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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Friday Film: Golden Age of Jewish Television
Television’s golden age ran roughly from the late 1940s to the early 1960s — a quaint period in which not a single Jersey housewife or Kardashian made it on the air. Instead, viewers were treated to classical theater and original productions from the likes of Paddy Chayefsky, Gore Vidal and Rod Serling. Great actors and…
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Books Adventures in the Cartoon Trade
Earlier this week, Richard Codor wrote about his cartoon education and how he came to write “Too Many Latkes!” 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: When I walked…
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Sports Illustrated Lists Greatest Jewish Athletes
Jews aren’t exactly famous for their athletic prowess — the punch line of many a joke, including this classic from “Airplane!” But in honor of Hanukkah, Sports Illustrated is generously celebrating “prominent Jewish athletes,” compiling an online compendium of top Jewish sports stars from over the past 70 years. A list rather than a ranking,…
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Forward Fives: 2011 in Film
In this, the third annual Forward Fives selection, we celebrate the year’s cultural output with a series of deliberately eclectic choices in music, performance, exhibitions, books and film. Here we present five of the most important films of 2011. Feel free to argue with and add to our selections in the comments. “Footnote” Directed by…
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Lynne Avadenka’s Jerusalem Calendar
Detroit-based printmaker and book artist Lynne Avadenka, whose previous projects have dealt with Hebrew and Arabic typography, exhibited recent works this week at the Jerusalem Print Workshop in the city’s Musrara neighborhood. The works are a culmination of her fellowship at the American Academy in Jerusalem. “I’d originally considered a project connected to the names…
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Books Forward Fives: 2011 in Fiction
In this, the third annual Forward Fives selection, we celebrate the year’s cultural output with a series of deliberately eclectic choices in music, performance, exhibitions, books and film. Here we present five of the most important works of fiction of 2011. Feel free to argue with and add to our selections in the comments. ”Life…
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Books Forward Fives: 2011 in Poetry
In this, the third annual Forward Fives selection, we celebrate the year’s cultural output with a series of deliberately eclectic choices in music, performance, exhibitions, books and film. Here we present five of the most important poetry books of 2011. Feel free to argue with and add to our selections in the comments. 2011 has…
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Books Forward Fives: 2011 in Nonfiction
In this, the third annual Forward Fives selection, we celebrate the year’s cultural output with a series of deliberately eclectic choices in music, performance, exhibitions, books and film. Here we present five of the most important nonfiction books of 2011. Feel free to argue with and add to our selections in the comments. ”The Eichmann…
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Prisoner Hamouri Slams Rabbi Who Freed Him
The Shmooze reported last week that the prominent Israeli Rabbi Ovadia Yosef gave his consent to the freeing of a man who plotted to kill him. It was a remarkable story given that Yosef is pretty hard-lined and has spoken in the past about opposing mercy to Palestinian terrorists. But those of us who were…
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No More Holocaust Movies at the Oscars?
Oscar nominations won’t be announced for another month, but at least one prediction can already be made with confidence: no Holocaust films will be among this year’s major contenders. That’s both a relief and something of a surprise, given the ubiquity of the genre at recent Oscar ceremonies. Holocaust movies haven’t yielded too many actual…
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Portman Dethrones Depp on Movie Search List
Not that we needed proof, but here’s more evidence that Natalie Portman is on the Aleph-list. Capping a year in which she named her firstborn for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Portman surpassed Johnny Depp as the most searched celebrity on IMDB, the Internet Movie Database. The victory turns out to be rather…
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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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