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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Steven Spielberg Warns of Hatred ‘Demons’ on Rise
(Reuters) — Hollywood director Steven Spielberg said on Monday he hoped that the Holocaust commemorations taking place in Poland on Tuesday will be a warning for future generations, in light of a rising tide of anti-Semitism and intolerance against Jews. Spielberg was talking to Holocaust survivors in the southern Polish city of Krakow, ahead of…
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What My Jewish Mom Thinks About Deflate-Gate
Getty Images Most Jewish boys just call their moms. Josh Seftel turned his chats into a web series. Every week, the New York filmmaker Facetimes his mom in Sarasota, Florida. After covering the basics, the conversation always segways into to Pat’s favorite subject: celebrity gossip. Over the past year, they’ve tackled some of the great…
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I.B. Singer’s Wife Alma Dishes About His Women
After a screening of “The Muses of Isaac Bashevis Singer,” I replied to a chutzpedik questioner: “Isaac never hit on me!” A frequent visitor in the 1930s to my parents’ Leszno 6 one-room home in Warsaw when I was toddler, I reconnected with him in New York in the 1960s when he and my father…
The Latest
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10 Movies for International Holocaust Remembrance Day
It seems more than a little disturbing to talk about the Holocaust and good movies in one sentence, but the former has certainly inspired many of the latter. In fact, there is an embarrassment of riches. This is a good thing, because any effort to educate the world about the horrors of genocide is important….
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‘The Return’ Takes New Look at Polish Revival
(JTA) — On the crumbling wall of a former Polish synagogue, adjacent to a one-time Jewish ritual bath converted into a car wash, a graffiti artist has painted “Jews, We Miss You” in Polish and German. The message, scrawled on the wall in the Polish town of Dabrowno, is an apt message in contemporary Poland,…
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POEM: ’10/20/07′
it sounds like a kind of whispering intercessor said in a hush said behind your back like ruach a breath making room within you though the eyes look outward & so a jewish poetics is to think about a jewish poetics i am a what & so in all of this there is a hidden…
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Miss Israel Speaks Out on Selfie-gate!
Miss Israel Doron Matalon, who took a controversial selfie with fellow 2015 Miss Universe contestant Saly Greige of Lebanon, has responded to the controversy by saying that she hopes something good will come of it. “You know, I really want to make a difference,” responded Matalon to a question from a Hollywood Access TV reporter…
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Bacon Scratch-and-Sniff Lottery Tickets Are Here!
Thinkstock What’s better than winning $1,000? Winning $1,000 while smelling bacon. At least, that’s what New Hampshire wants you to think. According to The New York Post, the state lottery has launched a special “scratch and sniff ‘I Heart Bacon’ ticket” this month. Players “will think it’s time for Saturday morning breakfast,” Lottery Commission Executive…
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6 Things Barack Would Rather Do Than Meet Bibi
It’s no secret that Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu don’t like each other. Not one little bit. So leaving aside the political and diplomatic drama of the Israeli Prime Minister’s speech to Congress (you know, the one they somehow forgot to mention to the White House), the president will have a few hours of time…
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Pete Sokolow Is the ‘Youngest Old Guy’ of Klezmer
Photo: Michael Macioce The Arty Semite wishes Brooklyn musician Pete Sokolow a speedy recovery. Sokolow suffered a stroke last month and ended up missing the last KlezKamp. The man who came to be known in the klezmer revival as “the youngest old guy” is a little weak on his right side but many are hoping…
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Barbra Streisand is #1 at Everything
We’ve always known that our Barbra is the greatest; so great that we don’t even need to use her last name. But did you know that she is literally number one at everything? This week, Columbia Records sent out a press release announcing that her latest album “Partners,” which was released in September, has been…
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Fast Forward Halal restaurant opening in Congress is like ‘Muslim conquest of Jerusalem,’ says GOP congressman
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Fast Forward Germany formally classifies far-right AfD party as extremist, in blow to Nazi-linked populist movement
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Fast Forward Trump taps shock jock Sid Rosenberg and a Haredi newspaper publisher for Holocaust Memorial Council
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Music Jill Sobule was as much a Jewish icon as a queer one
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