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
What Chinese People Think About Jews
On Monday, Michael Levy wrote about Jews and Chinese Food. 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: My last post began with a list of stereotypes about Jews. We tell…
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For Tu B’Av, Solar Gets Sexy
Tu B’av is the Jewish love fest, so what better time to promote hooking up? To solar energy, that is. In a shameless attempt to take advantage of the holiday, Arava Power Company, a solar energy firm in Israel, produced a short flick reminiscent of VH1’s beloved 90s’ series Pop Up Video that is aptly…
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Mengele’s Diaries May Be Loaned To Yad Vashem
Though the recent purchaser of the diaries of the notorious Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele wishes to remain anonymous, he also wants Dr. Mengele’s artifacts to be available for all to see. Haaretz reports that the purchaser, a modern-Orthodox physician from the U.S. Midwest who bought the diaries and related materials at auction for $245,000, told…
The Latest
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Ed Koch Pens Weight Loss Book for Kids
Former New York Mayor Ed Koch may have once said, “The best way to lose weight is to close your mouth — something very difficult for a politician. Or watch your food — just watch it, don’t eat it.” That’s a fitting quote for Koch the mayor, but it’s not exactly the message Koch the…
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A-Rod To ESPN: Cousin’s Visit Is ‘Very Kosher’
Perhaps Michele Bachmann should ask Alex Rodriguez for some help with her Jewish jargon. Say what you will about the scandal-tainted Yankees third baseman — when he borrows a word, he uses it properly… sort of. Asked yesterday about his cousin’s visit to his hotel in San Francisco — a visit that could cause problems…
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Lydia Flem: Words Beyond Suffering’s Reach
The Belgian Jewish author Lydia Flem explored her family’s heritage in 2004’s “How I Cleared Out My Parents’ House” (Comment j’ai vidé la maison de mes parents) from Les éditions du Seuil. Holocaust survivors, Flem’s parents never spoke of their wartime sufferings. Flem, spared the horror of her family’s history, writes that her generation “had…
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Jews Criticized for Handing Out Challah to Tottenham Rioters
While most of the ultra-Orthodox residents of the North and South London neighborhoods affected by the recent rioting in the city have heeded rabbinic directives to stay indoors and out of harm’s way, some young Hasidic men did not last Saturday night. And what they were doing has given rise to some nasty finger pointing…
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The Lions of Zion, Chapter Three
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 two chapters here. Making the Team Reb…
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Swedish Queen Decides Father Wasn’t a Nazi
The Swedish queen has wrapped up an investigation into her father’s alleged Nazi past, concluding — perhaps a bit conveniently — that one of his 1939 business deals was helping, not exploiting, a desperate German Jew. Rumors have long swirled about the history of German-born Queen Silvia, whose father, Walther Sommerlath, was said by some…
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Elijah Wood’s Mysterious Ring (No, Not That One)
It’s been quite a while since you’ve been able to assume that someone wearing jewelry or other adornments with Jewish symbols or Hebrew writing is Jewish. Just think about all those Kabbalah red-string bracelets around the wrists of celebs like Madonna, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. And what about Justin Bieber’s new Hebrew tattoo he…
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LGBT Synagogue Finds New Home, Complete With Assyrian Art
Every Tisha B’Av, rabbis around the world try to come up with new and creative ways to remind their congregations of the history of the two Holy Temples that once stood in Jerusalem. Students of Jewish history readily recall 586 B.C.E. as the year that the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, and 70 C.E. as…
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