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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Should Kate Moss Get a New Wedding Dress?
Despite her Jewish last name, Kate Moss is not a Member of the Tribe. Proof positive? At her faux-secret wedding, she will [reportedly][1] be wearing a wedding dress designed by John Galliano, who, as you’ll recall, was caught on tape during a drunken, anti-Semitic rant. She may be a supermodel, but that’s no guarantee of…
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Jews and Arabs Partner for Football 4 Peace
School’s out here in Israel, and today some 60 sports coaches arrived in Netanya from the UK and Germany to prepare for a most remarkable summer camp. They are partnering with 100 local coaches to help 1,500 youngsters with their soccer skills. The youngsters — Jews and Arabs, boys and girls — will train and…
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Singer Yael Levy’s ‘Green Island in the Sea’
Crossposted from Haaretz Yael Levy launched her new album, “A Green Island in the Sea,” at the OzenBar in Tel Aviv about 10 days ago. The first half of the show was heart-rending for all the wrong reasons: Levy didn’t sing the way she should have. Her voice wasn’t calibrated, she seemed distracted, and in…
The Latest
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Books Nica Rothschild, the Patron (Saint) of Jazz
NICA’S DREAM: THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF THE JAZZ BARONESS David Kastin W. W. Norton, 272 pages, $26.95 Pannonica Rothschild, or “Nica,” as she was called, tried very hard to be an upstanding member of the famous Jewish banking family. She went to the right schools, married the right man (a French baron, no less),…
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Summer Poetry From Ronny Someck
Last year, as the scorching summer set in, we offered our readers unexpected relief from the heat. Admittedly, it was more of an aesthetic, even darkly comic relief, rather than a physical one. It was Israeli poet Ronny Someck’s piece, “Sun Sonnet.” This year we’re featuring another summer poem of Someck’s, “Rainmakers’ Vacation,” which, like…
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Celebrating Gay Marriage at ‘The Greenwich Village Follies’
Photo by Peter James Zielinski There are times when a trip to the theater is more than just an evening out — times when there’s something in the air (fairy dust? a benevolent ghost?) that transforms a merely great performance into the kind that makes all your hairs stand on end. June 26, for those…
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David Duchovny’s Hot (Hebrew) Cable Commercial
David Duchovny doesn’t appear to know Hebrew, which is part of what’s amusing about the actor’s latest TV commercial. The “Californication” star is now appearing on Israeli television in ads for Hot, one of the country’s major cable providers. The commercial, which appears to have been filmed in Tel Aviv, begins with Duchovny missing an…
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Books My Tribe
Earlier this week, Efrat Libfroind wrote about cooking and self-improvement, being a mother and a full-time pastry chef and the only kosher cooking student in class. Her new cookbook, “Kosher Elegance: The Art of Cooking With Style,” is now available. Her blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite, courtesy of the…
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Jewish Deli-Inspired Sunglasses? All the Stars Are Wearing Them
Corey Shapiro likes his food salty and his eyewear sweet. Ever loyal to his roots in the ‘hood, the young personal eyewear consultant to the stars has designed custom shades inspired by his native Montreal’s Snowdon Deli. Big names like Lady Gaga, Cee Lo Green, Snoop Dogg and Perez Hilton may never have eaten the…
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Trip to Israel Makes Gene Simmons Miss His Dad
Back in March, The Shmooze reported that the A&E reality show “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” was coming to Simmons’s native Israel. Now we have a glimpse of what Simmons, the former KISS star, found there. It seems that he was overcome by regret for his estrangement from his father, Feri Weitz, who left him and…
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Books New York’s Oldest Anarchist Book Club Tries To Get Organized
Here’s an unusual story: anarchists in search of order. Bill Weinberg, a former WBAI radio host, is working to save the Libertarian Book Club, founded by Jewish and Italian anarchists in 1946. A recent ad in The Brooklyn Rail reads: “[I]n dire straits: about to lose our office at the old Peace Pentagon (339 Lafayette)…
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Fast Forward Halal restaurant opening in Congress is like ‘Muslim conquest of Jerusalem,’ says GOP congressman
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Fast Forward Germany formally classifies far-right AfD party as extremist, in blow to Nazi-linked populist movement
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Fast Forward Trump taps shock jock Sid Rosenberg and a Haredi newspaper publisher for Holocaust Memorial Council
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