‘Star Wars’ fanboy. Bar mitzvah boy. Senator? Jews react to Jon Ossoff’s path to victory
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By PJ Grisar January 6, 2021
At press time, Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old documentary film producer, is within striking distance of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate and flipping it blue. And while some reflected on the significance of this moment in a deep south plagued by historical antisemitism, a bunch more people were moved to make fun of Ossoff’s strong guy-who’d-write-a-Beastie-Boys-a-capella-arrangement energy. And honestly, it was kinda great.
Gabe Stutman, the news editor at J. The Jewish News of Northern California, noted that should Ossoff win, he would not be the first Georgia senator with a background in journalism and a soul present at Sinai. (Though this guy was raised Episcopalean.)
FYI John S. Cohen, a newspaperman, briefly served as the junior senator from Georgia in 1932. pic.twitter.com/WVdYygq2ga
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) January 6, 2021
Journalist Ashley Feinberg thanked Ossoff for inspiring today’s Jews in the news biz.
jon ossoff is a huge inspiration to jewish semi-journalists who haven’t really accomplished anything but like to say “yeah i could probably do that”
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) January 6, 2021
Others insisted the candidate did even more for the broader Jewish community, while pinpointing his exact je ne sais quoi.
Damn Georgia this is an unforgettable night for all of us Jewish Day Camp Counselors pic.twitter.com/ZCygj8aMdh
— rodneyrothman (@rodneyrothman) January 6, 2021
Naturally, people wondered about his bar mitzvah theme, a matter he hasn’t yet disclosed to the press — although his 2017 election night party was compared to the old rite of passage. (No word on motivational dancers or “Cha Cha Slide” needledrops.)
win or lose, I’m still dancing my Ossoff at Jon’s Discotech Bar Mitzvah
— rotbot (@madamepotstein) January 6, 2021
Leak the John ossoff bar mitzvah pics
— Joshi (@babytajine) January 6, 2021
As the evening wore on and more ballots were counted, people dug deep into the millennial candidate’s Twitter, finding some mortifying moments for his fandoms. Ossoff was caught asking a too-cool-for-school music website for its take on one of the lamest bands of all time (we hope ironically):
Alright hold up stop the count https://t.co/Bwkfa2VnBq
— JBO (@MuppetMonsters) January 6, 2021
He also fumbled the name of Harry Potter’s bete noir.
Getting ready for class at the London School of Economics, thinking: https://t.co/nQeSuP9H7l
— Patty New Year (@NoveltyPatrick) January 6, 2021
Perhaps predictably, the man who penned and starred in an a capella “Star Wars” parody outed himself as a stan of the main villain of the animated series “The Clone Wars.”
I can guarantee you this guy will be only senator who knows who grand admiral Thrawn is. He needs to run for president just so we can hear embarrassing stories from his classmates of him playing a gameboy at lunch. https://t.co/pYA63VqaMz
— omg mars is so cute (@mars_luver) January 6, 2021
He was dragged with this absolutely on-point take.
Congratulations to Jon Ossoff, the first U.S. Senator to catch a computer virus while trying to download the Garden State soundtrack from Limewire
— Jason O. Gilbert (@gilbertjasono) January 6, 2021
But above all, Ossoff’s potential victory — along with Rev. Raphael Warnock’s likely win — was heralded as a momentous occasion for the deep south and for the future of the country.
I know it hasn’t been called for Ossoff yet. But I’m starting to get unexpectedly emotional at the the idea of a Black man and a Jewish man, both protégés of John Lewis, walking into the United States Senate as the elected representatives of the Deep South state of Georgia.
— Bryan Behar (@bryanbehar) January 6, 2021
The last time a black man and Jewish man saved America. #ByeMcConnell #byemitch #ossoff #warnock #georgia #ByeByeTrump #ByeKelly pic.twitter.com/82cBjYfuTp
— Beezy (@sarsourus) January 6, 2021
_PJ Grisar is the Forward’s culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].__
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