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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Ultra-Orthodox Israeli City Opens First Internet Café
It seems even the Haredi world has conceded to the necessity of the Internet – but don’t expect them to crash servers posting on FaceGlat or uploading wedding videos anytime soon. The ultra-Orthodox city of Modiin Illit is getting its very first Internet café after receiving rabbinical approval, Ynet News reports. The venture, called Gilad…
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Israeli Punk Band That Didn’t Forget Its Roots
Crossposted from Haaretz Useless ID is undoubtedly the most successful Israeli punk rock band in the world. Formed in 1994, it set out to try its luck abroad and became a respected member of the international scene, establishing itself within just a few years. The band signed with an American record company and gathered a…
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Israel’s ‘Tent City’ Protesters Compared to Biblical Spies
After almost three weeks of non-stop media attention the protesters camped out in Tel Aviv’s “tent city” have been called many things, good and bad. But likening them to the Biblical spies is a new one. In this interview firebrand grandmother Daniella Weiss, leader of radical settlers, appears to present the protesters as the modern…
The Latest
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Books Turning a Synagogue’s Tale Into Kid Lit
Crossposted from Samuel Gruber’s Jewish Art & Monuments “If these walls could talk” is a cliché in the historic preservation world, but when standing inside an old synagogue it is still an irresistibly phrase and idea. Anita Kassof, associate director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland and illustrator Jonathon Scott Fuqua have now taken the…
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Israeli Activist’s Conviction Roils Irish Pol
The revelation that Irish Senator David Norris’s former lover, Jewish-Israeli pro-Palestinian activist Ezra Yitzhak Nawi, was convicted of statutory rape of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in 1992 may have torpedoed Norris’s bid for his country’s presidency. The openly gay Norris has been up front about his former sexual relationship with Nawi, as well as about…
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When It Comes to Gay Rights and Klezmer, the Musical Is Also Political
Photo by Angela Jimenez. At a July 26 concert at 92YTribeca in celebration of New York’s first legal same-sex marriages, the singer-guitarist Nedra Johnson struggled to find the words to describe the relationships between love, politics and the blues. In an age in which sex and marriage are subjects of legislative debate, she reasoned, performing…
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Israeli Entrepreneurs Flock To South Sudan
Israelis are known to be impatient, and when it comes to how fast they are moving to establish business relations with the new country of South Sudan, the stereotype is holding true. Israeli companies seeking contracts in industries such as agriculture, security, medicine and infrastructure are being welcomed by the leadership of the world’s newest…
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Why More Jewish Studies Programs Are a Good Thing
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree M.A.s are the new B.A.s, The New York Times declared just the other day in its latest survey of goings-on within the world of higher education. The road to marketability is paved with lots of new master’s programs, it noted, singling out Rutgers’ recent decision to establish an M.A….
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Israeli Gangster Gunned Down at Gas Station
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the old saying goes. But it meant tragic consequences for an Israeli gangster. Crime boss Francois Abutbul, whose casino-owner father was murdered in 2002, was himself gunned down Sunday at a central Israeli gas station, Haaretz reports. Abutbul, known as “Francois the Great,” was released from prison…
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Monday Music: Awesome Tapes From Africa? Yes, Please!
Where do you go if you want to find Tanzanian bongo music? What about Tsongi disco? South African synth-pop? Unless you happen to be an ethnomusicologist or visiting Africa, the answer is likely the website Awesome Tapes from Africa. Brian Shimkovitz, aka DJ Awesome Tapes from Africa, an ethnomusicology scholar and avid music collector, started…
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Books Raising an Ethiopian Jewish Child in Georgia
Melissa Fay Greene is the author of “No Biking in the House Without a Helmet.” 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: In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in November 2001, I…
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