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Sundown: Animals vs. Religion

Dog fur, Jesus, and the dignity of Iranian Jews

by
Hadara Graubart
June 18, 2009

• A proposed animal-welfare law in Israel would outlaw the import of products made from the fur of dogs, cats, or rabbits. Apparently, this would encompass shtreimels, hats worn by Hasidic Jews on special occasions. Knesset Member Menachem Eliezer Moses calls a ban “inconceivable,” despite the fact that synthetic shtreimels are perfectly kosher. [Arutz Sheva]
• Iranian Jewish leaders speak out against the riots that have spread through the nation since Ahmadinejad won the election there, declaring their “aversion to any sort of undignified behavior.” [Ynet]
• A Seattle play has finally answered the question, what would have happened if Jesus had shown up during the Holocaust? Turns out, he would have saved the Jews’ souls, but not their bodies, and would have sang and danced to the lyrics “Aryan, Aryan, so barbarian.” [The Stranger]
• In further adventures in Evangelicalism, the site HeLives has built a Google map marking holy spots mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. [Galleycat]
• Will The New York Times issue a correction for identifying Elie Wiesel with the crossword clue “Night novelist,” although Wiesel has repeatedly asserted that the book is nonfiction? [NJ Jewish News]
• As predicted, Rupert Murdoch has sold The Weekly Standard to Phil Anschutz, potentially compromising its Israel coverage. [LA Observed]

Hadara Graubart was formerly a writer and editor for Tablet Magazine.