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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Is Judge Judy the New Oprah?
She might not have the media empire or the political clout, but Judge Judith Sheindlin, the obstreperous host judge of the syndicated courtroom reality show Judge Judy, has trounced Oprah Winfrey in daytime television ratings for the sixth week in a row. For the week ending April 25, “Judge Judy” averaged just over 6 million…
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Amazing Jewish Racers Win ‘Amazing Race’
Although they will never displace the affection felt by old time radio fans for the 1940s radio comedian Minerva Pious, the Rhode Island-born Jewish brothers Daniel and Jordan Pious have been guaranteed their 15 minutes of fame. Yesterday it was announced that the Piouses won the $1 million top prize in the grueling CBS reality…
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‘The Wandering Jew Has Arrived’: French Journalist Albert Londres Visits Tel Aviv
The great French journalist Albert Londres (1884-1932), whose subjects ranged from prison conditions to mental hospitals to the Sino-Japanese War, chose one of his most fascinating themes in “The Wandering Jew Has Arrived” (“Le juif errant est arrivé”), an on-the-spot account of a 1929 trip through Jewish neighborhoods in England, Eastern Europe, and Tel Aviv….
The Latest
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One Thousand and One Nights: Too Jewish for Some Egyptians?
It was reported today that a group of Islamist lawyers in Egypt is calling for “The Arabian Nights,” also known as “One Thousand and One Nights,” to be banned as obscene. A new 3-volume translation of “Alf laila wa-laila” will coincidentally be published by Penguin Classics on May 25, complete with all of the time-honored…
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Rapping Herzl’s Birthday
Last Sunday was the 150th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Herzl. Jews around the globe marked the occasion with ceremonies, tributes… and at least one of them did it with a rap. It went something like this: “Shut up and listen, to my hip hop schooling/ We talking freedom, emancipation/ A home, a land…
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‘Archives of the Planet’: The Lost World of Albert Kahn
Between 1909 and 1931, the French Jewish banker and philanthropist Albert (born Abraham) Kahn dispatched a small army of photographers to the far corners of the globe, with the goal of documenting as many cultures and civilizations as possible. By the time the project came to a halt after the Wall Street crash of 1929,…
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Clara Malraux: A Feisty Writer to Remember
The French Jewish writer Clara Malraux (1897-1982) deserves to be remembered for her two ardent, sadly untranslated, books on Israel, “Kibbutz Civilization” (“Civilisation du kibboutz,” 1964), and “From the Four Corners of the Earth: Twelve Israeli Encounters” (“Venus des quatre coins de la terre: douze rencontres en Israël,” 1971). Instead, as a stylish new biography…
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Who on Earth is Michael Rips?
Plucked from obscurity by reclusive Israeli poet Yoel Hoffman to join the International Writers Festival, Michael Rips was the surprise American in a lineup that included Jonathan Safran Foer, Nicole Krauss, Russell Banks and Paul Auster. The suave urbanite and legal eagle who lives in Manhattan’s Chelsea Hotel is no slouch. Despite being little known,…
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Alfred Hertz: A Conductor Who Tried Harder
Pristine Classical, the acclaimed historic recordings website, is honoring the German-born Jewish conductor Alfred Hertz with an ongoing reissue series, available both online and on CD. The reissues feature Hertz conducting the San Francisco Symphony in sprightly performances of Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Brahms’s Hungarian Dances, and deft renditions of ballet music by Delibes….
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Name Misspelled on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Walk Of Fame? How About Walk of Shame. Julia Louis-Dreyfus of “Seinfeld” fame received a high honor when she was bestowed with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Tuesday. Unfortunately a wrench was thrown into the celebratory day when, upon the star’s unveiling, it became apparent that Louis-Dreyfus’ name was misspelled. A careless…
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Rabbi Greg Wall on the BBC
The BBC doesn’t interview American rabbis all that often, let alone mention them in a completely spiritual, non-political context. But their recent special on Rabbi Greg Wall pleasantly defies expectations. Wall is a jazz and klezmer virtuoso who was recently ordained as a rabbi and appointed to lead the Sixth Street Synagogue in New York,…
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Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
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Film & TV Whoever said ‘you can’t take it with you’ never reckoned with this Jewish patriarch
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Fast Forward Students at Netanyahu’s Pennsylvania high school want him ejected from the alumni hall of fame
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