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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What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Calmer?
It looks like carbon monoxide may have been getting a worse rap than it deserves. The silent killer turns out also to be the silent calmer — and anything that soothes the nerves of frazzled city dwellers is ostensibly a good thing. Prof. Itzhak Schnell of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Geography and the Human…
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Islamic Sex Guide ‘Fights Jews’ With Polygamy
Despite claims by its distributor that it is selling “like hot fried bananas,” an Islamic sex guide with anti-Semitic overtones has been banned by Malaysian authorities. The 115-page “Islamic Sex: Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World,” was published in October by the Obedient Wives Club, a pro-polygamy group believed to be an…
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Saudi Artist Criticized for Israel Exhibit
An online petition is calling for the censure of Saudi artist Ahmet Mater for his participation in an Israeli art exhibit, The Art Newspaper reports. Mater, who is also a practicing medical doctor, is a prominent member of the contemporary Saudi art group known as “Edge of Arabia.” His best-known work, “Prognosis,” is a series…
The Latest
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Books Reading and Thinking About Books
On Monday, Tom Fields-Meyer took a look at autism and God. His 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: EachSaturday morning, I ask my son Ezra the same question. As our…
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If Not a Singer, Then an Actor
Crossposted from Haaretz I admit that after 40-odd years of theater-going and formulating evaluations of what I have seen and publishing them (which obligates me to form an opinion and makes it hard to evade expressing it), I am not entirely certain what the role of the director is in a theatrical production. This question,…
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Hitler Art Sale Called Off
To the relief of Sweden’s Jewish community, the sale of art allegedly painted by Adolf Hitler has been temporarily canceled — largely because the paintings may not truly have been the work of the Nazi dictator. Swedish news site The Local reports that the paintings were to be auctioned off by Swedish debt collectors who…
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Bernstein’s First Speech as Obama’s Jewish Liaison
Jarrod Bernstein made his first public speech as President Obama’s liaison to the Jewish community Monday, at the second annual Agudath Israel legislative breakfast, in New York . As might be expected, he did his best to remind the members of the pro-Israel Haredi organization of what the administration is doing both for Israel and…
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Natalie Portman Sheds Baby Weight With Ballet
It’s back to the ballet barre for Natalie Portman, star of Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” Portman, who won the Academy Award for best actress for her role in the ballet-themed psychological thriller, has reportedly been dancing as part of her exercise regimen since giving birth to little Aleph in June. In addition to the ballet,…
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Q&A: Calvin Trillin on What’s Funny
Journalist Calvin Trillin is a long-time staff writer at The New Yorker who has written over two dozen books. But he is perhaps best known as a humorist, a career that began in 1978 when then-editor of The Nation, “the parsimonious Victor Navasky,” took him to lunch. As Trillin recalls, Navasky wanted to “discuss his…
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The Lions of Zion, Chapter 16
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 16 chapters here. At Home With the…
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New York Mag Spotlights Ashkenazi ‘SuperAgers’
This will be news to residents of southern Florida, but it turns out that Ashkenazi Jews, as a group, don’t actually live longer than the rest of the population. Nevertheless, shared genetic traits have made Ashkenazim a compelling subject for scientific study, including in a fascinating project outlined in the newest edition of New York…
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