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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Books
30 Days, 30 Texts: ‘Great Jews Since Bible Times’
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Jonathan D. Sarna writes about “Great Jews Since…
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Out and About: Banned Books in Jordan; ‘Finnegans Wake’ in Yiddish
The L.A. Times explores Jordan’s premiere destination for banned books. The Wire creator David Simon talks about his father Bernard Simon, a “professional Jew” and the public relations director of B’nai B’rith for more than 20 years. New York’s Kehila Kedosha Janina is the last Greek synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. Philip Glass is writing…
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This Week in Forward Arts and Culture
Jordana Horn checks out the Other Israel Film Festival. Benjamin Ivry appreciates Russian Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Sherwin Kaufman remembers arriving at Ellis Island almost 90 years ago. Yelena Akhtiorskaya takes a poetry lesson from Andrei Codrescu. Jacob Silverman reviews “Dolly City” by Orly Castel-Bloom. Eryn Loeb compares and contrasts two tongue-in-cheek books about the…
The Latest
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Scottish Soccer Club Accidentally Used Nazi Image on Program
Here in North America, sports franchises use the most obvious cover art for their game day programs. New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter fist-pumping after a playoff victory. Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson doused in champagne. Surely things are the same over in the UK, but last week Scottish soccer club Airdire United attempted…
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Tailor to the Stars Learned His Trade in Auschwitz
Holocaust survivor Martin Greenfield, 82, once sewed to save his life. Now he sews to suit the stars, literally. Mayor Bloomberg, the cast of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and famous fashion designers like Rag & Bone are among the many posh clients who call upon Greenfield for his superior tailoring talents. Bloomberg, who credits Greenfield with…
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Friday Film: Behind Friendly Lines
It takes a midnight downpour to force a mutiny and forge a temporary unit from the misfits on Israel Defence Force Training Base 4, nearly three-quarters of the way through Georgian-Israeli director Dover Kosashvili’s new film. “Where did they find such a group of losers?” mutters the troop commander, as they stubbornly shuffle together like…
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Paul Simon Is the Latest Jew To Release a Christmas Song
In what’s become a beloved Christmas tradition, listeners are getting treated to a new song sharing the spirit of the season… by a Jewish pop star. Paul Simon’s the latest Semite to jump on the Yuletide bandwagon with “Getting Ready for Christmas Day,” a thumping, blues-tinged tune “with no mention of Jesus, Mary, Joseph or…
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Books 30 Days, 30 Texts: ‘The House of Rothschild’
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Dave Weinberg writes about “The House of Rothschild”…
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The Madoffs — Like Father, Like Sons?
Behind every great man stands a great woman — or so the saying goes. And behind every not-so-great man? Well, two former employees of convicted Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff, Annette Bongiorno and Joann “Jodi” Crupi, were arrested in their homes early Thursday, and charged with conspiracy, securities fraud, falsifying records and tax evasion. U.S. Attorney Preet…
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Books Civil Rights and Cheap Burials: Remembering Lawyer Robert Treuhaft
Human rights lawyers who spend their lives defending unpopular clients like Vietnam War draft resisters and free speech advocates can expect mostly indirect posthumous tributes. Such is the lesson of a friendly new volume, “Irrepressible: The Life and Times of Jessica Mitford” by Leslie Brody, an English professor at the University of Redlands, out in…
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Israel Feels the Effect of a Butter Recession
It is said that Israel is a land flowing with milk and honey. Well I can tell you it isn’t. And that’s not simply my opinion, it’s a factual observation — Israel’s dairy production has been down as a result of a scorching hot summer, and the supermarket shelves here are all the lighter because…
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In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Holocaust survivor event features a Rob Reiner video address — recorded just weeks before his death
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Fast Forward In Reykjavik, Hanukkah offers a chance for Iceland’s tiny, isolated Jewish community to come together
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Opinion When my children decorate for Hanukkah, I don’t just see pride. I see pluralism in action.
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Fast Forward ‘The most Australian name’: Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack, embodies a nation’s grief
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