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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Ruth Madoff’s New Digs in Old Greenwich
There goes the neighborhood. Some residents of Old Greenwich, Connecticut are not pleased to learn that they have been joined by none other than Ruth Madoff, wife of the notorious Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. Rumors that Mrs. Madoff had arrived in town were recently confirmed. She apparently moved last October into a modest (by Greenwich…
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Gilad Shalit To Get Army Discharge
The Israeli press has reported on former Hamas captive Gilad Shalit’s every move since his release and return to Israel last October. First we were informed of the Gilad Shalit shirt craze, then of his first bike ride and his first visit to the beach. Next we saw him being visited by political VIPs like…
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Bethenny Frankel, Serious Actress?
The official website of Bethenny Frankel — the tireless “reality” self-promoter who most recently chronicled her crumbling marriage on Bravo’s Bethenny Ever After(http://www.bravotv.com/bethenny-ever-after) — describes her as a “bestselling author and natural food chef.” Now, Frankel apparently wants to add “serious actress” to the list. UsMagazine.com reports Frankel just auditioned for a role in director…
The Latest
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Moshe Hager, Vizhnitzer Rebbe, Dead at 95
Crossposted from Haaretz One of the Haredi community’s most veteran leaders passed away overnight Tuesday in Bnei Brak. Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, the head of the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty and president of Agudath Israel’s Council of Torah Sages, died aged 95. His funeral will be held on Wednesday afternoon, and is expected to draw mass…
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High-Tech Messiah in Brooklyn
“Distorting (a messiah project, 13C),” an installation by artist R. Justin Stewart, is a technically ambitious representation of that most elusive of subjects: the Jewish concept of the Messiah. On view until May 5 at the industrial-chic Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn, the large-scale installation is composed of an elaborate web of blue, green…
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Architect Plans to Bridge West Bank and Gaza
Crossposted from Haaretz French Jewish architect Marc Mimram has an idea that borders on the utopian: to build a huge, multistoried bridge stretching 37 kilometers in order to physically connect the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the two areas under Palestinian Authority rule. The plan, made public for the first time in the pages…
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Demi Moore: From Kabbalah To Rehab
We’re not sure what Jewish mystics had to say about Red Bull and Adderall, but actress Demi Moore apparently immersed herself in Kabbalah to stay on track with her recovery from addiction, gossip site TheFix reports. The approach was not entirely successful; in February, Moore ended up checking herself into “an undisclosed location” from which…
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Books Jewish Humor on ‘Treasure Island’
Treasure Island!!! By Sara Levine Europa Editions, 172 pages, $15.00 There are as many Jewish humors as there are funny Jews, which is to say that there are 12 — and half of them haven’t been good in years. Many essentialist definitions of Jewish humor, such as the comedy of outsiders, or the comedy of…
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Books Author Blog: Writing the Civil War in Jerusalem
Dr. Jonathan Sarna’s newest book, “When General Grant Expelled the Jews,” is now available. His blog posts are being featured this week 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: “You are working on what?” most of the…
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Playing on the Edge
Crossposted from Haaretz A white minivan was spotted in the Western Galilee last week, heading through the Tefen Industrial Park to the Zikit Cultural Center. The mountainous landscape was awash with color, but this was no scenic tour for members of the Israeli Chamber Project. Armed with their music stands and instruments, they were on…
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Berlin Philharmonic Returns to Roots
In tandem with three New York concerts given by the Berlin Philharmonic in February, New York University’s Deutsches Haus has opened an exhibition of Holocaust survivor David Friedmann’s “Lost Musician Portraits” from the 1920s. These sketches of Berlin Philharmonic members were drawn from life, and captured each of the artists in the act of performing….
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