Barack Obama’s identity seems to keep getting more complicated. He’s got a shepherd Islamic father, a white Kansan mother, a borderline crazy pastor. And now: a rabbi inlaw. Turns out Michelle Obama’s cousin, Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., is the leader of a mostly black Jewish synagogue in Chicago. We’ll see if McCain can out-Jew...

Paul McCartney will beplaying in Park Hayarkonin Tel Aviv on September 25. McCartney obviously doesn’t carry a grudge. The Beatles were banned from appearing in Israel in 1965, when they were deemed to likely to corrupt the morals of Israeli youth. Apparently, Prime Minister Olmert has decided it’s too late.

In Slovenia, current Prime Minister Janez Jansa cracked a Woody Allen joke to outsmart his rivals in their upcoming election. Convinced the opposition party’s candidates invent their solutions before presenting their programs, he said he was reminded of Allen’s "I don’t know the question – but sex is definitely the answer" joke. If Jansa ever...

It was only a matter of time, we always said, before Glen Campbell (that’s right, the Rhinestone Cowboy) converted to Judaism. Those robust chunks of chest hair, thick sideburns and obvious discomfort on a horse made Campbell a dead ringer. Campbell apparently converted decades ago, right under our big noses. Alright, alright, technically he converted...

Brooklyn-based artist Timothy Warner has created the funniest video I’ve seen all year. If he’s looking for a name for his masked Muslim comic, may we suggest "Ayatollah Komedy"?

There are 37 Jews in the country of Bahrain, and one of them is its new Washington Ambassador. Eyebrows were raised last Thursday when Hudu Nunu was appointed to the position. "This move is not propaganda," exclaimed a high-ranking official in Bahrain. "It reflects a climate of tolerance towards minorities in Bahrain." (Not to mention...

Semites on Bikes, a Baltimore-based club founded by early-childhood teacher and humane society activist Ken Shapiro has only the best of intentions. Unfortunately, Shaprio and Co. have created a calendar called "Kitty Porn" in which group members pose in the nude on their motorcycles with only a feline covering their, uh, clutches). The calendar is...

Rapper/klezmer artist/occasional accordion player Josh Dolgin (a.k.a. Socalled), who we once worried was part of a "big post-modern joke," is the subject of a new documentary by Canadian filmmaker Garry Beitel.The "Socalled" Movie features the artist on a klezmer cruise through Eastern Europe. Some videos and a trailer have already leaked to the Internet.

At Sunday’s MTV movie awards, Adam Sandler was presented with the Generation Award in Song and Dance. The award, which had been bestowed upon Tom Cruise in 2006, was presented by the underpants-clad Scientologist to Sandler in what had to be the strangest on-screen pairing since George W. Bush and Stephen Colbert. Sandler proceeded to...

You can thank Judd Apatow for reintroducing the penis to the big screen. Last year, Apatow announced his goal to show at least one male member in every film he makes and so far has made good on that promise. His "cockumentary" feature on the Walk Hard DVD includes an interview with the movie’s exposed...

The Palestinian News Network has released a non-comprehensive list of twenty options– "besides surrender"– that Palestinians can choose from 60 years after Nakba, or the "day of catastrophe." Number 20: "Write poems, do music, perform plays and other resistance arts." I shutter at the thought of a young and intrepid Palestinian daring to remake Judy...

Next week, American Jewish University in Los Angeles will ordain its first black rabbi from sub-Saharan Africa. Gershom Sizomu, the fresh-faced man with a lady-killing smile pictured above, will be taking the reins of a yeshiva in a diverse Ugandan community. And rabbis in the US thought they had a hard time raising funds at...