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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National Poetry Month: ‘In the World He Created According to His Will’
The poetic practice of praising God through his works is of such long standing (as long as the history of religious poetry, perhaps) that it would seem difficult, if not impossible, to offer a new and contemporary take on the tradition. But in the title poem of David Caplan’s recent collection, “In the World He…
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In Montreal, Smoked Meat Gets the Musical Treatment
Courtesy lucetg.com/Centaur Theatre In Montreal, not only can a musical about smoked meat be more than a gag, but “Schwartz’s: The Musical” is a $240,000 professional production. That’s around twice the usual cost of a play at the Centaur Theatre, where the show is playing until May 7. Schwartz’s, a “Hebrew Delicatessen” founded in 1928,…
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Donna Karan Goes to Bat for Galliano
Just when you thought you were safe from John Galliano news, New York magazine has found an apologist for the anti-Semitism-spewing designer. Jewish fashionista Donna Karan has gone to bat for the disgraced Galliano, who faces prison time in France for public rants about his “love” for Hitler and other hate speech. Presumably in reference…
The Latest
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English Soccer Stars Speak Out Against Against Y-Word
A group of England’s top athletes has teamed up to fight a popular anti-Jewish chant used at soccer games. In a new online video, a multi-racial cast of stars has come out against “the Y-word” — Yiddo, or Yid — an anti-Semitic slur used against supporters of the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, whose fan base…
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Boteach, Matisyahu Get Chatty at Salita Boxing Match
Late on Tuesday night, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and rapper Matisyahu were speaking together outside of the men’s room at a Brighton Beach event hall. The pop Hasidic rabbi, author of “Kosher Sex” and former star of TLC’s “Shalom in the Home”, and the Hasidic pop star, who once sang on Letterman in a fedora, had…
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Murdered at Auschwitz, Charlotte Salomon Survives Through Her Art
Three hundred of Charlotte Salomon’s beautiful expressionist paintings illustrating a young German Jewish women’s self-discovery can be seen at San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum until July 31. The same week that the San Francisco exhibit opened, an enormous comic book convention nearby attracted thousands of young readers searching for their latest superhero (Green Lantern this…
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A Ben & Jerry Take on Jewish Ice Cream
In honor of yesterday’s free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s, the folks over at Tablet Magazine dreamed up some Passover-appropriate flavors. We personally think vanilla ice cream with chocolate- and caramel-covered matzo (“Mat-So Delicious maybe?) could take the world — or at least New York, London and Israel — by storm. But here are…
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Out and About: The Humorous Haggadah; Ohad Naharin’s New Dance
“The Revolution Will be Televised”: A webcomic, some Jews, and the Egyptian Revolution. Pianist Evgeny Kissin, who performed April 12 in honor of Forverts editor Boris Sandler, gets rave reviews elsewhere. It isn’t over until the fat rabbi sings: Gordon Haber on giving his ex-wife a get. A history of Haggadah parodies. In Israel, a…
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New Avenues in Computerized Architecture
Crossposted from Haaretz Last night the exhibit “Parameter: Digital Collaborative Design” opened in the ZeZeZe Architectural Gallery in the Tel Aviv port. The exhibit is the product of collaboration between the department of interior design in the academic track of the College of Management and the Institute for Advanced Architecture in Catalonia, and it presents…
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Bibi-Bieber Summit is Off, Bieber Hates Israeli Paparazzi and More
The Bibi-Bieber summit is off. Contrary to yesterday’s reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be meeting Justin Bieber this week before the pop star’s Tel Aviv debut. The pair were set to have a tête-à-tête today, but the meeting has been called off amidst what’s turning out to be another PR fiasco for…
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National Poetry Month: The Unhagaddah
Like the Psalmist who demanded his listeners to “sing a new song,” American poet, writer and cultural activist Esther Cohen proposes two alternative ways of engaging with Haggadic texts this Passover. The first piece we’re featuring on The Arty Semite today is as “new” of a song as it gets; in the light of recent…
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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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Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
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Music After decades of waiting, we’re finally getting a Bob Dylan-Barbra Streisand duet
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Yiddish World A photo of my bubbe when Jewish stores still had Yiddish signs
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