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
-
LGBT Convening: Why They Came
From June 27-29, dozens of Jewish LGBT organizations are gathering in Berkeley, CA for the first-ever “LGBT Jewish Movement-Building Convening.” Gabriel Blau, a conference participant and the founder of GayGevalt, is blogging about the gathering for The Shmooze. You can read his first post here and follow the conversation on Twitter here. If you think…
-
Two Canadians Detained for Auschwitz Theft
Just months after three men were convicted of stealing the Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Sets You Free) sign from the Auschwitz memorial, two Canadians were detained Saturday for allegedly pilfering two spikes from the railway tracks that run through the compound. The nails, which were not fastened to the ground, were found in the men’s…
-
Stefan Zweig: Literary Saint or Suicidal Schmendrik?
Almost 70 years after committing suicide in Brazil in 1942, the Austrian Jewish writer Stefan Zweig still divides readers. Laurence Mintz, in a preface to the reprint of Zweig’s “Balzac, Dickens, Dostoevsky: Master Builders of the Spirit” from Transaction Publishers, points to how Zweig’s suicide, in safety and comfort, seemed a cop-out to many émigré…
The Latest
-
Queer Jews Convene in Berkeley
LGBTQ Jewish conferences aren’t new, but over the next couple of days in Berkeley a different kind of gathering is taking place. Called a “Jewish Movement-Building Convening” (using the URL JewishInclusion.com), the meeting is, ironically, an invitation-only event. The net was cast wide however, and it seems that just about every LGBTQ-Jewish related organization is…
-
Zita Carno: Defender of Free Jazz, Modern Music and Baseball
This August in Atlanta, when the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) convenes, one of the attendees will be one of America’s most accomplished, if under-celebrated, Jewish musicians. For many years, the pianist Zita Carno (originally Carnovsky) has delighted music lovers with heartfelt and elegant performances of demanding modern music, first in New York, then…
-
Two Poems By Steve Dalachinsky
If you find yourself at an avant-garde jazz concert and poet Steve Dalachinsky is not in the audience, you probably have the wrong address. An unparalleled jazz aficionado, Dalachinsky has soaked in enough of the music to attempt the impossible: to create the same indescribable, musical feeling through words. But with distinct influences of Dada…
-
Reconciling Enemies: Jazz Sax and Flute Player Lew Tabackin
Veteran sax and flute player Lew Tabackin, a product of South Philadelphia, is one of the “Jazz Jews” discussed in Mike Gerber’s new book of that name. Tabackin performs in a quartet with his wife, the noted pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, and will appear from June 29 to July 3 at Birdland. Though Tabackin did not…
-
This Week in Forward Arts and Culture
Ethan Pack talks to Amir Benayoun, an Israeli musician who embodies the country’s deepest fears. Benjamin Ivry examines the French Lithuanian novelist, journalist and bon vivant, Joseph Kessel. Allison Gaudet Yarrow takes a look at the Jewish Book Council’s two minute author tryouts. Jeremiah Lockwood teams up with Alexander Benaim of The Harlem Shakes for…
-
Jon Voight to Obama: You Lied to the Jewish People
Countless Americans and people around the globe criticize Obama daily (it’s part of the job). But it’s just something special when a major celebrity (and father of a an even more major celebrity) does it in ink. Jon Voight, actor and father of Angelina Jolie, attacked Obama’s treatment of Israel and Jews in an open…
-
Synagogue Welcomes Biker Rabbi
It may be the first time that a rabbi is officially welcomed to his new synagogue on two wheels. Joined by his mentor and congregants both new and old, newly ordained Rabbi Eytan Hammerman will bike from the synagogue where he spent the last two years as a rabbinic intern, to his new one 30…
-
Where Is the Next Great Child Composer?
Asked to name a Jewish child prodigy composer, most people would think of Felix Mendelssohn or perhaps even Felix’s sister Fanny. Yet a fascinating study from Scarecrow Press, “Child Composers and Their Works: A Historical Survey” by Manchester University musicologist Barry Cooper, argues that we should also think of the Swiss Jewish composer Ernest Bloch…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go
- 2
News What a Mayor Mamdani would mean for New York Jews
- 3
Fast Forward Mamdani tells Colbert — and a national audience — why NYC Jews shouldn’t fear him as mayor
- 4
Opinion Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward ‘Let Bibi go,’ ‘Make the deal in Gaza’: Trump renews Israel demands in social media posts
-
Fast Forward ‘Death to the IDF,’ punk band chants at Glastonbury ahead of Kneecap set
-
Fast Forward Swedish far-right party apologizes for its past links to Nazis and antisemitism ahead of elections
-
Fast Forward Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand calls on Zohran Mamdani to denounce ‘globalize the intifada’ following primary win
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
