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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Books
Anti-Semitism of a Complex Kind
Ned Beauman is the author of “Boxer, Beetle.” It was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Desmond Elliott Prize upon its initial UK release last year, and has recently been praised by the New York Times as “funny, raw and stylish.” His posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite…
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Israel’s ‘Google Baby’ Wins Documentary Emmy
Crossposted from Haaretz Last week director Zippi Brand Frank became the first Israeli documentary filmmaker to win the Emmy award. Brand won the Emmy, the most prestigious award in American television, for News and Documentary, in the Outstanding Science and Technology Programming category. “Google Baby,” the film she directed, which was produced for Israel’s Yes…
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Out and About: Brooklyn’s Shofar Master; Frank Miller’s Revenge
Thousands of Jerusalem’s “pashkevilim” are going online. Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel is a revenge fantasy against Muslims. The Statue of Liberty turned 25. Joseph Berger profiles Borough Park’s shofar master. Paul Simon was inducted into American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Forward arts and culture editor Dan Friedman introduces British readers to “The Wire.”…
The Latest
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In Song: Haazinu
Photo by Jim Summaria Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — to a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll. In this week’s parsha, Haazinu, Moses calls Heaven and Earth to witness his final testimony, warning the Jewish People not to stray from the path of the Torah. After his…
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Google’s ‘Bar Mitzvah’
If you did an online search yesterday, chances are you saw Google’s homepage decorated with an animated cake, candles and other images celebrating the company’s 13th birthday. Given the search engine’s Jewish parentage, it makes sense that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used the occasion to congratulate the site on a major religious milestone,…
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Books Praying Outdoors
Earlier this week, Stuart Nadler blogged for the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning‘s Author Blog about casting off one’s sins and the stories that didn’t make it. 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…
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How To Make It in the Shmatte Business
Today, there are any number of ways one can make it in America, yet generations of Jews still gravitate toward the shmatte business. HBO’s “How To Make It In America,” which starts its second season October 2, is the story of a Fashion Institute of Technology dropout named Ben Epstein (played by Bryan Greenberg), struggling…
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Books How To Ask for a Raise, Over and Over Again
The Art of Asking Your Boss for a Raise By George Perec, translated by David Bellos Verso, $16.95, 96 pages Like Jorge Louis Borges and his fellow OULIPIAN (Ouvroir de littérature potentielle) writer Italo Calvino, Georges Perec stands apart from lesser and more pedantic riddlers with his superior craftsmanship. Also like Calvino and Borges, Perec…
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Avigdor Lieberman Can’t Carry a Tune
There are many Israelis, especially those on the left side of the political spectrum, who would describe Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as having a tin ear when it comes to recognizing socio-political realities. Lieberman’s opponents will feel especially validated now that it turns out that he is actually — and totally — tone deaf. If…
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Are Bob Dylan’s Asia Paintings Stunningly Unoriginal?
The Bob Dylan fan world has been abuzz recently about the musician’s exhibit of paintings at the Gagosian Gallery in New York, and whether those paintings are copied from historic photographs. In a discussion on the Dylan fan site Expecting Rain, similarities have been noted between paintings in the show and pictures by photographers such…
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Ukrainian Nationalists Protest Rosh Hashanah Pilgrimage
As an expected 50,000 Breslov Hasidim descend on Uman, Ukraine for their annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to the grave of Rabbi Nachman there, they are being met with protests from local Ukrainian nationalists. According to reports by the Moscow Times and Kyiv Post, the Svoboda nationalist party held an “Uman Without Hasidim” rally to demand…
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Most Popular
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News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
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Film & TV A new documentary challenges stereotypes about Orthodox Jewish women — and their wigs
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Sports NBA coach Steve Kerr: ‘Israel sought revenge for Oct. 7 and now 72,000 Palestinians have been killed’
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News Analysis: As Democrats unite behind Platner, Schumer’s future as leader faces tests
In Case You Missed It
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News Indiana synagogue that shaped Reform movement is sold — and will become a coffee shop, event space
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Opinion Liberal Zionists are under attack. A new book proves their work has never been more important
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Theater Mike Stoller and Iris Rainer Dart talk ‘Beaches’ and reviving their Yiddish musical
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Yiddish World How Yiddish and Savta Sarah shaped my Jewish journey