Dee Snider of Twister Sister fame performed in Tel Aviv last night. And it was during that show that he expressed his regret at having not been in Israel before – especially considering two band members were Jews! (hat tip: Liberate Art)
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For the record, as Dee mentions, he is not Jewish – at least not according to Jewish law, because his mother wasn’t – but his father was.
A guy from Astoria, Queens, named Daniel Snider who’s got endless charisma and natural stage presence – he’s gotta be Jewish, right?
“You guys are funny, you think because I’m an entertainer, I must be Jewish. It’s like with the Greeks, ‘We invented everything.’ Well, I think there have been a couple decent Christian entertainers too,” the Daniel Snider in question on the other end of the phone call laughed.
Snider, better known as the ghoulish, wild-haired, heavy metal rocker Dee Snider who propelled to fame in the 1980s as the front man of Twisted Sister, conceded however that he indeed did hail from the Tribe, on his father’s side.
“My mom said that my dad was the least-Jewish Jewish guy she ever met. He was a cop and a baseball player, the job lines with the lowest percentage of Jews working in them. Then he went and married a Roman Catholic. So if ever a guy was rejecting his religion it was him. My only connection to Judaism was the Hannuka money I’d get from my grandparents, which I’d used to buy Christmas presents for my brothers and sister,” said the 63-year-old Snider who grew up singing in a Protestant church choir.
