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Jewish-‘Joking’ Irish Tenor to Sing for ADL

Dropped by Yankees and AARP, but Foxman & Co. accept apology

by
Allison Hoffman
October 29, 2009
Tynan sings prior to a papal Mass at Yankee Stadium last year.(Mike Segar/AFP/Getty Images)
Tynan sings prior to a papal Mass at Yankee Stadium last year.(Mike Segar/AFP/Getty Images)

From the all’s well that ends well department: the Anti-Defamation League announced yesterday afternoon that Ronan Tynan, the Irish tenor, will be singing “God Bless America” at the opening meeting of its annual conference tonight at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. In its press release, the ADL mentioned that the leaders of the anti-anti-Semitism organization had met with Tynan and granted him their indulgence for “a comment he made about Jews.” So what was the glossed-over comment? The singer, who is also a Paralympian, apparently told a real-estate agent showing apartments in his building that he would welcome new neighbors as long as they weren’t Jews. The Yankees promptly dropped him from his planned gig at the opening game of the American League playoffs, and, Tablet Magazine has learned, the AARP also revoked Tynan’s invitation to appear as a “spotlighted” performer at its annual conference last weekend in Las Vegas. Tynan told New York’s Irish Echo that he “has many Jewish friends,” and three Jewish musicians in his band. He also explained that he had cried and prayed over the episode, and even considered leaving New York in shame, but decided to stay and clear his name. “The truth eventually wins,” he said.

Allison Hoffman is a senior editor at Tablet Magazine. Her Twitter feed is @allisont_dc.