Jewish Roots of ‘American Idol’ Deepen
Everyone knows that Jews have exerted extraordinary influence on popular music throughout history, but it seems that not just one but two members of the Tribe are calling the shots on one of the music industry’s most visible outlets, Fox’s “American Idol.”
It is known that pop diva Paula Abdul is Jewish, and recently it was revealed that Simon Cowell — the show’s brutally honest Brit — is of Jewish descent, too: His paternal grandparents, Joseph Cowell and Esther Malinsky, were married in 1915 at West Ham Synagogue, in East London, the Web site Jewtastic reports.
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