I already posted about Hollywood actor James Caan being in Israel as special guest of the Israel Tourism Ministry and The Albert Einstein Foundation for Science and Philosophy of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Since he’s been here, he has firmed up his credentials as a badass – and huge supporter of the Jewish state.
That pisses me off when they talk about all these Hollywood liberals,” he said. “There’s a whole bunch of us who are conservative. I find it offensive when actors go on news shows and spout their political views. They don’t exactly have political science degrees, who cares what they think?” Referring to politics in the Middle East, Caan said that he admired Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he was planning to have an audience later in his trip.
“He’s a tough guy in a sense, a real guy,” said Caan, who should know something about tough guys, having appeared as one in dozens of films in a diverse career that has also seen him play romantic leads (Chapter Two), sports heroes (Brian’s Song) and scores of offbeat character roles.
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The Brooklyn-raised Caan, whose parents were German immigrants, does feel good about finally making it to Israel, where he is a guest of the Tourism Ministry, the Einstein Fund and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.“My family wasn’t very religious – we were a little rough around the edges. Our rabbi came to my mother to talk about me and my brother and he said to her, ‘if there were two more Jews like your boys, I’d be a priest.’ “But at times, I’m super-religious because I feel such a strong connection to Israel. If Israel is at war, then I’m at war…
I’m very pro-Israel, and I can’t like anybody who isn’t,” said Caan, who visited the Kotel, put on tefillin, and met with the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinowitz.
As for what he means by “pro-Israel” he clearly takes Israel’s security seriously.
“The European and American demands to return to the 1967 borders — aren’t sensible, and I object strongly to those demands,” he said.
Meanwhile, my friend Chaya saw him at the Einstein Archives where he visited with his son Jacob. In her words “Two really nice guys.”
Update: The video:
