Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Food

Is Paul Ryan Kosher? Wikipedia Says No

Lots of delicious things aren’t kosher, from shellfish to cheeseburgers, but Paul Ryan isn’t exactly something Jews have ever felt the need or desire to want to eat.

Some lone, noble hero, likely operating out of the private sanctity of his mother’s basement, recently updated the invertebrate Wikipedia page to classify American politican Paul Ryan as a member of the species.

Nothing gold can stay, the saying goes, and the invertebrate Wikipedia page has been re-edited to reflect that unfortunately true adage.

“Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a backbone or spine),” says Wikipedia.

It is not enough that these creatures must live their lives bereft of spines or backbones, but these creatures also lack the kosher certification that would permit religious Jews to consume it.

You can rest easy, Paul Ryan. The Jews are not going to eat you tonight. Or ever.

The American public is a different story.

Shira Feder is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @shirafeder

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.