Weekly Schmooze: Who's your Jewish valentine?

The hottest Jewish culture news worldwide: Barbie loves Israel; Bulletproof Stockings rock; anti-Semitism on SNL?

By LAHAV HARKOV
weekly schmooze 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
weekly schmooze 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Happy Valentine's Day? Who's your dream Jewish valentine? Online dating site Jewcier.com polled members, and unsurprisingly, 65 percent of men would most want to go out with Bar Refaeli, while more than half of women chose The Voice coach and Maroon 5 soloist Adam Levine. Other high-ranking members of the tribe were Mila Kunis, Scarlett Johansson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and James Franco.
Saturday Night Live is always good for a laugh, but the sketch comedy show came under fire this week for its jokes about Chuck Hagel's Secretary of Defense confirmation hearings and Republicans' attempts to one-up each other in their support of Israel. The sketch was not aired, but was posted online. Anti-Defamation League Director Abe Foxman says "the skit could play into the worst kind of ideas, even reinforcing pernicious notions of Jewish control of government in the vein of those routinely espoused by anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists." Columnist Jeffrey Goldberg took the opposite opinion, tweeting: "No, that SNL skit wasn't anti-Semitic, and yes, the controversy over it is incredibly boring." Watch and judge for yourself:
For less controversial jokes, check out this clip of YouTube comedian Billy Eichner and actress Rashida Jones (who's also Jewish – her mother is actress Peggy Lipton) playing "Whistle-Blow that Jew." Jones plays a game in which she has to identify Jewish celebrities' real names. Check it out:
In the music world, Raiz, leader of the Italian band Almamegretta, refuses to play the world-famous San Remo Music Festival, because he converted to Judaism and is slotted to play on Friday night. The band has yet to decide what to do, and will either perform without him or use a pre-recorded video.
Speaking of Italy, "Barbie Loves Israel" is the name of a photo project on display in Milan's popular Kitsch Bar. Artists Enrico Pescantini and Maria Giovanna Callea traveled around Israel, shooting in famous sites.
On the other side of the pond, Bulletproof Stockings, a rock band made up of female Chabad hassids, is making waves in the gentile world, with coverage in The New Yorker and The New York Post. The band doesn't perform in front of men, because of religious restrictions, but you can find their Fiona Apple-esque songs online. Here's one:
The Weekly Schmooze collects the hottest Jewish culture news from around the world. Ranging from celebrities to philanthropy to quirky communities, we're here to schmooze about Jews.
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