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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Are We Living in a Golden Age of Jewish Art?
Most people do not know that we are living in a golden age of Jewish American art. But, as I will explain in a lecture at the Jewish Museum on March 7, we are. Since around 1975, there has been an incredible but largely ignored outpouring of art based on the Bible, the Talmud, Kabbalah,…
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Aryeh Eldad Calls for Better Treatment of Palestinians in Jordan
It’s an unusual rallying cry for Aryeh Eldad, one of Israel’s most right-wing politicians. He’s calling for action on behalf of “disenfranchised Palestinians.” But Eldad, a lawmaker with the National Union party, isn’t advocating a change in Israel’s policies in the West Bank. Instead, he wants Jordan to improve its treatment of Palestinians, and is…
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KISS Singer Gene Simmons Takes Reality Show to Holy Land
Coming up with fresh TV material can be difficult – even if you’re a rock icon with a porn-star wife. For the next season of his A&E reality series, KISS singer Gene Simmons has solved the problem by planning a family trip – to the Holy Land. Israel’s Ynet news Web site is reporting that…
The Latest
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What’s the Deal With Celebrities and Anti-Semitism?
Who knows what evil lies in the hearts of celebs? In the age of cell-phone cameras, radio talk shows and YouTube, the answer is: nearly everyone. At least in the last couple weeks, that evil has been a familiar one: anti-Semitism, with everyone from Charlie Sheen to (allegedly) Julian Assange to a Japanese rock band…
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Why Branding Judaism Is a Bad Idea
I blame Heeb. Launched in 2001, “The New Jew Review” iterated a sharp, satirical take on Jewish culture. The idea was to edify through mockery: Thus a 2005 cover featured Sarah Silverman displaying her cleavage through a hole in a sheet. Although it can try too hard to shock (remember Roseanne Barr as Hitler baking…
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Metaphysics of Landscape: Four Poems by Jennifer Barber
Each Thursday, The Arty Semite features excerpts and reviews of the best contemporary Jewish poetry. This week, Jake Marmer introduces four poems by Jennifer Barber. “All forms of landscape are autobiographical,” wrote poet Charles Wright, and indeed, some poets, while describing natural or urban landscapes, tend to use words that echo with metaphysical sensations evoked…
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Out and About: Spielberg Gets Wikileaks Movie; The Origins of Jewish Humor
Michael Weiss on why Boris Pasternak matters. Was Jewish humor created in 1661? Steven Spielberg has secured the rights to make a Wikileaks movie. The new edition of the Laba Journal, “Eros,” is out, featuring Stephen Hazan Arnoff on music and artificial memory, Shari Mendelson on the work of Charles LeDray, fiction by Jeremiah Lockwood,…
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Sony Apologized for Japanese Pop Band Nazi Costumes
Shortly after a Japanese department store came under fire late last year for stocking a Nazi costume, The Guardian published a response suggesting the Land of the Rising Sun might be suffering from cultural amnesia. In other words, new generations of Japanese have somehow forgotten their ancestors fought alongside Hitler. Reinforcing the notion, another blunder…
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‘Jaffa Road Botox Party’
Crossposted from Haaretz The writing was on the wall regarding the urban renewal projects on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem and the old central bus station in Tel Aviv. Urban renewal has become just another word for gentrification, higher prices, uprooting working-class residents and small businesses, widening the gap between rich and poor — all in…
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When Zayda Was Also a Great Polish Pianist
After 2009’s biography Ignaz Friedman: Romantic Master Pianist by Allan Evans from Indiana University Press, and CD reprints on such labels as Arbiter Records; Naxos USA; and Philips Classics, new attention is being paid to the splendid Polish Jewish pianist Friedman. A warmly affectionate biographical memoir, “Ignaz Friedman” by Nina Walder, the pianist’s granddaughter, appeared…
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Wife Claims Charlie Sheen Sent Anti-Semitic Text
Crossposted From TMZ Charlie Sheen sent a scathing, anti-Semitic text to Brooke Mueller about his manager, saying, “I must execute mark b [Mark Burg] like the stoopid jew pig that he is,” the actor’s estranged wife said. Sources say Sheen sent the text last week, after firing Burg but before rehiring him. The text was…
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