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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Pious Donkeys and Ancient Jews Hit the Road
Were Jews of antiquity mere homebodies compared to adventurous Islamic and Christian travelers? In his 1932 study “Caravan Cities”, historian Michael Ivanovitch Rostovtzeff suggested as much, stating that ancient Jews were “of a national character insufficiently mobile or versatile.” However, “Jewish Travel in Antiquity”, a study out in October from Mohr Siebeck Verlag, scotches this…
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Matchmaker, Find Me a Jewish Bachelor Billionaire
The mothers of the seven Jewish (or Jew-ish) men who make up more than half of Forbes’ list of the 12 most eligible billionaire bachelors must be kvelling. That is, they must be thrilled that their sons are so incredibly wealthy and desirable, but not necessarily that they haven’t yet blissfully settled down (some of…
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Books Author Blog: Passover for Non-Bolivians
Aviva Kanoff is the author of “The No-Potato Passover” Her blog posts are being 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: By now, most people have heard of quinoa, the superfood. With plenty of fiber, protein…
The Latest
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Rahm Emanuel Disses New York
We all knew that Chicago Mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was a competitive kind of guy. But now he’s carrying it a bit too far. Gothamist has its knickers in a twist because the Windy City’s head honcho apparently dissed New Yorkers while doing an interview with a local Chicago…
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Warsaw Theater Tackles Hanoch Levin
Crossposted From Haaretz Gay soccer fans about to come out of the closet. A mother and her daughter, and their fatal relationship against the backdrop of occupied Poland. Twenty-first-century Poles who must deal with the guilt of World War II, a time when men handed their countrymen over to the Nazis in exchange for nothing…
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Jon Stewart In Awe of ‘The Island President’
You heard about the new documentary film “The Island President” here in the Forward first. Now Jon Stewart has gotten a hold of the story. More specifically, he invited the film’s star, Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives, to appear on The Daily Show for an exclusive interview. On April 2, Stewart questioned Nasheed…
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Window to a Medieval Seder
Each Haggadah tells not just the story of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, but also the story of its owners. Containing worn, loose or torn out pages, covered with wine stains and littered with matzo crumbs, the Haggadah reflects how Jews celebrate the yearly rituals of the Seder night. This year, The Metropolitan…
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An Elvis-Themed Israel Tour, For Only $4,000
Elvis Costello shunned Israel a couple of years ago, cancelling a gig on grounds of conscience. But it seems that Israel is just the destination to celebrate the mightier, even more famous Elvis. On Thursday, tickets went on sale for a $3,995 Elvis Presley themed tour of Israel. No kidding — check it out for…
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Finding J.D. Salinger in the Census
Recluse? What recluse? All we needed was the 1940 census to tell us where the uber-private J.D. Salinger lived that year. Trouble is, we didn’t have access to the 1940 census until yesterday. On April 2, the government opened up the personal details of 132 million people, after keeping them confidential for 72 years. Gothamist…
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Pretty Women Can’t Get Jobs?
Beautiful women don’t really get all the breaks, new Israeli research suggests. Bradley Ruffle at Ben-Gurion University and Ze’ev Shtudiner at Ariel University Center found that if you’re female and searching for a job, good looks could actually be a liability. They applied for 2,500 jobs using fake identities. For each job, they sent an…
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Books Moshe Kasher Responds to Critics
Moshe Kasher is the author of “Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16.” His blog posts are being featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For…
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