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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Never Too Old to Dance
The banging you hear in the background? That’s the drumbeat for an Oscar nomination for Gena Rowlands. Rowlands stars in “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,” a movie about the impact an elderly south Florida widow and a much younger gay dance instructor have on each other’s lives. Rowlands plays Lilly Harrison, the former wife…
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Sigmund Rolat and Varian Fry Honored at Yad Vashem Dinner
The American and International Societies for Yad Vashem’s 60th Annual Dinner at the Sheraton New York honored Holocaust survivor Sigmund Rolat and featured special tributes to Marc Chagall and American WWII Rescuer Varian Fry with son James Fry and Chagall’s granddaughter Bella Meyer accepting awards in their honor. “The Torah calls on us repeatedly Zachor…
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Neo-Nazi Climbs Into Lion Cage, Gets Mauled
Hakuna Matata doesn’t hold true for neo-Nazis. So, you know that inner voice that tells you when you’re doing something bad/irresponsible/possibly stupid and life-threatening. Apparently, neo-Nazis don’t have that. The Daily Mail reports that a Spanish neo-Nazi dressed in a military uniform was mauled by lions after climbing into their enclosure in a Barcelona zoo….
The Latest
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9 Palestinian Films Everyone Should See
What constitutes a Palestinian film is a matter of huge debate. Some argue it is determined by the identity of the filmmaker, or by the film’s narrative. Others suggest it is production-led, and therefore depends on the financial institutions or individuals that back it. Palestinian national cinema is a relatively young cinema, and it is…
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You’ll Never Guess What Natalie Portman’s Alias Is
Getty Images Celebrities — they’re just like us. They grocery shop, they pay bills, they travel. Only, unlike you and me, they use utterly ridiculous names to complete these mundane plebeian tasks. The recent Sony hack has revealed the alternate identities of some of our favorite Jewish (and Jewish adjacent — Taye Diggs was married…
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Can a Palestinian Movie Take Israeli Money?
“The war against Gaza finished and the war against me finished,” said Suha Arraf, referring to the controversy that had taken place during the summer over her directorial debut film, “Villa Touma.” At the Venice Film Festival, the Haifa-based Palestinian-Israeli filmmaker and screenwriter had categorized her film as Palestinian — not an issue per se…
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Walgreens Hanukkah Wrapping Paper Has Swastikas
NBC Nothing says Happy Holidays like Nazi-themed wrapping paper. Cheryl Shapiro was shopping in the Northridge, California, Walgreens’ Hanukkah section when she came across something odd — something swastika-shaped. Shapiro, who was in the store with her grandson, was outraged. “I told them I wanted this taken off the shelves immediately – not just your store,…
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‘Requiem for the 20th Century’ at Carnegie Hall
Any music-lover in the New York area should run, not walk, to Carnegie Hall on December 10. Why? Only the New York premiere of one of the most influential and iconic compositions of the late 20th century: “Requiem” by holocaust survivor György Ligeti, scored for soprano, mezzo-soprano, double chorus and large orchestra. Ligeti was unquestionably…
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Einstein to Marie Curie: ‘Ignore the Trolls’
Getty Images Trolls are the worst. Even Einstein said so. A new trove of Albert Einstein letters put online this week has revealed a piece of correspondence in which the physicist gives some friendly advice to contemporary icon Marie Curie. The gist? Haters gonna hate. (The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein) Despite a Nobel Prize…
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The Real Life Mensch Behind Mensch on a Bench
Courtesy of Neal Hoffman On his first day of MBA classes at the University of Virginia, Neal Hoffman called Hasbro Toys and offered to work for them without pay. That call led to six years of working at Hasbro’s marketing department on G.I. Joe, Tonka Toys and Chuck & Friends. A self-described, “big kid at…
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Remembering Claire Barry at Folksbiene
The first time I met Claire Barry, the then-surviving sister of the legendary Barry Sister who died on November 22 at 94, was in July 1983 at the Catskills hotel Brickman’s a.k.a. “The Citadel of Comedians.” My husband Joe and I were leaving after a week but resident comic Jan Murray insisted we stay one…
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In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Devices tagged ‘Free Gaza’ found at ballot drop box fires in Oregon, Washington state
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Yiddish צוויי אויסצוגן פֿון ייִדישער ליטעראַטור וועגן אַ צעשטערטן שׂימחת־תּורהTwo excerpts of Yiddish literature about devastation on Simchat Torah
די צוויי ווערק דריקן אױס װײטיק, פּנים־אל־פּנים מיט חורבן און בראָך אין פֿריִערדיקע תּקופֿות.
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Fast Forward ADL takes flak for failing to tie bigotry at Madison Square Garden rally to Trump
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Theater For ‘Ragtime’ star Brandon Uranowitz, to be Jewish is to be hopeful
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