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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That Awesome Time Drake Crashed a Bat Mitzvah
B’not and b’nei mitzvah all over the continent, prepare for some major jealousy. Drake crashed a Manhattan Bat Mitzvah this Saturday, and we weren’t invited. Our hearts may never recover. Yes, one lucky girl had the Canadian actor and rapper rap and dance with her. That’s almost as good as having Paul Rudd as your…
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6 Sweet Moments Between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and ‘Best Buddy’ Antonin Scalia
As much as they disagreed on matters of the law, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the late Justice Antonin Scalia did agree on how much they liked each other. Both children of immigrants, the liberal pint-sized Ginsburg and Scalia, the conservative with the affable smile, often talked of their decades-long friendship that transcended partisan lines….
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Deborah Lipstadt Explains Why Holocaust Denial Shouldn’t Be a Crime
Famous Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt opposed criminalization of Holocaust denial in a debate at the Oxford Union Society last month, which is shown in the video below. Even after years of fighting a libel suit filed against her in 1996 by Holocaust denier David Irving, Lipstadt says she is not in favor of laws against…
The Latest
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@ElBloombito Is Back — With Riff on Bernie
@ElBloombito is back — and its talking about the Tribe. The Twitter parody account, which mocks former Mayor Bloomberg’s garbled Spanish, is now training its ire on fact that not one but two Jews might be in this year’s presidential election. Rachel Figueroa, the Jewish and Puerto Rican woman behind @ElBloombito, imagined how Bloomberg might…
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Lithuania Book Sparks Soul-Searching About Holocaust Complicity
(JTA) — As the author of a best-seller that deals with female sexuality after 50, the Lithuanian novelist Ruta Vanagaite is used to embarrassing questions from journalists about her private life. But even she was astonished when a reporter for a popular television station demanded to see her birth certificate to ascertain the veracity of…
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A Bar Mitzvah on Death Row
A rabbi in Texas helped killer imprisoned on Death Row achieve his dreams of finally becoming a man, religiously of course. Chabad.org reports that Rabbi Dovid Goldstein, lead Jewish chaplain in the Texas prison system, worked tirelessly to help inmate Jedidiah Murphy have a Bar Mitzvah. Murphy is obviously well passed puberty, but he grew…
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That Time Beyonce Wore an Israeli Wedding Gown to the Grammys
(JTA) — Beyonce was wearing a wedding gown created by an Israeli designer when she presented at the 58th Grammy Awards. The white and silver tulle gown by designer Inbal Dror of Tel Aviv received about a minute of air time Monday while Beyonce made the Record of the Year presentation. The singer did not…
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$7.5M Fort Lauderdale Mansion Boasts Built-In Synagogue
Synagogue can be such a schlep. Haven’t you ever just wished the shul could come to you? If that’s the case, for the low, low price of $7.5 million, you could purchase a home with a built-in synagogue. The 18,000-square foot Fort Lauderdale mansion is listed on Douglas Elliman and among other luxuries, includes a…
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Stop Everything! There’s a ‘Bernie Bae’ Music Video
Just when you thought Bernie Sanders couldn’t get any more popular, now there’s a music video elevating the Democratic-Socialist zaidy’s cool factor called “Bernie Bae.” , the media executive behind the 2008 music video “Crush on Obama” and “Still Got a Crush on Obama” has felt the Bern and just released the ode to Sanders…
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Amy Schumer Joins Cast of PTSD Drama ‘Thank You For Your Service’
Funny woman Amy Schumer is venturing out of the world of comedy for her first foray into the world of drama to star in “Thank You For Your Service,” a film about U.S. veterans dealing with post traumatic stress disorder upon their return from Iraq. Schumer joins a Miles Teller of “Whiplashe” and Haley Bennett…
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A Sunny Revival for ‘The Golden Bride’
This summer, the Folksbiene will be renewing its production of reconstructed Yiddish Theater classic “The Golden Bride” (“Di Goldene Kale”). Originally mounted in December, the Folksbiene brought new life to the exuberant immigrant fairytale with a young cast and fresh, humorous direction. It was a winning combination; the production attracted large audiences and a positive…
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In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish World Popular Yiddish learning tool now offering small grants
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Yiddish „דאָס לעבן רופֿט“ — אַ ליד פֿון מאָראַלישער קלאָרקייט פֿאַר אונדזערע צײַטן‘Life Calls’ — a Yiddish poem of moral clarity for our times
חנה סאַפֿראַנס בוך פּאָעזיע איז אַרויס בעת דער וויעטנאַם־מלחמה און איינס פֿון די לידער הייסט טאַקע „אַ מאַמע אין וויעטנאַם“.
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