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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At the ‘Footnote’ Oscar Viewing Party
At an Academy Awards viewing party sponsored by the Israeli Consulate together with the Israeli Leadership Council at the Luxe Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, the moment when the Iranian film “A Separation” won the Oscar was greeted by a heartfelt moan. “Footnote,” the comic drama directed by Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar about a pair of…
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Out and About
Rabbi Norman Lamm’s new book on Purim gets a glowing review. HEEB talks to “Footnote” director Joseph Cedar. On the Yiddish Song of the Week blog, listen to “Hayda-liu-liu” performed by the linguist Mordkhe Schaechter. Daniel Treiman identifies ‘the greatest tangent in movie reviewing’ in a piece by former New York City mayor Ed Koch….
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Oscar Night Highlights
Oscar night has come and gone, and now the real fun begins. With the glitzy spectacle fresh in our minds, this is the time to dissect, analyze, and discuss. Best and worst dressed? Start with our red-carpet photo slideshow. Which victories were well deserved? Who should’ve won but went home empty handed? Check out our…
The Latest
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Oscar Wins for ‘The Artist’; ‘Footnote’ Shut Out
The French film “The Artist” was the big winner at this year’s Academy Awards, while the Israeli contender, “Footnote,” went home empty handed. “The Artist,” by French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, picked up both best picture and best director honors February 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Check out all the best Oscar night photos….
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Friends Honor Avant-Garde Artist Ira Cohen
Poet, filmmaker, mystic, photographer and publisher Ira Cohen, who died last April, can still fill a room with energy. With the aid of Cohen’s address book, friends gathered this month at the Living Theatre on New York’s Lower East Side to celebrate the life of the Bronx-born countercultural figure who spent years mixing it up…
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Debating the Best Israeli Films
With “Footnote” the fourth Israeli film in five years to make it to the shortlist nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Israel’s recent cinematic prowess is indisputable. Though none of Israel’s total of ten nominations actually won an Oscar there have been many more excellent films to come out of that…
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Eating and Drinking with Shabbetai Zvi
Leyb ben Oyzer’s “Description of Shabbetai Zevi” (Bashraybung fun Shabetai Tsvi) is a fascinating Yiddish text, apparently never wholly translated into English, but available in a sparkling new translation into French by Nathan Weinstock, published in November 2011 by Les éditions Honoré Champion. “Description of Shabbetai Zevi” first appeared in 1718 in Amsterdam, where its…
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Behind the Scenes: ‘Footnote’ Pre-Oscar Party
Israeli-born producer Avi Lerner can’t compare the film “Footnote” to the blockbusters that he produces. “It’s a different movie,” he said of the Israeli film, which is nominated for an Academy Award in Best Foreign Language Film category. Lerner, who has produced big-budget action movies like “The Expendables” and low-budget exploitation flicks like “Crocodile 2:…
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Israel Through Quebecois Eyes
Crossposted from Haaretz Israel — its conflict and its paradoxes — has become a source of inspiration for cartoonists from all over the world, who seek to explore this hot topic through a combination of graphics and narration. In 2008, the Quebecois comic-book author Guy Delisle moved to East Jerusalem for the year, following his…
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Friday Film: The Art of Being a Jewish Son
David Suskind was the Oprah of his day. From 1958 until 1987 he hosted a television talk show that discussed controversial issues, from Vietnam to race relations. One of his most popular programs, which he rebroadcast on a regular basis, was “How To Be a Jewish Son.” Originally broadcast in the fall of 1970, it…
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Books Author Blog: Autumn in His Heart
Earlier this week, Adam Wilson wrote about Seinfeld, Moses, and hubris. 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: I’ve thought a lot about Isaac Babel’s lovely characterization of the…
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In Case You Missed It
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Film & TV How Jon Stewart evolved on Israel — at least on ‘The Daily Show’
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Yiddish אלי שאַרפֿשטיינס סאָוועטישע נאָך־מלחמהדיקע ליטע רעדט אויף ייִדישEli Sharfstein’s Soviet post-war Lithuania speaks Yiddish
די דערציילונגען אין „מײַן ווילנער זאַוווּליק“ שילדערן דאָס ייִדישע לעבן אינעם נאָכמלחמהדיקן ראַטן־פֿאַרבאַנד פֿון אַ פּערזענלעכן קוקווינקל.
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Culture A voice for his generation, Tom Lehrer found laughter even in the most sensitive aspects of Jewish life and history
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Fast Forward ‘I was first and foremost Jewish,’ said Wesley LePatner, killed in NYC shooting
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