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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Monday Music: The Klezmatics at 25
Courtesy of GAT publicity The Klezmatics are 25 this year (where does the time go?), and to mark the anniversary, they’ve released “Live at Town Hall,” a two-disc recording of a performance given in New York five years ago. That concert, itself an exuberant 20th anniversary celebration, was recorded in conjunction with “The Klezmatics: On…
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California Unemployment Office Accused of Religious Discrimination
Jeff Weinberger would like to see the California State Employment Development department do some teshuvah this High Holiday season. The San Francisco resident, who was laid off from his executive-level hi-tech marketing job last month, received a notice to attend a “re-employment eligibility assessment appointment” on September 29, the first day of Rosh Hashanah. When…
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Books Casting Off
Stuart Nadler’s first book, “The Book of Life,” is now available. 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: For me, the year has always begun in September. I grew up…
The Latest
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Where Are the Local Composers?
Crossposted from Haaretz Fourteen years ago the Israeli Ministry of Culture, through its music department, devised a program for boosting local concert music: It created the Israeli Music Celebration, a festival of free performances at which Israeli ensembles and soloists would give concerts consisting exclusively of works by Israeli composers. The idea was a good…
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Out and About: Samberg as Zuckerberg; No Shirtless Men in Iran
Is the BBC banning the use of BC/AD in favor of BCE/CE? Iran has banned shirtless men on TV. Andy Samberg impersonated Mark Zuckerberg at the Facebook conference last week. Max Elstein Keisler talks to Kosha Dillz about being the only Zionist rapper in the room. Manohla Dargis tries to sort out the mess that…
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This Week in Forward Arts and Culture
Eli Valley pays tribute to Amy Winehouse. Joanne Jacobson follows Nancy K. Miller on a search for her family’s past. Bill Holdsworth notes the foundational role a handful of Romanian Jews played in the Dada art movement. Joel Schalit reviews three book about the Palestinians. Jonathan Sarna looks back at the history of the Jewish…
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Friday Film: The Teacher Who Gave Everything
The visual metaphor in the opening scenes of “HaMorah Irena” (“Teacher Irena”), the Ophir Award-nominated documentary about a teacher in the poorest neighborhood of West Jerusalem, tells you everything you need to know about this exceptionally devoted educator. However, you don’t know that until you come to the end of the film. In “Teacher Irena,”…
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Gertrude Stein, Fascist Love Thief?
The author who wrote “a rose is a rose is a rose” is being honored and vilified in equal parts. She is being honored by “Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories” out from The University of California Press on June 22 to commemorate an exhibit at San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum, which moves and opens on…
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Looted Paintings Returned to Poland
Two oil paintings stolen by the Nazis 67 years ago from the walls of Poland’s National Museum in Warsaw were returned Thursday night to the people and government of Poland in a ceremony held at the Polish consulate in New York. Polish artist Julian Falat painted the works, “The Hunt” and “Off to the Hunt”…
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Books Lost and Found in Brooklyn
Earlier this week, Lucette Lagnado wrote about an arrogant revolution and about mourning her Arab Spring. Her 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: This past weekend I was lost —…
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Forward Columnist Masha Leon Honored by Poland
Columnist Masha Leon, who has covered social events for the Forverts and then the Forward for more than 30 years, was honored Thursday night by the government of Poland for her articles and other work that have helped further the understanding of Polish-Jewish lives, history and culture. The president of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, pinned a…
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