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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Behind the Scenes With James Deen
“Doc Johnson” doesn’t sound Jewish. But the nation’s biggest manufacturer of sex toys is owned and run by the father-and-son team of Ron and Chad Braverman, and July’s Los Angeles magazine delivers a behind-the-scenes look at their “empire of rubber” — and the Jewish porn star they’ve enlisted to make it even bigger. Fly-on-the-wall style,…
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Books Author Blog: Hearing Voices
Daniel Smith’s newest book, “Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety,” is now available. His 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: I know a little something about hearing voices. My first book, “Muses,…
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Should Israelis Cancel Trips to Bulgaria?
The tragic attack in Bulgaria has united Israelis in shock and mourning. But some are also left asking a rather mundane question — who pays for the knock-on effects? The Hebrew media reports that in the main Israelis with travel plans for Bulgaria are continuing to travel. But inevitably, some want to cancel. Travel agents…
The Latest
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I’m No Terrorist
A Palestinian grocer portrayed as a terrorist in the comedy “Bruno” has settled his slander suit against Jewish actor Sacha Baron Cohen and talk show host David Letterman, according to a report by the British Daily Mail. In an article published Friday, the Daily Mail said that Ayman Abu Aita was interviewed in the 2009…
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Books Author Blog: The Dangers of Nice
Earlier this week Matti Friedman, a reporter in Jerusalem for The Times of Israel, and author of The Aleppo Codex, wrote about the codex vs. the Kindle and provided a mini-lesson on Jews from Arab lands. His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s…
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Matisyahu ‘Loosens the Knots’ of Judaism
The clean-shaven singer in a loose white t-shirt barely resembles a 2006 snapshot of a bearded Hasid dancing merrily in a suit and shtramel. And indeed, Matisyahu today bears little likeness to his longtime “Chassidic reggae superstar” persona. While his transformation sparked much speculation in the blogosphere — Matisyahu dropped the bomb by posting a…
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Lena, Larry and Mayim Scoop Emmy Nods
Mayim Bialik, Larry David and Lena Dunham are among the Jewish performers nominated for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards. Jewish filmmaker and actress Lena Dunham was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Hannah Horvath on the HBO series “Girls.” The show has also been nominated for Outstanding Comedy…
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Düsseldorf Will Replace Mendelssohn Statue
It may have taken 76 years, and they missed the composer’s bicentenary by three years, but Düsseldorf is finally about to replace the bronze statue of Felix Mendelssohn that the Nazis tore down in 1936 and later used for scrap metal. The recreated statue is to be re-installed September 27, at the entrance to the…
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Video: Photo Shredding on the Knesset Floor
In 1988, Israel’s Central Election Commission banned the extremist lawmaker Rabbi Meir Kahane from running again for Knesset, on the grounds that his party was racist and undemocratic. Since then, he’s never been seen at the Knesset podium… apart from yesterday. An Arab lawmaker, Ahmad Tibi, held up a photograph of Kahane at the podium,…
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Remembering Munich, in Fact and Fiction
In case you haven’t realized it, the Olympics are coming. I refer, of course, to the London Summer Olympics, which will begin with the opening ceremony on July 27. I’ve been thinking a great deal about these Olympics, not because I’m an athlete (although I will proudly tell anyone who will listen about my first…
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Daniel Radcliffe Gets His Own Rom-Com
He knows how to succeed in business without really trying — but what about a platonic relationship? Daniel Radcliffe, melter of muggle hearts worldwide, has just been cast as the lead, along side co-star Zoe Kazan (jury’s still out on her tribal status), in “The F Word,” an indie romantic comedy about two 20-somethings trying…
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Music After decades of waiting, we’re finally getting a Bob Dylan-Barbra Streisand duet
In Case You Missed It
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Antisemitism Decoded What do we really mean by ‘campus antisemitism’? Harvard explains
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Fast Forward Trump pulls nomination of Ed Martin, the DC prosecutor under fire for ties to Nazi sympathizer
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Fast Forward Freed hostage Emily Damari to Pulitzer board: Mosab Abu Toha is ‘the modern-day equivalent of a Holocaust denier’
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Yiddish וואָס צוויי פּאָעטן האָבן געשריבן וועגן זייערע מאַמעסWhat these two Yiddish poets wrote about their mothers
מאַני לייב און ראַשעל וואַפּרינסקי, וואָס זענען יאָרן לאַנג געווען ראָמאַנטיש פֿאַרבונדן, באַשרײַבן ביידע דער מאַמעס פֿרומקייט.
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