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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Is Sarah Silverman’s ‘Wreck It Ralph’ Character the First Jewish Disney Princess?
Snow White. Sleeping Beauty. Belle. Tiana. Moana. Vanellope von Schweetz? Sarah Silverman and the directors of her 2012 animated movie “Wreck It Ralph” and its new sequel “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” contend that as video game character Vanellope von Schweetz, Silverman voices the first Jewish Disney princess. At the end of the first “Ralph” movie,…
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Adam Levine, Feminist: ‘Men Should Be Pillars of Support To Women’
Adam Levine is almost 40 years old and he doesn’t need a babysitter. The tatted up, smoldering Jewish frontman of Maroon 5 opened up in an interview with Variety about his unyielding respect and value for women, his pop-music ideology, and his future. Levine, despite whatever you may have thought or heard about him, is…
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William Shatner Is Nostalgic For His Childhood Hanukkahs
Do you remember the smell of the first latkes of the season in your childhood home? David Anton’s upcoming PBS documentary is all about the Chanukah. The movie dives into the history of the holiday’s celebration and the rise of its beloved traditions. The film, aptly titled Hanukkah: A Festival of DeLights, interviews Jewish historians,…
The Latest
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This Hanukkah Parody Of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Is The Greatest Ever
Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Before our very eyes, a Jewish a cappella group has produced the Hanukkah parody song and video to leave all others in the dust. Move over, Maccabeats, “Bohemian Chanukah,” a parody of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is the musical equivalent of being wrapped in a plush…
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Your Obsession With Hating Lena Dunham Is Terribly Boring
Over the weekend, New York Magazine’s female-focused vertical “The Cut” published an excellent profile by Allison P. Davis. It provoked a digital reunion of what must be the most diverse band of allies: loud liberals, alt-righters, millennials, dads, Midwesterners, art snobs, sexual conservatives, animal rights activists, and internet trolls. In other words, the stunning coterie…
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Barbara Streisand and Billy Eichner Spent Thanksgiving Together
We don’t know about you, but we’d happily sell our souls to partake in an intimate thanksgiving feast with Barbara Streisand and Billy Eichner. Allow us to set the scene: twinkling candles are scattered across the dining table. Pine cones rest rustically on each exquisite piece of china. Dim lights set a cozy yet enigmatic…
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Trevor Noah Mocks Trump’s Response To Damning Federal Climate Report
Trevor Noah bashed President Trump on the “Daily Show” for his lukewarm response to the explosive climate report that was released by thirteen federal agencies last week. Trevor Noah (along with the rest of us with common sense) had assumed that the president would “finally come onboard” and attempt to rectify our dire climate condition,…
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Israeli Musicians With Disabilities Go Viral With Joyful Beatles Cover
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes: The Shalva Band is on the rise. The eight musicians who perform on behalf of the Israeli Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities performed in the Next Star contest on Saturday night were under considerable pressure. “Kochav Haba,” or “The Next Star,” an Israeli music…
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus Cries After Tina Fey, Jerry Seinfeld Honor Her
Sing, goddess, of the genius of Gérard’s daughter Julia Louis-Dreyfus Brilliant, beautiful, that raven haired genius That brought down Emmy after Emmy, SAG awards dropping like rain Upon fair and foggy Washington, D.C. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has more Emmy Awards for acting than there are days in the week, was rightfully honored with one of…
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‘Northern Exposure,’ 39-Time Emmy Nominee, Is Being Revived By CBS
“Charlie’s Angels” — two reboots. “Spiderman,” which, respectfully, is a story about a man who is also a spider: three reboots. “The Dukes of Hazard” — a little surprising it was made at all. In the great age of reboots, when all of us are careful to never recycle plastics, only ideas, it is only…
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Orthodox Rabbi Caught Studying Torah During Soccer Game Goes Viral
Rabbi Zev Leff never set out to be a viral star — he just wanted to get in some Torah study. But the Haredi rabbi of Moshav Matityahu, located near the Israeli city of Modiin, became an accidental sensation when a stadium camera caught him studying at the Israel-Scotland game in Glasgow. Rav Leff was…
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
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Fast Forward Columbia staff receive texts asking if they’re Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus
In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish מחשבֿות פֿון אַן אַהיים־געקומענעם (אַ מלחמה־טאָגגבוך)Reflections of a soldier after returning home (a wartime diary)
דער מחבר איז אַ סטודענט אינעם ירושלימער העברעיִשן אוניווערסיטעט, אינעם צווייטן יאָר ייִדיש־לימוד
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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News At Harvard, reports on antisemitism and anti-Palestinian bias reflect campus conflict over Israel
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Opinion Is JB Pritzker’s very Jewish toughness the key to fighting Trump?
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