon
Jewish-German designer Diane Von Furstenberg and her media mogul husband Barry Diller could not handle the death of their Jack Russell Terrier; Shannon, after all, was one-of-a-kind. She lived in a custom-made, neoclassical doghouse. To solve the tiny problem of death and the fleetingness of life, they decided to clone her. Odd, because Von Furstenberg’s…
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Arthur Koestler Fans Should Brace Themselves For a New ‘Darkness at Noon’
Fans of Arthur Koestler’s 1940 novel “Darkness at Noon,” the formerly communist author’s allegorical take on Stalin’s increasingly totalitarian grip on the USSR, are in for a shock. According to the New York Review of Books, a German doctoral student named Matthias Weßel has discovered one of the novel’s original German drafts. “Darkness at Noon,”…
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The Perfect Mischievous Purim Cards for All Your Partying Needs
Purim is around the corner, so as you’re washing down those hamentashen with a libation, or two, or three, stop a moment to send a card to a loved one, letting them know just how hard you plan on partying and your expected level of inebriation. We at the Forward created the perfect Someecards to…
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In Case You Missed It
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Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
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Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
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Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
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Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
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