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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Israeli Singer Noa Recalls Singing for Three Popes
The February 15 sold out performance by Israeli singer, songwriter and activist Achinoam Nini Noa at Temple-Emanuel’s Skirball Center presented by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation was a double-header feast — a bravura concert by Noa accompanied by guitarist Gil Dor followed by a post-concert dialogue with Forward editor Jane Eisner . Seasoning her vocal pyrotechnic…
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Bob Dylan Sells $20M Treasure Trove of Mementoes
Bob Dylan has sold his personal archive of notes, draft lyrics, poems, artwork and photographs to the University of Tulsa, where they will be made available to scholars and curated for public exhibitions, the school said on Wednesday. The 6,000 item collection spans nearly the entire length of Dylan’s 55 year-long career, and many have…
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Lena Dunham Recants Scathing Criticism Over Supposedly Retouched Magazine Cover
“Girls” star Lena Dunham has apologized for accusing Spanish magazine “Tentaciones” of heavily photoshopping a photo of her that it featured on their cover after the publication responded with proof that the photo was real. “Tentaciones,” a monthly Spanish magazine published by Madrid’s “El País” newspaper, featured the photo of Dunham on the cover of…
The Latest
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Stephen Colbert Starts Whole New ‘Tra-di-tion’
We hope Stephen Colbert has started a new tradition. (TRADITIOOOONNN!) Colbert must have learned a thing or two in the ways of Judaism from buddy Jon Stewart, because when he brought out the cast of Broadway’s “Fiddler on the Roof” to sing “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Tradition” during “Late Night” he had the audience on their…
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Israeli Singer Amir Will Be Representing France at Eurovision
Amir Haddad, simply known as Amir, a French-Israeli dentist turned pop-singer will be representing France in the 2016 Eurovision contest. He will be singing his single “J’ai Cherché,” which means “I Have Been Looking For.” The song has an English language chorus and a catchy pop melody. We already have it stuck in our heads….
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Gay Iranian Poet Seeks Asylum in Israel
Iranian poet Payam Feili hopes to seek asylum in Israel soon. After facing discrimination, harassment and arrest for being openly gay in Iran, Feili was forced to flee the country. He explained to the PEN American Center, a writers group aimed at supporting freedom of expression, how he was taken from his home and held…
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Hillary Clinton’s Released Emails Include Message Addressed to ‘Hashem’
Embedded within one of Hillary Clinton’s thousands of emails, released by the State Department on Monday, was a note addressed to “Hashem.” The mysterious message was labeled with a “TOP SECRET” stamp. The note apparently belonging to Barack Obama’s national security advisor, Tom Donilon, from his trip to Israel in 2012, was a joke from…
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‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ Brings You the Best Jewish Rap Battle Ever
We’ve already sung the praise of Rachel Bloom’s amazing CW “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” But this week’s episode featured an especially wonderful, extra Jewish rap-battle. Or rather, a JAP battle. And it’s all kinds of meshugge, in the best of ways. Just like the show’s other songs, it’s musically and lyrically on point. It also gets pretty…
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Sacha Baron Cohen Had Wife Sneak His Ali G Costume Into the Oscars
Not everyone was happy to see the return of Ali G during Sunday’s Oscars telecast. Sacha Baron Cohen revealed that the Academy wanted him to present alongside Olivia Wilde as himself and not any of his characters. Well, the British comedian was not having any of that. With the help of wife Isla Fisher, who…
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Netflix Orders Israeli Teen Series ‘The Greenhouse’
After recently joining the Israeli market, Netflix bought its first ever Israeli TV show. The American video streaming company picked up the popular Israeli teen series, “The Greenhouse”(HaKhamama in Hebrew), created and written by Giora Chamizer from Nickelodeon and Yes Networks. According to Israeli news site Globes, the upcoming show will be released in 2017…
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Priest Caught on Video Snorting Cocaine in Rectory Filled with Nazi Paraphernalia
You read that headline right. For some people, the ability to record videos on smart phones at any moment is not a good thing for so many reasons. The Sun received a video showing a priest caught in engaged in a drug party at the church rectory. Father Stephen Crossan, 37, is snorting white powder…
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