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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Abe Foxman Embraces ‘Son of God’ Movie
“Son of God” is the latest in a series of New Testament movies inspired by the life and death of Jesus Christ. But for once, Jewish leaders are positive about the film’s portrayal of Jews. Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League told the Wrap that he hopes “Son of God” will be “the…
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Seth Rogen Testifies on Alzheimer’s Before Empty Senate
Seth Rogen took a trip down to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing titled “The Rising Cost of Alzheimer’s in America.” The actor spoke about how the disease has impacted his own family. (WATCH the livestream here.) The actor and director is a celebrity spokesman and fundraiser for the…
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Turning His Lens on Male Vulnerability
Photographing graceful male dancers in New York may seem a long way from taking pictures of gruff IDF soldiers in Israel. But for 27-year-old lensman Nir Arieli, the progression makes perfect sense. “I always had an agenda to find that gentleness and sensitivity hidden in the soldiers I photographed,” he says, “which is something I…
The Latest
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Lena Dunham to Host SNL
Mark your calendars for March 8th! Variety reports that Lena Dunham will be hosting Saturday Night Live. The writer and creator of “Girls” will appear alongside musical guests The National, also making their debut on the iconic show. (FYI: as Jewcy points out, Aaron Dessner once studied Jewish history at Columbia.) The band’s most recent…
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Jimmy Fallon’s Got Nothing On Paul Rudd’s Lip Sync Skills
Jimmy Fallon hosted his first lip sync battle on “The Tonight Show” on Tuesday. If you haven’t seen it, drop everything. Paul Rudd, Jewish Mr. Nice Guy extraordinaire, gives us a glimpse of his true gift: not acting, but lip syncing — performing Tina Turner’s “Better Be Good To Me,” and Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”…
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Books Did Dreyfus Affair Really Inspire Herzl?
The idea that the trial of Alfred Dreyfus inspired Theodor Herzl to write “The Jewish State” is “simply not true,” Shlomo Avineri declared in a pointed, fluent, and well-received lecture that opened the first full day of London’s Jewish Book Week on February 23. Discussing his biography of the father of modern Zionism, “Herzl: Theodor…
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Would I Ask the Same Question of a Man? You Bet!
Thank you, commentators, talkbackers, bloggers, and writers, for so passionately sharing your thoughts with me following the publication in the Forward of my interview with Racheli Ibenboim. Honestly, I was not prepared for such a reaction. A couple of you were on my side (thank you!), but many hundreds of you were against me. And…
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Are You Ready For the ‘Naughty Jewish Boys’ Calendar?
2014 may have been the year of the Nice Jewish Guys calendar, but 2015 promises something a little naughtier. Calling all “Jewish men willing to pose shirtless, in underwear, or tastefully nude,” (chubby or hairy? that’s ok too) playwright Duncan Pflaster wants you for his Naughty Jewish Boys calendar. The idea came as a reaction…
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What Do Menorahs Have To Do With Madonnas?
Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins, ‘piETa’ (2007), image courtesy Art Gallery of Ontario. The Pietà, or the Virgin Mary mournfully cradling Christ’s dead body, is an artistic invention, which, as the Encyclopedia Britannica explains, “has no literary source.” One of the most important representations of the Pietà is Michelangelo’s late 15th-century marble sculpture at St….
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Jewish Comedy Mourns Harold Ramis
RIP Egon Spengler. Jewish actor, writer and director Harold Ramis, known for “Ghostbusters,” and “Stripes,” and “Groundhog Day,”has died. He was 69 years old. News of his death rattled Hollywood, with many colleagues, friends and admirers taking to Twitter to share their shock and grief, and pay tribute to his work. Deeply saddened to hear…
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Polish and Yiddish Art Songs Shine at New York Festival
The New York Festival of Songs’ (NYFOS) February 18 “Warsaw Serenade” program at Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Hall was right up my linguistic alley — a juxtaposition of “Songs by Polish Composers” plus “Seven Yiddish Songs Opus 13 (1943)” by Polish-Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996). The evening starred Moscow-born American soprano Dina Kuznetzova and Montreal-born…
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News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
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News Protesters picket Manhattan synagogue over Israel real estate sale, testing Mamdani and new law
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Man who firebombed Boulder Israeli hostage march sentenced to life in prison
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News LA Orthodox school’s former guidance counselor will avoid jail time in sex abuse case