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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A Speakeasy Grows in Brooklyn
In the 1920s, at the height of Prohibition, underground saloons called speakeasies proliferated around the country. They got their name — according to an 1891 New York Times article — from one Kate Hester, who ran such a saloon in her Pennsylvania home, and who was known for telling her customers to “speak easy” when…
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Books Sweet and Sour
On Monday, Stanley Ginsberg wrote about the meaning of a Jewish bakery. 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: In my grandparents’ homes, as in the shtetlakh from whence…
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Convicted Singer Returns to Stage
Crossposted from Haaretz For the first time since she was convicted of extortion and threats, singer Margalit Tzan’ani returned to the stage over the weekend. At about 2 A.M. on Friday morning, her performance at the Comfort 13 club in Tel Aviv began. The show, which was discussed extensively in the local media, was part…
The Latest
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Ehud Barak: Afraid of the Remix
“If the Minister of Defense knows what a remix is, then I can go to bed peacefully at night,” Noy Alooshe commented humorously as he posted the above clip on Facebook yesterday. The video is taken from an interview Ehud Barak gave to Israel’s Channel 10. In it, Barak shows host Guy Lehrer his smart…
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Israeli Fashionistas in Under 500 Years
Internationally recognized stars of Israeli clothing design such as Ronen Chen, Kedem Sasson, Yigal Azrouel, and Ziv Gil Kazenstein have won applause on the runways of the world’s fashion capitals. Yet decades ago, during the ferment and danger of Israel’s early days as a nation, what the pioneering generation should wear might have seemed a…
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Books What Is a ‘Jewish Bakery’?
Stanley Ginsberg, a native of Brooklyn, grew up in a close-knit neighborhood where generations lived side by side. He learned to cook and bake from his grandmother, who lived just upstairs in the same apartment building, and has continued cooking and baking ever since. His book, “Inside the Jewish Bakery: Recipes and Memories from the…
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The Lions of Zion, Chapter 23
What would have happened had there been a Jewish team in the Major Leagues? In an original novel serialized on The Arty Semite, Ross Ufberg imagines the trials and triumphs of The Lions of Zion, an all-Jewish team competing in the National League in 1933. Read the first 22 chapters here. Different Kinds of Fire…
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Behind Israel’s Silver Screen
Crossposted from Haaretz The money that led to the creation of “Yossi and Jagger,” “Operation Grandma,” “Adventures of James in the Holy Land,” “My Father, My Lord” and many other movies is about to be wiped off the public funding map if the Israel Film Council institutes its recent recommendations and changes conditions for applicants….
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Anna Wintour Chose Israeli for First Vogue Cover
As Vogue gets set to celebrate its 120th anniversary in 2012, there has been a lot of looking back at the fashion bible’s history. Most important for fashionistas everywhere is the fact that the magazine’s complete archives is now available online. One of the items in the archives is the cover of the November 1988…
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Emerson, Emma Lazarus and the Jews
On June 13, Harvard University Press published a luxuriantly definitive Variorum edition of poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson, which may cast light on a still-remembered episode in American Jewish literary history. The poet Emma Lazarus, whose “New Colossus” adorns the Statue of Liberty, knew Emerson personally, and her admiring essay “Emerson’s Personality” was collected in…
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Watch Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson Sing Hanukkah Songs
Movie stars do all kinds of silly things to promote their films — including singing Hanukkah songs and discussing gefilte fish on MTV. Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon both proved good sports during interviews with the channel’s Josh Horowitz this week, gamely playing along during a segment entitled “After Hours Chanukah Special.” They were visiting…
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News That whites-only, no Jews allowed Arkansas community is legal, says state’s attorney general. How?
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In Case You Missed It
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Antisemitism Decoded How Trump is banning DEI at universities — except for Jews
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Fast Forward Trump fired a commissioner over bad jobs numbers. Nixon targeted a ‘Jewish cabal’ at the same agency
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Looking Forward That time my violin teacher tried to convert me to Christianity
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Fast Forward UK’s largest Jewish group calls Israeli aid to Gaza ‘long overdue,’ months after disciplining members for criticizing Israel
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