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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PHOTOS: In Israel, Purim is the Biggest Party Ever
Forget about Halloween! Purim is the real party in Israel. Every year, thousands of children head to school dressed up in their finest costumes, their mishloach manot in hand. That goes for grown ups too (any excuse to tap into your inner child). In cities across the country, big parades, called Adloyada, travel through town,…
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Pushing the Purim Spiel Envelope at Jewish Museum Ball
Sparkling and irreverent does not begin to describe the Jewish Museum’s 29th Annual Purim Ball at which more than 700 guests — with credentials in the arts, fashion, philanthropy and entertainment — mingled at the Armory which was decorated with thousands of bathed-in-purple light shimmering miniature mirrors suspended overhead…helped raise $2 million. Claudia Gould, the museum’s Helen…
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Major UK Grant Will Unearth Forgotten Music
A major international research arts project, “Performing the Jewish Archive,” has been awarded a grant of just over £1.5 million by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the U.K., under the theme, “Care for the Future: Thinking Forward Through the Past.” The project, headed by Russian music specialist Stephen Muir, a senior lecturer…
The Latest
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Do We Focus Too Much on Auschwitz?
The emphasis placed on Auschwitz-Birkenau as a place of remembrance has skewed the way we understand the Holocaust, Professor David Cesarani told attendees on the final day of London’s Jewish Book Week on March 1. Speaking with reference to his forthcoming book, “Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews 1933-49” — which is due to…
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What Did Jon Stewart Think About Bibi’s Speech?
What did Jon Stewart think about Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress? It’s kinda NSFW, so you better watch the video. Apparently, the late-night funny man was not impressed with the multiple standing ovations that Bibi received from the Congress. He wasn’t amused by all the soaring rhetoric about Iran, either.
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Bibi’s Speech in ‘Game of Thrones’ GIFs
Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech was full of biblical, literary and pop culture references from Haman to Robert Frost. But when he said: “In this deadly game of thrones, there’s no place for America or for Israel, no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don’t share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom…
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Say It With Nutella — Unless You’re Jewish
Courtesy of Nutella You might want to reconsider those Nutella-filled hamentaschen this year. The beloved purveyor of spreadable chocolate hazelnut goodness has banned certain words from its “Say it With Nutella” campaign, which allows people to customize their jar labels. This policy would be totally understandable if the list of so-called inappropriate words didn’t also…
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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
It’s Dr. Seuss’s 111th birthday. You know him as the creator of “The Cat in the Hat” — but we want to celebrate his long career as a political cartoonist. During the WW II era, Seuss drew over 400 political cartoons working for the left-leaning New York City daily newspaper, PM. Yes, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better…
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WATCH: Trailer for Lena Dunham’s ‘Eloise’ Doc
Sorry quarter-life crisis — Lena Dunham has set her sights on something decidedly younger, milder and more whimsical. The writer, director and actress debuted a trailer for her new documentary short, “It’s Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise,” a portrait of Hilary Knight, the illustrator behind the beloved children’s book series “Eloise.” The film — which…
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Canadians ‘Spock’ Five-Dollar Bills
Forget the split-fingered salute — Canadians have found a new way to honor “Star Trek” icon Leonard Nimoy, who passed away at age 83 last week: they’re “Spocking” their five-dollar bills. For the non-Canadians among you, this is in fact a long-standing tradition which involves drawing Vulcan eyebrows and pointy ears on the profile of Sir…
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Teaching Children to Deal with Loss — at Camp
There was not a dry eye at 693 Park Avenue as guest speaker Leslie Segrete, — TV personality, designer, decorator, host of A & E’s “$100 Makeover” and co-host of nationally syndicated radio show “The Money Pit”— told the 200 guests at the 16th Valentine Salon about her 4-year old son Henry’s journey to Westhampton…
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