Word: jewish
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...born Oct. 10, 1930, in Hackney, London, into what he called "a very respectable, Jewish, lower-middle-class family"; his father Jack was a ladies' tailor. At Hackney Downs School, perceptive teachers nurtured Harold's talent for writing. He was also mad for sports, especially cricket, which would prove a lifelong passion. In his 50s he said that his "three main interests" were family, work and cricket...
Since then, the perpetrators of the struggle against Santa have taken on many forms; just about every major bugbear on the radical left has at one point or another been blamed. In the beginning, of course, there were the Jews. "The whole record of the Jewish opposition to Christmas...shows the venom and directness of [their] attack," wrote automaker and notorious anti-Semite Henry Ford in 1921, citing efforts around the country to silence Christmas carolers and suppress demonstrations of religion in schools. By the 1950s, blame had shifted to the Communists. "One of the techniques now being applied...
Sandler's song notwithstanding, few Hanukkah productions have come close to matching the enduring status of A Charlie Brown Christmas - but the holiday is increasingly spreading its Jewish joy to the world. Last month, thinking woman's heartthrob Jon Stewart appeared on Stephen Colbert's Christmas TV special and meekly sang the tune, Can I Interest You in Hanukkah? Whether the answer from most viewers was yes or no, at least Kyle can tell his South Park buddies it's getting a little less lonely to be a Jew on Christmas...
...turning point for Hanukkah's rise in pop culture visibility can be traced back to 1995 and Adam Sandler's hilarious, if now overplayed, "Chanukah Song" (a musical version of a time-honored Jewish pastime - identifying other Jews). "When you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree, here's a list of people who are Jewish [like Paula Abdul, Kirk Douglas and David Lee Roth], just like you and me..." The underwhelming musical quality of the goofy ditty was beside the point. But the media attention the song received - an actor celebrating Hanukkah? - paved...
...critically panned animated 2002 film, Eight Crazy Nights, was a cult hit, while a cool kids' film, Chanukah on Planet Matzah Ball, targeted the 6 and under set. The beautiful teenagers of The O.C. came up with an all-inclusive holiday, much like Seinfeld's Festivus, called Chrismukkah. Jewish hipsters gathered to watch rockers like Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell toast Hanukkah at the now-annual New York City event, A Jewcy Hanukkah. The punk-pop band the LeeVees formed specifically to "spread Hanukkah cheer" and released the 2005 CD, Hanukkah Rocks! Last year the LeeVees joined the Boston...