William Shatner Image by Getty Images

It’s not every day that a Hollywood star gets guilt-tripped on Twitter for not visiting his Jewish family in Israel, but that’s exactly what happened to William Shatner this week – and it’s all Hebrew Wikipedia’s fault.

Shatner has never shied away from his Jewish roots. In fact, the Jewish Canadian Star Trek icon has been outspoken about his experiences with anti-Semitism, both as during his childhood, growing up in Montreal, and as a student at McGill University.

The actor who plays Captain James T. Kirk has even visited Israel in the past. That’s actually where his Jewish guilt problems began, because some people think he has relatives that he shunned.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

This week, Shatner was slammed by one Israeli for allegedly turning his back on his Jewish identity. Their proof? Shatner had failed to visit his Jewish family when he was in Israel.

There was just one problem – Shatner was not aware he has any relatives in Israel, and he tweeted as much. As Haaretz correspondent Allison Kaplan Sommer pointed out to him, the claim seemed to have originated in the Hebrew version of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, in the article for Shatner himself, as well as that of Mordechai Shatner, a prominent Zionist politico and a signatory of Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

Mordechai Shatner’s article in Hebrew claimed that he was related to the captain of the USS Enterprise, but failed to supply a source for the claim.

After the brief kerfuffle was brought to the attention to Asaf Bartov, a prominent Israeli activist involved in various Wiki projects, the claim was deleted from the Hebrew articles of both Shatners.

“I would be inclined to believe Mr. Shatner about who is and isn’t family,” Bartov replied. “That said, I suppose there’s a possibility Mr. Shatner could discover a lost (deceased) relative. Are your Galician roots from Sniatyn?”

A message from our CEO & publisher 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.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

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.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount