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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About Jews — In Cardinal O’Connor’s Own Words
The revelation that John Cardinal O’Connor’s mother was Jewish (she converted to Catholicism) made me reach back to the many Jewish-focused addresses by the Cardinal at events at which he was either an honoree or keynote speaker. What struck me were the Cardinal’s passionate directives to his Jewish audiences. A sampling: At the April 1997…
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Switched Identities in Israeli Film at Cannes
Moviegoers who were moved by the surrealism and symbolism in Shira Geffen’s 2007 film “Jellyfish” (Meduzot in Hebrew) will be pleased to know that her equally fantastical new film, “Self Made,” debuts at Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival this month. “Self Made” tells the story of two women — one Israeli and one…
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Lana Del Rey to Play Israel This Summer
Photo: Getty Images Israel’s summer concert lineup just keeps on getting better. The latest famous name on the list is Lana Del Rey, who just announced she’ll be performing August 20 in Tel Aviv’s Park Hayarkon. According to Haaretz, tickets will range from 400 shekels ($116) for standing room to 1,000 shekels for seats closer…
The Latest
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Donald Sterling On Magic Johnson: ‘He Should Be Ashamed of Himself’
Donald Sterling just doesn’t know when to quit. As if the Los Angeles Clippers owner’s racist remarks weren’t bad enough, he had to go and comment on Magic Johnson having AIDS (For the record, he doesn’t. He has HIV). “He acts so holy. I mean, he made love to every girl in every city in…
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Fox vs. NBC Fight Heads to Holy Land
Breaking news: Fox is mad at NBC. Again. This time, the network has taken the fight to the Holy Land, calling Israel a “third-world country without clear regulations,” because the country’s willingness to fund NBC projects over Fox ones. According to Haaretz, NBC will receive up to 22 million shekels ($6.4 million) in funding from…
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‘Got Nut Allergies? Get Off My Plane!’
Addressing the 650 guests — mostly mothers of young and teenage children with food allergies — at the Food Allergy Research & Education Spring Luncheon at Cipriani 42nd Street, allergic-to-nuts WABC-TV Anchor Lori Stokes spoke of “the dramatic rise in the number of children with life-threatening food allergies” and her anguish that her 19-year old allergic…
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34 Things Justin Timberlake Can’t Live Without on His Trip to Israel
If you’re heading to Israel this summer (or already live there), you’re in for quite a concert lineup. The Rolling Stones, The Back Street Boys and Justin Timberlake have all announced tour dates in the Holy Land over the coming months. But before the first note is played, some demands must be met. Ynet has…
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To Somalia and Back Again
Michael Maren has lived an Indiana Jones kind of life: Peace Corps volunteer, war correspondent from Africa, kidnap victim of a Somali warlord, author, and now filmmaker. However, anyone expecting a hard-hitting documentary exposing the troubles of foreign aid (the subject of his book, “The Road to Hell”) is in for a surprise. In fact,…
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A Whole Day (And Book) to Celebrate Your Jewish Mom
Rachel Ament with her mom // Courtesy of Rachel Ament Mayim Bialik’s mom thinks you’re jealous of her. If Barbra Streisand could be so famous and amazing and wonderful with her nose, why should mine be any problem Actually, the way my mother told it, I was indeed a fantastic, gorgeous person and I am…
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Mila Kunis On Pregnancy, Midwives and Craving Pickles
Photo: Getty Images After weeks of silence, Mila Kunis has finally confirmed that she’s expecting her first child with Ashton Kutcher, the Daily Mail reports. The 30-year-old sat down with Ellen Degeneres in an episode timed for Mother’s Day. No details on whether the baby is a girl or a boy, or when the due…
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POEM: ‘September 1, 1946’
Seven years after Auden sat uncertain and afraid in one of the dives on 52nd Street, my great-grandmother arrives, finally, in New York. She was lucky, everyone will say, to have left Germany in time, and to have waited out the war with her husband in Brazil. But on September 1, 1946, she does not…
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