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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Out and About: Chaim Soutine in New York; ‘Weiner!’ the Musical
How the daughter of an American diplomat had the time of her life in Nazi Berlin. A new exhibit in New York brings the spotlight back to the life-filled paintings of Chaim Soutine. A fight has broken out over the Anne Frank tree. Ben Greenman gives us Weiner!, the musical. The Jewish Quarterly has “Runner,”…
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This Week in Forward Arts and Culture
Eitan Kensky looks at portrayals of Hasidim in contemporary films and television. Philologos compares and contrasts the recent speeches of Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama. Jenna Weissman Joselit follows the Jewish trek from city to suburbia. Leonard Kriegel reflects on Hank Greenberg, a reluctant Jewish hero. Benjamin Ivry appreciates the life-long work of French-Jewish publisher…
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Using Videos, Jerusalem’s Arabs and Jews To Shoot the Inside Scoop
As intractable as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is in general, it is at its most contentious and high profile in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, where small enclaves of diehard religious Jewish settlers live in overwhelmingly Palestinian neighborhoods. Last week, “60 Minutes” aired a report on the tensions between the developers of…
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Jewish Identity at the Crossroads of Race, Religion and Revolution
Trish McCall, Dan Bielinski and Marcus Naylor in ‘Under the Cross.’ Photo by Louis Zweibel. This summer New York remains the center of Yiddish theater. Audiences looking for a lighthearted romp can go see Hershele Ostropolye (in Yiddish) at the Folksbiene. Those looking for a grittier Yiddish theater experience can head to Midtown and see…
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We Pay _____(adjective) Homage to Leonard Stern
Getty Images Leonard Stern, creator of the ___|___|___|_ (adjective) popular fill-in-the-blank word game, “Mad Libs,” ___|___|___| (verb) this week at the age of 88. An Emmy award winning comedy ___|___|_ (noun) whose work appeared in “The Honeymooners” and “The ___|___|__ (name) Silvers Show,” Stern happened upon the unusual ___|___|___|_ (noun) after asking fellow “Honeymooners” writer,…
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Lev Berinsky, a Poet in Exile Between Time and Eternity
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish. Lev Berinsky is poet who cannot be bounded by easy definitions. He writes in Russian and Yiddish, and lives in Israel, but is best known in Germany. A poet to his core, he is also a gifted translator, journalist and essayist. Though his work is scattered throughout…
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In Song: Beha’alotcha
Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — with a classic work of rock and roll. In this week’s parsha, Beha’alotcha, the Levites are prepared for their duties in the Tabernacle, with the title referring to Aaron being given the privilege of lighting the Menorah. Passover is celebrated for the…
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Russell Crowe: Yes to Apples and Honey, No to Circumcision
Phone-throwing Oscar winner Russell Crowe has come out swinging against circumcision — specifically the Jewish kind — in a Twitter rant he subsequently retracted (sort of). Calling the ritual “barbaric and stupid,” Crowe said he “love[s] my Jewish friends,” but that ” if u feel it is yr right 2 cut things off yr babies…
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Typist of Schindler’s List Dies at 91
The Polish-born Jew who typed up Schindler’s list is being buried today in Augsburg, Germany, where flags will fly at half-mast in his honor. Mietek Pemper, who typed the names of more than 1,000 Jews saved by the ethnically German industrialist, was 91, and had lived in Augsburg since 1958, working as a consultant and…
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IDF Gets Text Savvy for Emergency Situations
Things not gr8. Go 2 shelters. Yes, it’s the Middle East SMS-style. The Israel Defense Forces has just started testing a new text message process for communicating emergency instructions to civilians. Citizens across Southern Israel have been receiving trial texts. It’s a big step forward in emergency preparedness — especially given that Israelis are so…
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10,000 Yeshiva Students Allegedly Cheat Ministry of Education
10,000 Yeshiva students have been playing hooky and bilking Israel’s Ministry of Education of NIS 4.5 million, according to a recent audit. The Ministry of Education shared with the Israeli business publication Globes that these students, who have not actually been showing up to classes, were receiving NIS 450 each per month in stipends. The…
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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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Music ‘No matter what, I will always be a Jew.’ Billy Joel opens up about his family’s Holocaust history
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Opinion This German word explains Trump’s authoritarian impulses — and Hitler’s rise to power
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion What Democrats fighting Trump should learn from Germany’s failure to stop Hitler
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Fast Forward 31st anniversary of AMIA bombing marked by ceremonies in Argentina, Israel and, for the first time, Congress
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Fast Forward Mike Huckabee to Israel: End hostile treatment of Christian allies
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Fast Forward Connie Francis, 20th-century star turned TikTok sensation, recorded an album of Jewish songs in 1960
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