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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When Rabbi Freundel Did ‘Da Ali G Show’
(JTA) — Back in 2003, long before Rabbi Barry Freundel’s arrest on voyeurism charges, and long before Sacha Baron Cohen was a household name, the rabbi appeared on Baron Cohen’s “Da Ali G Show.” The rabbi was one of three religious leaders (plus an atheist) who agreed to appear on a panel, apparently unaware that…
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A Heartbreaking Work of Intellectual Fiction
Florence Gordon By Brian Morton Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 320 pages, $25 Those who spend enough time with the title character of Brian Morton’s novel “Florence Gordon” are both fixated on and frustrated by her. That applies to the characters in the novel — Florence’s family, friends and literary peers and acolytes — but may well…
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Does ‘Money Grubbin’ Play Need To Be Jewish?
Photo: Zack DeZon There is a good play lurking within Sean J. Quinn’s “Money Grubbin’ Whores.” More’s the pity. “MGW” takes place in the basement of what appears to be an old pizzeria in what is now a Hispanic neighborhood. There will be a kid’s birthday party there tomorrow. A banner reading Felíz Cumpleaños is…
The Latest
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Cruise Into Drive-Through Sukkah
(JTA) — For those on-the-go types who prefer to travel through, rather than live in, their (very) temporary dwelling, there’s a new option: the drive-thru sukkah. Following the lead of Miami’s Bet Shira Congregation — which in 2009 opened what is believed to be the first drive-thru sukkah — a suburban Philadelphia synagogue is this…
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Adolf Hitler Joins Tinder — Girls Say ‘Heil!’
Adolf Hitler is on Tinder. I repeat, Adolf Hitler is on Tinder. Well, not really because, you know, Hitler took his own life in 1945 to avoid being caught by the Allied forces. There is, however, someone impersonating a 22-year-old ‘Adolf’ on the popular dating app, and some screen grabs from Reddit suggest he’s done…
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Richard Gere to Star in Israeli ‘Oppenheimer’ Flick
Actor Richard Gere reportedly is set to star in a new film by award-winning Israeli director Joseph Cedar. Cedar also wrote the screenplay for the movie, which will be filmed in both New York and Israel, the Israeli daily Yedioth Acharonot reported Sunday. Two of Cedar’s films, “Footnote” and “Beaufort,” were nominated for Academy Awards….
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Hit Man to Las Vegas Rabbi in ‘Gangsterland’
David Cohen’s the new rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in Las Vegas. He’s a learned guy who drops pearls of Torah wisdom for admiring congregants. And he’s overseeing both preschool and funerals for the growing shul. Oh, Rabbi Cohen’s also Sal Cupertine, a ruthless Chicago mafia hit man who’s had to assume a new identity…
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Bill Clinton’s ‘King David’ Defense in Monica Lewinsky Scandal
Call it the King David defense — for Bubba. A noted Jewish studies professor once suggested President Bill Clinton was not guilty of adultery with White House intern Monica Lewinsky under a Talmudic approach — and noted that the Biblical David was never ousted for much worse sins, a newly released email reveals. The email…
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When Investigative Reporting Turns Deadly
Writer Peter Landesman seems the only good choice to have written “Kill the Messenger.” The movie is about Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) who broke the story that the CIA, during the Reagan administration, was part of a conspiracy that looked away while gobs of cocaine was smuggled into the U.S. and…
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Taking ‘Jewboy’ Nickname to His Grave
Some nicknames are not meant to show up in an obituary. After John McGee, of Wildwood, New Jersey, passed away on October 5, his unfortunate nickname — “Jewboy” — showed up in his obituaries in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. (Wildwood is part of Cape May County on the Southern tip of…
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USA Network Orders Up Israel Crime Thriller
Photo: Virginia Sherwood USA Network has ordered four additional episodes of “Dig,” an Israeli-set crime thriller. This brings to 10 the total number of episodes of the series, which premiers in March. Jason Isaacs stars as FBI agent Peter Connelly, who has his share of heartbreak and demons he want to leave behind. So he…
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In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish אַ מחיה, די אייראָפּעיִשע גאַסן־נעמען! I love European street names!
אין וואַרשע הייסן גאַסן נאָך חיות, מאַטעריאַלן, מלאָכות, אַפֿילו נאָכן וועטער.
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Fast Forward Is Elissa Slotkin’s Senate bid in trouble?
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Fast Forward Chicago Jews deride mayor’s statement on shooting of Orthodox man
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Art Two new statues in D.C. honor white nationalists — well, sort of
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