Faux Hasidim, Real Hasid Unite on Network TV…
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
…to sing a dreidel song on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.” The real Hasid is Bostoner Hasid/rapper Y-Love. The fellows in the fake beards are Erran Baron Cohen (brother of “Borat” comic Sacha) and his band. The song is from Erran’s new album “Songs in the Key of Hanukkah.” The motley crew’s performance can be viewed here — at the end of the show. (It was, by the way, a very Jew-y episode of “Late Night,” with the dreidel song preceded by a fun appearance by perennially popular comic matador Don Rickles.)
UPDATE: Turns out Y-Love is no longer a Hasid. Back in June he told Jewcy: “I am no longer Chassidish. I converted Chassidish and I davened in Chassidish shuls until like 2005. But my rav is Sephardi.” Oops.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
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