One of the most bizarre hallmarks of the War on Terror has been the newfound intimacy between Israel and conservative Protestant groups. So supportive have they become of the Jewish state and its policies towards the Palestinians that it has appeared to many relieved Jews, particularly in the US, that the era of Christian anti-Semitism has finally come to an end. With Islamists and the European left distributing their own brand of the virus, and Christians setting their sights on queers and Muslims instead, the people who invented it were finally under control.
Not so fast, according to Israeli television comedian Lior Shlein. In an incendiary skit (appropriately titled “Like a Virgin”) shown on his Tonight Show on Israel’s Channel 10 last week, Shlein gave voice to the anxiety of Jews the world over, in response to Pope Benedict’s recognition of a reactionary British cleric, Bishop Richard Williamson, who once told Sweden’s state broadcaster that Jews were not gassed by the Nazis, and that only 300,000 had actually been killed.
Far be it for the Pope to split hairs with his clergymen over such minor details. Nonetheless, the Israeli comedian explicitly stated that he was going to “deny (the) Christianity” by satirizing the virgin birth, in response to the Vatican “denying the Holocaust.”
“Instead of getting angry I decided to get back,” the comedian added. “Someone has to teach them a lesson, and that is what we will do.” So, if Mary didn’t procreate by herself, who is the lucky guy? According to a hilarious, campy video shown next by Shlein, it was John the Baptist [segment starts at 33 seconds].
As understandable as Shlein’s attack on the Vatican actually is, it’s no surprise that it caused a far bigger uproar than the comedian could ever have imagined. Everything, it seems, in today’s Israel, is under the global media’s microscope. The Vatican, of course, demanded an apology from the Israeli government, while foreign Evangelicals were similarly upset with Shlein’s lack of politesse.
Perhaps the only persons to suffer any unwarranted distress was Israel’s Christian community (many of whom are Israeli Arabs), already burdened by other more substantive forms of discrimination.
