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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Gilad Shalit’s Rosh Hashanah Message
Rosh Hashanah can be a busy time for all Jews, but Gilad Shalit’s family has had even more going on than most. First, Gilad Shalit’s older brother Yoel wed his girlfriend of three years, Ya’ara Vinkler. They stood under the huppah last Friday afternoon at Kibbutz Beit Oren in the Carmel region of northern Israel….
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Stephen Colbert’s Atone Phone
Tevye the Milkman is not the only one to believe in tradition. Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report does, too. As has become his High Holiday custom, Colbert is happily prepared to accept apologies from Jews who have wronged him. To make that easier, he has set up a toll-free Atone Phone. Here’s…
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Books Wandering Mother, Wondering Daughter
Anne Cherian was born and raised in Jamshedpur, India. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and visits India regularly. Her second book, “The Invitation,” is now available. Her blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series,…
The Latest
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Loving Look at Radio Pioneer
Those of you who are up on your 1960s counter-culture know that the Yippies were formed, for the most part, by a group of Jewish troublemakers from Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Some of those mischievous Yidden are no longer with us: Abbie Hoffman committed suicide in 1989, Jerry Rubin got hit by a car in…
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Chelsea Handler Bitten by Sea Lion
Chelsea Handler recently told viewers of her “Chelsea Lately” talk show on E! that she had an uneventful summer…except for the fact that she was attacked by a sea lion. The comedienne was bitten on her left leg while paddle boarding in the Pacific Ocean. “If there was ever a woman who was born to…
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Fashion Week: Calvin Klein’s Runway
Calvin Klein’s Spring 2013 line was on display last week at the New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Klein has one of the most recognizable and profitable brands in the world, but he started off with very little. Born in the Bronx to Jewish Hungarian parents, Klein started his fashion line by opening a coat shop…
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Fashion Week: Ralph Lauren’s Runway
Yesterday Ralph Lauren displayed his newest collection at the New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Lauren epitomizes the American dream, both in his preppy American clothing that proudly display the polo horse and rider logo, and with his own story. The designer was born in the Bronx in 1939 to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants. His original name…
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Books Author Blog: The War of Narratives
Earlier this week, Shani Boianjiu explored the book of Jonah and writing her debut novel in a foreign language. Her blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: When I first started writing, I…
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Simi Polonsky’s Frum Fashion Week Picks
Simi Polonsky, an Orthodox woman living in Crown Heights, is an expert at turning runway looks into synagogue-appropriate styles. She grew up in Australia, where she was a personal stylist for several Jewish women, helping them find stunning clothes that meet modesty requirements. Now, with her sister Chaya Chanin, Polonsky is running Frock Swap, a…
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Fred Hersch Focuses at the Vanguard
Inside the Village Vanguard in Manhattan’s West Village, photographs of legendary jazz musicians line the dark-green walls. Stage left, above a portrait of a stolid John Coltrane, hangs a shot of the pianist Fred Hersch playing a song, his eyes closed, an intense yet peaceful aura about him. Hersch, 56, is relatively young to have…
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Fashion Week: Rachel Zoe’s Runway
Rachel Zoe, the celebrity stylist turned designer, showed her new line this afternoon at New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Rachel Zoe was born as Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig in New Jersey. Although she has no formal fashion training — she worked at Gotham and YM Magazine before starting a career as a freelance stylist — Zoe…
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Most Popular
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Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
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Music ‘No matter what, I will always be a Jew.’ Billy Joel opens up about his family’s Holocaust history
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Culture She was my Hebrew school bully — and I finally learned what happened to her
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Opinion American Jews were played — now what?
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