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
-
Nazi-Naming Parents Should Lose Custody of Children, Court Says
It looks like baby Hitler won’t be coming home anytime soon. And when we say Hitler, we of course mean the 4-year-old boy — full name, Adolf Hitler Campbell — whose nazi-obsessed parents branded him with the unfortunate handle. A state appeals court in New Jersey has ruled that Heath and Deborah Campbell will not…
-
Movie Night at the Bike-In
Carlton Evans likes to shift paradigms. Whether it’s the way Jews daven together or the way people make and watch films, he’s known for bucking convention. An early organizer of San Francisco’s Mission Minyan, a lay-led, non-denominational, highly participatory, egalitarian, queer-friendly and halachically oriented community, Evans has more recently focused his energies on co-founding and…
-
Jennifer Aniston Channels Barbra Streisand!
We just love these photos! Jennifer Aniston transformed into our favorite “Funny Girl” in a glamorous photo shoot for the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar. (See the pics here) Barbra Streisand, for her part, was so flattered that she posted this comment to her website yesterday afternoon: I was very flattered that Jennifer Aniston chose…
The Latest
-
Trials and Tribulations of ‘America’s Sexual-Harassiest CEO’
If some of the models in American Apparel’s ubiquitous, sex-charged ads look pained, there’s good reason. After the company admitted that its financial reporting since 2009 might have been less than honest, accountants Deloitte and Touche dropped it like a pair of hot pants, according to reports this week. Seeing the company’s stock slide nearly…
-
A Portuguese Diplomat in the Kingdom of Heaven
The diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who is the subject of a new biography by French author Eric Lebreton (Le Cherche Midi Editions), was the only Portuguese citizen ever recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. “Visas for Life: Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Righteous Man of Bordeaux” relates how in 1940,…
-
Paul Rudd Bat Mitzvah Video Makes the Rounds
Last night “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” debuted the Forward’s now-famous Paul Rudd bat mitzvah video, of the “Dinner for Schmucks” star making a living as a DJ in the early 90s. Check out the hilarious clip below (Rudd appears at the very end, after all the other brouhaha). We just love the jacket!
-
Why Will Gorillaz Play in Syria, But Not in Israel?
Earlier this spring Gorillaz, a British “virtual” rock sensation headed by Blur front-man Damon Albarn, canceled a show at Tel Aviv’s Pic.nic festival, along with British dance punk outfit Klaxons and American alt-rock pioneers The Pixies. Albarn never explicitly stated the reason for the cancellation, but it was widely speculated that the decision was linked…
-
Belgian Jewry, in Posters
Posters can be a form of performance art. This is one conclusion to be drawn from “Public Notice: Jewish History in Posters,” a new exhibit at Brussels’ Jewish Museum of Belgium which opened June 18 and runs until October 3. The items in the exhibit range from anonymous 19th century anti-Semitic images like The Wandering…
-
Susannah Heschel Versus the Aryan Jesus
As the daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Susannah Heschel, a professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, knows the importance of interfaith dialogue, as well as what happens when it breaks down. While there have been no shortage of rocky episodes in Jewish-Christian relations, few are as dark as the Nazi era. Heschel’s most…
-
Dmitriy Salita Announces Next Fight
Orthodox boxer Dmitriy Salita held an intimate press conference yesterday in Manhattan that could have easily been mistaken for a “Kiddush Club” at Saturday morning services — had there been schnapps and herring. The boxer was announcing his next scheduled fight, “Redemption,” slated for September 1 at Brooklyn’s Oceana Hall. Who he will be fighting…
-
9 Killed in Shooting at Jewish-Owned Beer Distributor
The Connecticut company that was the site of a horrific workplace shooting yesterday is owned by a prominent Jewish family with a long history of charitable giving, according to the The New York Times. Hartford Distributors, one of Connecticut’s largest distributors of beer and wine, was founded in 1944 and bought soon after that by…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Rep. Max Miller says driver called him a ‘dirty Jew’ and threatened to kill his family. A local doctor turned himself in.
- 2
News An Alabama millionaire offered Jews $50,000 to move to his town. 16 years later, what’s left?
- 3
Culture Why is Israel’s attack on Iran called ‘Rising Lion’ — and what does the Bible have to do with it?
- 4
News As Israel attacks, what is life like for Jews in Iran?
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Think speaking out against Trump won’t help? A 1943 protest in Nazi Germany says you’re wrong.
-
Culture How a Jewish reporter like me got addicted to Christian media
-
Opinion Israeli leaders are using Holocaust comparisons to justify attacks on Iran. Is that kosher?
-
Fast Forward Over half of Jewish students at Columbia experienced discrimination and exclusion after Oct. 7, survey shows
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
