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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Curtis Sliwa’s Secret Jewish Kids
You know Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa’s famous red beret? Might be time for him to trade it in for a yarmulke. The New York Post broke the news that Sliwa is the biological father of former New York Councilmember Melinda Katz’s two sons, and that the couple is now living together and planning to…
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Monday Music: Gil Shaham Revives German Composer
Is there a more sunny and less ego-driven violinist than Israeli-born Gil Shaham? He makes even the most virtuosic music seem so effortless and natural, it’s easy to forget how rare and difficult an achievement that is. This year he has devoted himself to reviving a handful of under-played 20th-century violin concertos. In mid-March, abetted…
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Big Independence Day Bucks for Israeli Pop Stars
Israel’s Independence Day, coming up next week, is a great day of rejoicing for Israel’s celebrities. Why for celebrities, you ask? Are they the biggest Zionists in the country, the most excited that after 2,000 years of yearning, in 1948 the Jewish People attained political independence.? Er… no — they just make the biggest bucks….
The Latest
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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Random Act of Kindness
We enjoyed watching Jake Gyllenhaal look for the missing matzo during Passover last week — and then we learned that he is even more of a mensch than we knew. The handsome 31-year-old actor has been known to be philanthropic, giving to a variety of causes from the Afghan Relief Organization to Variety to Global…
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Books Author Blog: Why I Write
Ramona Ausubel is the author of the novel “No One Is Here Except All of Us,” published by Riverhead Books. 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: Maybe there are four or…
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Israeli Author Shortlisted for Prestigious Prize
Israeli novelist Yishai Sarid has made the shortlist for the prestigious Impac Dublin Literary Award. Sarid, an attorney in his mid-40s and the son of former government minister Yossi Sarid, was chosen as one of the final 10 contenders for the 100,000 euro prize on the merit of his 2009 book “Limassol.” A gripping read,…
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Out and About
In this week’s New York Times Book Review Steve Almond reviews Etgar Keret’s “Suddenly, a Knock on the Door,” and Jonathan Rosen reviews Peter Beinart’s “The Crisis of Zionism.” Read the Forward’s coverage of those books here and here. Listen to Gary Shteyngart read from Keret’s book, here. The Museum of Jewish Heritage wants to…
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Jerusalem Park Inspired by NYC’s High Line
An old train track on Manhattan’s West Side has been transformed into an urban-ecological paradise. Over the past decade, Jerusalem has been trying something similar with its Train Track Park, which links neighborhoods that would otherwise have little do with each other. Architect Yair Avigdor and landscape architect Shlomi Zeevi have been busy planning and…
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Eric Cantor Backs Shmuley Boteach’s Campaign
It’s always good to have friends in high places… who are willing to open their wallets for you. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has contributed $5,000 to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s congressional campaign. You will recall that the self-touted “America’s rabbi” and author of “Kosher Sex,” “The Kosher…
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Rachel Dratch: ‘I’m a Troll’
Rachel Dratch just isn’t pretty enough. That is why, she writes in her new memoir, “Girl Walks Into A Bar,” she hasn’t made it big in films or on television post-SNL. “I am offered solely the parts that I like to refer to as The Unf-ckables. In reality, if you saw me walking down the…
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Jon Lovitz Gets Tough On Hate Crime
We may know Jon Lovitz as a joker, but he was very serious when he tweeted about a recent anti-Semitic act perpetrated against his friend’s teenage daughter by other students from her school. It was reported that Lovitz’s posts about the incident, which took place in Northridge, California on April 3, led to the expulsion…
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