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: Capturing a 1970s Borscht Belt Singles’ Weekend
Born and raised in New York, my mother, Rani Stevens Goodman, grew up going to the Catskill Mountains every weekend from the time she was still in the womb until her mid-twenties. For the uninitiated, The Catskills, which include Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties in upstate New York, was once known as The Borscht Belt,…
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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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Was Eichmann Trial ‘Most Important TV Event’?
More than almost any other event, it was the trial of Adolf Eichmann that, in 1961, brought the Holocaust into the public consciousness of the world. In both Europe and Israel, the trial marked the beginning of the end of a period, immediately after the Second World War, when the Holocaust was deliberately ignored and…
The Latest
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Michelle Obama Wore Jewish Designer Michael Kors at SOTU
Getty Images The internet fairly exploded over Michelle Obama’s smokin’ outfit at last night’s State of the Union address. FLOTUS wore a grey blazer/skirt combo by Jewish designer Michael Kors (his mother was model Joan Kors), repping American fashion and the Tribe in one fell swoop. Fans of the outfit couldn’t help but notice that…
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Mina Bern (And Her Chicken Soup) Celebrated
When Eleanor Reissa — performer, director and co-organizer of the January 11th Tribute to Yiddish theater diva Mina Bern — asked me to participate in “A Celebration of Her Life On Her 5th Yahrzeit” at The Center for Jewish History, I was thrilled. Mina, whose over-the top performances I had reviewed for decades, was the closest…
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How Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stole SOTU Show
Getty Images So, you may have heard that the President gave an important speech last night. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first — let’s talk about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s mad style chops. The Supreme Court Justice, rocked a beaded Egyptian-style style collar, and BLACK. FISHNET. GLOVES. as she gave President Obama a…
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Israeli Busted For Hacking Madonna’s Computer
Getty Images (Reuters) — An Israeli man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of hacking Madonna’s computer and selling the pop icon’s songs online, a private investigator involved in the case said. Israeli police confirmed they had detained a man suspected of stealing the work of a number of international stars, but declined to name…
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The Summer Polish Jews Were Hunted
Getty Images In the cities, hamlets, and pine-covered forests of Poland, a murderous hunt took place in the summer of 1942. The Germans called it the Judenjagd, the hunt for the Jews. Historian Jan Grabowski documents the deadly dragnet in his book “Hunt for the Jews: Betrayal and Murder in German-Occupied Poland.” Originally published in…
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Awards Announced for Best Jewish Books for Kids and Teens
Wikimedia Commons The Jewish book award season is in full swing. The winners of the 2015 National Jewish Book Awards were announced last week. Today, the Association of Jewish Libraries released the list of laureates of the Sydney Taylor Book Award that honors new books for children and teens about the Jewish experience. In the…
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What If Miss Israel Photobombed Others?
Miss Israel, Doron Matalon, made headlines this week after allegedly photobombing a selfie Miss Lebanon was taking with Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan and posting it on her own Instagram feed. In doing so, she may have tapped into a new peace-brokering technique. So, what if she did it to others? To test the theory,…
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Argentina’s Very Jewish Oscar Nominee
(JTA) — If Damian Szifron’s “Wild Tales” (“Relatos Salvajes” in Spanish) wins an Academy Award on February 22 — it was nominated last week for Best Foreign Film — it will be Argentina’s third Oscar and the first for a film directed by an Argentine Jew. The film, which combines humor, suspense and violence, consists…
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Yiddish פֿאַר וואָס הערט מען ניט וועגן דעם גלעצנדיקן וווּקס פֿון דער ישׂראל־בערזע? Why aren’t we hearing about the dramatic growth of the Israeli stock market?
וואָלט דער אָפּרוף געווען אַנדערש, ווען דער ציל פֿון די טעראָריסטן וואָלט ניט געווען ייִדן, נאָר אַן אַנדער גרופּע?
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