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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Israel’s Most Fabulous Drag Queen Gets a New Gig
If you happen to be deep into Israeli gay club culture, then you probably know all about Uriel Yekutiel. If you aren’t, then prepare to meet the most fabulous drag queen in Israel today. The host of an Israeli TV show recently presented a story on the 22-year-old Yekutiel by saying he was a cross…
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‘Magic’ T-Shirts Beg Neo-Nazis To Change Ways
Even following the usual instructions to wash t-shirts inside out to preserve their logos would not have made a difference in this case. Two-hundred-and-fifty attendees at a recent Neo-Nazi-sponsored “Rock for Germany” concert in Gera, Germany unwittingly ended up with souvenir t-shirts designed so that their logos would come off in the shirts’ first washings….
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See Larry King and Edward Zwick in JPEF’s Promo
Well, it’s not quite in the same vein or of the same tone as Judd Apatow’s public service announcement for the American Jewish World Service, but it does feature a few celebrities. The Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation’s brand new PSA has Liev Schreiber, Larry King and Edward Zwick — along with a former partisan and…
The Latest
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Vote for the Dead Sea
Can the Dead Sea hold on? We’re not talking ecologically — though that is of prime concern to scientists and conservationists studying how and why the sea has been shrinking in size. The Shmooze, on the other hand, is worried about whether the Dead Sea can make it to at least 7th place among the…
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Israel’s Tourism Ministry Courts Martha Stewart
They’ve arranged visits by Chilean miners and “House” stars, and now the busy bees at Israel’s tourism ministry have their eyes on Martha Stewart and Oprah. As part of a new push to bring celebrity visitors to Israel, the ministry has created a special “hospitality unit” to woo famous foreigners, Yediot Aharonot reported recently. The…
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How Real Is Philip Levine?
Philip Levine was named the Poet Laureate of the United States this week, a choice that has been widely lauded. I must admit that for some years I’ve questioned the esteemed poet’s status, or more pertinently, his authenticity. My doubts, however, were dispelled by one short but memorable encounter. From his first book on, Levine…
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With ‘Jews on Vinyl’ You Can Have Your Kitsch and Eat It, Too
“Jews on Vinyl,” an unusual museum exhibit focused on the recent Jewish past, has arrived at the Yeshiva University Museum after touring the West Coast for two years. The exhibit is a project of the Reboot Stereophonic non-profit record label, and is based on the 2008 book “And You Shall Know Us by the Trail…
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Out and About: Sondheim Hates New ‘Porgy and Bess’; Barenboim for Nobel Prize?
Mother Jones profiles Yemen Blues. Read our take on the band here. Morris Dickstein appreciates the all-too-overlooked Delmore Schwartz. Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim is being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Stephen Sondheim doesn’t much like the revamped version of “Porgy and Bess.” Danielle Berrin provides a comprehensive take on today’s Jewish actresses. Charlotte Gray,…
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Female IDF Soldiers Suffer More Stress Fractures
A study of women soldiers in Israel has found that for the IDF to attract more women to combat roles, it is going to have to make changes to more than just the design of military gear. The IDF thought that it had eliminated the problem of women soldiers getting stress fractures by designing a…
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Repeating Nazi Propaganda, From Kurt Vonnegut to NPR
Mark Twain’s astute observation that “a lie well-told is immortal” keeps coming to mind on the subject of the Dresden firebombing. As I was preparing in May for my first trip to Dresden, I was startled to hear a report by Tom Vitale on National Public Radio in which he repeated the propaganda of Josef…
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The Forty Thieves of Rock and Roll
Crossposted from Haaretz Elisha Banai & The Forty Thieves, a rock group formed a year and a half ago, is trying with all its might to crowd into the compact Israeli rock hall of fame. To that end, it is diligently observing all the unofficial regulations for establishing a successful band in Israel. The ensemble…
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