Of course, this nice interview is too much for some to bear:

This coming from someone who knows next to nothing about Judaism.

Liam Neeson has considered becoming a Muslim after the religion got “into [his] spirit”.

The actor revealed the faith resonated with him while filming in Turkish city Istanbul. Liam finds the Islamic religion very “beautiful”.

“The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it’s the most beautiful, beautiful thing,” he gushed in an interview with British newspaper The Sun.

“There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim.”

I just hope if he does become a Muslim, it’ll be because it got “into [his] spirit”, and not because his former mother-in-law did.

It’s a bit long, but it’s Caroline Glick so you need to read it all.

ALL OF this brings us to the issue at hand. Stories highlighting the deviant behaviors of marginal social forces tend to be simplistic and misleading, and to serve identifiable political forces. And so, with our national discourse suddenly dominated by stories describing the demise of Israeli democracy, women’s rights and the rule of law at the hands of modern and ultra- Orthodox Jews, we need to consider who benefits from the stories.

It is notable that the seam lines being opened by all of the stories, which are again, about deviations from the norm of Israel’s social cohesion, all fall within the governing coalition. Stories of “Jewish terrorists” set the security hawks against the ideological hawks. They set the likes of Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his supporters against the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and their representatives in the Likud, Israel Beiteinu, Habayit Hayehudi and other coalition parties.’

to my Christian readers. Wishing all of my Christian readers a Merry Christmas! And thank you for your support over the years.

Like I did last year, I’ll leave the last word to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

No sirree. Judging by the buzz, it has apparently been Chassidic Reggae Superstar Matisyhau’s decision to shave off his beard!

In the wake of his hair-raising yet-somewhat-cryptic announcement, speculation mounted. Had the artist formerly known as Matt done an REM and lost his religion? Or was this a close encounter with his shaver of a more superficial kind?

Matisyahu first alluded to the fact that he had not turned away from Judaism the day after his initial announcement, tweeting:

For all those who are confused:today I went to the Mikva and Shul just like yesterday

But in a subsequent tweet, he wrote:

Thought of an analogy on the way home from Shul this morning. Everyone was walking with plastic bags picking up there dog’s shit.

Apparently, he had not only shaved off his beard, but also developed a bit of a potty mouth (plus bad grammar, although that may have always been there).

This, however, did not mean he was no longer an Orthodox Jew. After all, I am one, and I tend to swear like a banshee (I like to blame it on my Australian upbringing).

Anyway, if there was still any doubt where Matisyahu stood in terms of his religious observance, I present you the following: 

Ok, now that we have cleared that up, can we get back to worrying about Iran’s march towards a nuclear weapon?

"Now that really hurts!"

While no one would confuse “McCartney” as a Hebrew name, Sir Paul does seem to have a thing for nice Jewish girls. His first wife, Linda, was a member of the tribe, and apparently Macca had talked about converting after marrying her, but “never got around to it.” After a brief stint with shiksa Heather Mills, McCartney has once again fallen for a Jew, current MTA board member Nancy Shevell, whom he married last month. And this time, he’s being a real mensch.

National Enquirer is reporting that Macca, who was baptized as a Roman Catholic but was “admittedly never very devout,” promised Shevell that he’ll convert to Judaism, as she takes religion rather seriously. The two reportedly spent the night before their wedding at Yom Kippur services, and McCartney apparently told his friends he’ll be completing his conversion studies next year. Mazel tov, you crazy kids! Let’s hope Shevell doesn’t turn out to be a real Lady Meshugganah. Remember: All you need is l’chaim

Notice this is coming from the National Enquirer, which makes this slightly more reliable than the rumors Paris Hilton is converting to Islam.

But if this does turn out to be true, Paul’s going to need someone to hold his hand and Foreskin Man is going to have a new life-long enemy.

The reaction was predictable.

Muslim groups are urging a widespread protest at the BBC over a Have I Got News For You joke they say was Islamophobic.

On Friday’s edition, host Sharon Horgan said: ‘The Independent described the Dostoevsky metro station… as the Mecca for suicides. Not to be confused with the Mecca of suicide bombers – which is Mecca.’

The joke received a slightly uncomfortable reaction from the studio audience, and is now set to lead to a torrent of complaints to the BBC.

Campaign group The Muslim Public Affairs Committee said: ‘By making such a comment she is giving the message that the holiest site in Islam is the centre of all terrorism and that Islam is inherently linked with violence.

‘This offhand comment does nothing except reinforce the message that Islam has something within its fundamental beliefs that makes it a threat to civil society Allowing this comment to go unchecked justifies the statement and condones such demonisation, as the comment implicitly implies that all Muslims are terrorists and all terrorists are Muslims.’

It urged viewers to email the BBC demanding an apology; echoing an online campaign being propagated by individuals on Islamic forums and via Twitter.

Today, Horgan apologised if any offence was caused, saying the line was ironic – and said she had received threats from those who misunderstood that.

In an internet post she said: ‘I am anti any prejudice of any kind. And particularly the generally lazy media portrayal of Muslims or any blanket negativity towards Islam.

‘But HIGNFY is a political satire. Its job is to hold a mirror up to most media prejudice. It deals in irony and in that sense it does the OPPOSITE of what it’s actually saying.

‘Any of the comments on here, which are suggesting I am racist or in any way anti-Muslim are a load of nonsense. HIGNFY, like all good satire plays on prejudices and that’s exactly what we were doing with this joke.

‘Really hope that people understand this and stop threatening me. But if anyone misunderstood the intention of the joke – for it was a joke – then I apologise for any offence caused.’

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/10/04/eyewitness-to-anatot-pogrom-attest-to-sexual-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-246402

The 2nd day of Rosh HaShana in Israel is not a holy day at all. And you must not be religious or you would recognize that fact. In the Diaspora, the second day is celebrated as a chag, but not Israel. If you require an explanation of the halacha around this I’d be happy to oblige. So I’m afraid yr friends sold you a bill of goods on that one.

Screenshot of the comment kept for posterity, given Silverstein's propensity to delete all evidence of his ignorance

Rosh Hashanah is a two-day holiday, whether in Israel or in the Diaspora. Silverstein has clearly mixed it up with the “holiday” days of other Jewish festivals such as Succot and Passover, which are celebrated for two days in the Diaspora but only one day in Israel.

It is the kind of mistake you expect from someone completely ignorant about Judaism, not someone who claims to be knowledgable on the subject as El Doucherino does.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my readers a happy, healthy and prosperous year.

Since I’ll be out of blogging action for the next three or so days, please feel free to treat this as an open thread.