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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Friday Film: Sholem Aleichem’s ‘Bushels and Baskets of Stories’
Courtesy of Riverside Films “He wrote standing up… Standing, walking, running.” So Bel Kaufman, granddaughter of Sholem Aleichem, describes the world’s most influential Yiddish writer. “He would look off into the distance and chuckle, as if hearing what his characters were saying to him, and then he would write.” Joseph Dorman’s new documentary, “Sholem Aleichem:…
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Slideshow: Tennis Playing Czars and Chicken Wielding Rabbis in Russia’s Silver Age
When you’ve already had 10 solo exhibits by age 12 and been named the world’s youngest professional artist by the Guinness Book of World Records, where do you go from there? In the case of Stanislav “Stass” Shpanin, a 21-year-old artist from the Former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, you just keep painting. Since arriving in…
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Making Friends: China Grants Israeli Ambassador Honorary Citizenship
While so many countries are shunning Israel these days, China is going against the grain by officially and ceremoniously recognizing its ties with the Jewish State. Ynet reported that on Wednesday, the Israeli ambassador to China, Amos Nadai, was granted honorary citizenship to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province in western China. This is…
The Latest
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Palestine Scores: Next Stop, World Cup?
Palestine scored its first ever goal in a home World Cup qualifier on July 3. And it was better than Beckham. At Al Ram on the West Bank, Palestine drew 1-1 with nomadic Afghanistan which, when combined with the 2-0 win over the Afghanis in the first match (played in Tajikistan), put the Palestinian team…
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Books Judging Gary Shteyngart and Art Spiegelman’s Taste in Books
What is on Gary Shteyngart’s mind? Only a clairvoyant would know. It’s much easier to surmise what’s on his bookshelves. The Strand Book Store in Greenwich Village has set up a display in which well-known writers take turns exhibiting their favorite books. In June, it looked as though a bookcase in Gary Shteyngart’s living room…
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Why We Love Super Sam Fuld (So What If He’s Only Part-Jewish?)
When we talk about Jewish athletes in American professional sports, we’re dealing with a very small spectrum. The only athletes at or near the top of their sports seem to be those Jews in baseball — where Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Braun and Ian Kinsler have all-star caliber talent. But another name is creeping not just…
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Books Making it ‘True’
On Tuesday, Evan Fallenberg explored writing elaborate lies with convincing details. Today, he further explores how much of his fiction is “true.” His blog 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:…
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Voting Boosts Stress Levels, Israeli Study Finds
Relax, while you still can — next year is going to be a stressful one. As America gears up for presidential elections in 2012, an Israeli research team claims to have proved that voting is so stressful that it actually causes hormonal changes in voters. Scholars from the University of Haifa and Ben Gurion University…
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Natalie Portman Names Son ‘Aleph’
She’s an A-list actress who’s given her son an A-list name. According to reports, the Jerusalem-born Natalie Portman has named her son Aleph, after the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In Kabbalah, Aleph represents the oneness of God. In her native Israel, Natalie Portman (nee Natalie Hershlag) is a national treasure. So it’s fitting…
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Out and About: Natalie Portman’s Baby ‘Aleph’; The Man Who Invented the Sexual Revolution
Vanity Fair interviews comedian David Wain for the 10th anniversary of his cult comedy “Wet Hot American Summer.” The Smurfs have been said to be misogynist and anti-Semitic, but the screenwriter of the upcoming Smurfs movie is David Weiss, an Orthodox Jew. Natalie Portman named her child “Aleph.” Good grief. A new book looks back…
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Music in the Key of Twombly
Crossposted from Haaretz Several years ago, on one of his trips to Europe, saxophonist Ariel Shibolet went to a museum and discovered the American artist Cy Twombly. “Abstract art often feels heavy,” says Shibolet, who creates abstract music, “but his drawings have a totally different feeling. They have something crispy, alive and close. I have…
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Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
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Fast Forward Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army
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Opinion This German word explains Trump’s authoritarian impulses — and Hitler’s rise to power
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Music ‘No matter what, I will always be a Jew.’ Billy Joel opens up about his family’s Holocaust history
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward How the Jewish commandment to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ could help a woman challenge Kentucky’s abortion ban in court
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: יוטוב־פּערזענלעכקייט רעדט אויף ייִדיש וועגן אַ משפּחה־טראַגעדיעVIDEO: Youtube personality speaks in Yiddish about a tragedy in the family
מאַטי מענדלאָוויטשעס ברודער, וואָס האָט יאָרן לאַנג געליטן פֿון דעפּרעסיע, האָט הײַיאָר זיך גענומען דאָס לעבן. .
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Music Can 6 hours of Billy Joel turn critics into believers?
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Opinion What exactly is going on between Israel and Syria — and is the prospect of peace dead?
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