Oy, vey (hey, I can say that since I’m Jewish)! President Barack Obama’s National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones told a Jewish merchant joke as warm up and while some in the audience who were Jewish laughed, the joke has emitted scowls and admonitiions from the venerable Anti-Defamation League.
At issue here are several factors: the wisdom of telling any ethnic jokes these days since someone is bound to be deeply offended, the inability of a public official (unlike an offending comedian) to tell those offended in the audience to take it or leave it or buzz off, the whole issue of who can tell ethic humor and when, and the fact that if any public official or anyone connected in any way with a government or big government job tells an ethnic joke it can be picked up and used against that person and his bosses not by just those genuinely offended but by those who are looking for an issue to (what else?) become outraged about.
It’s worth looking at the Political Punch story in some detail:
As first noted by the Jewish newspaper The Forward, at an event last week at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy – a pro-Israel think tank – National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones (Ret.) told a joke about a “Jewish merchant” that didn’t sit well with everyone.
While many in the largely Jewish audience laughed, others didn’t find it so funny, including Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
“It’s inappropriate,” Foxman told ABC News. “it’s stereotypic. Some people believe they need to start a speech with a joke; this was about the worst kind of joke the head of the National Security Council could have told.”
The Forward noted that the “joke drew a wave of laughs and applause from participant” but it went on to report that an anonymous “prominent think-tank source who attended the event said the joke was ‘wrong in so many levels’ and that it ‘demonstrated a lack of sensitivity.’ The source also asked: ‘Can you imagine him telling a black joke at an event of African Americans?’”
And what was this joke that is being talked about on talk radio, on blogs and whipping around the Internet in news stories?
Jones tells the joke “in order to set the stage for my remarks,” and then proceeds to tell the story of a “member of the Taliban separated from his fighting party.” The Taliban member stumbles upon a shack, which it turns out is a “little store owned by a Jewish merchant.’
“I need water,” the Taliban fighter says to the merchant. “Get me some water.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have any water but would you like to buy a tie?” the merchant says. “We have a nice sale of ties today.”
The Taliban warrior goes on a tirade against the merchant, against Jews, about Israel. “I need water you try to sell me ties, you people don’t get it.”
“Well I’m sorry I don’t have water for you,” the merchant says, “I forgive you for all of the insults you’ve levied against me, my family, my country…But I will help you out.”
The merchant steers the Taliban towards a restaurant two miles away.
“They have all the water you’ll need,” the merchant says.
The Taliban fighter walks towards the restaurant, then returns about an hour later.
“Your brother tells me I need a tie to get in the restaurant,” he says.
PP quotes one Jewish audence member dismayed that Jones would tell a joke with a sterotypical image of a Jewish merchant — and also a Jewish member of Congress whose reaction was “Lighten up.” Here’s the You Tube of Jones’ warm up joke so you can judge for yourself:
Foreign Policy’s The Cable blog puts this into perspective in a post that notes that (surprise!) some of the reactions to the joke were also seemingly political:
Although the crowd seemed to laugh heartily, Jones has been heavily criticized by conservative bloggers and some Jewish community leaders, such as the Anti-Defamation League’s Abe Foxman, who told ABC News the joke was “inappropriate” and “stereotypic.”
“Some people believe they need to start a speech with a joke; this was about the worst kind of joke the head of the National Security Council could have told,” Foxman reportedly said.
Jones is already viewed in some pro-Israel circles as too tough on the Jewish state, dating back to his time as George W. Bush’s security coordinator for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He’s also reportedly been advocating that President Obama put forward his own peace plan, a move the Israelis and their closest allies in the United States would fiercely oppose.
But Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), which hosted the event, said that he hasn’t gotten any complaints about the joke and called the controversy a “real tempest in a teapot.”
“This joke stuff is beneath everybody to be focusing on when there are important issues to be focused on,” Satloff told The Cable. “I was the host of the event and nobody registered that sort of complaint to me. There was no shock, no offense.”
He defended WINEP’s decision to post the video of the speech without the joke included, saying that such videos are edited all the time to pare it down only to prepared remarks. As Politico’s Ben Smith pointed out Sunday, the White House’s official transcript of the speech also failed to include the joke.
Which means they were not happy with it. Bottom line.
My reactions? Here it is from the perspective of an independent voter who’s Jewish who also does comedy in his other incarnation:
1. Gen. Jones: Don’t quit your day job. They’ll never hire you to do warmup for Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien or even Ralph Nader. You are to timing what Sean Hannity is to balanced discussion.
2. Your joke might be one that wouldn’t get you into trouble at a party — there are worse stereotypes used in all ethnic jokes — but as a public official who comes under criticism for policy it would stand to reason that if you have foes they would jump on it as way to get at you.
3. It’s true some Jews might not be offended by that joke. But it’s also true some Jews would be highly offended. The idea is that jokes like these perpetuate a stereotype that contributes to anti-semitism. Not that this kind of joke is new. There are many jokes like that with the same implication, like the old one about a ticket salesman from El Al Airlines: “I can put you on flight 500 but for you flight 450”…the implication that Jews will haggle, etc to make a sale.
4. Even a slab of lox at DZ Akins’ Deli in San Diego knows that ethnic depictions and jokes are ticklish subjects these days. If someone tells an ethnic joke these days, it better be someone WHO BELONGS TO THAT GROUP…and even then that could stir up a hornet’s nest of controversy.
5. People can be very PC. Some examples from my performing life:
–I did a Christmas show at a steakhouse for a company. When I arrived the client, a huge guy who looked like a truck, told me: “Most of us are related. We’re in the liquor importation and wholesale business. We’re Italian.” So I asked him “Should I tell some Italian jokes?” The guy with the neck the size of Shea Stadium just smiled and hissed: “Not if you want to live.”
–I’m five foot one and had a few short jokes aimed at me in my show. Afterwards a lady about an inch taller than me came over and almost started yelling at me because I did some short jokes.
–I did a joke about a turkey and a horoscope at a family event. One woman got up angrily and told the client who hired me. “Well, I’m leaving! He’s talking about signs! Satanism!!!”
However in THIS case the fact is: some Jews detest jokes with stereotypes just as some lawyers are very angry at anti lawyer jokes and even feel those jokes are dangerous due to all of the nuts out there.
[UPDATE: Jones has apologized for the joke.]
However, since we at TMV strive to improve our country and our leaders, here are some videos Jones might want to study.
He could copy the late Henny Youngman on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 60s below with jokes that are innocent enough (OOPS! Some of those jokes would get several groups very mad…and some people now frown on wife and mother-in-law jokes as sexist). He might even do a switch on one of Yougnman’s most famous lines: “Take the Middle East. Please.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ZBpUdRHdM
Or he could study the late Rodney Dangerfield from this mainstream broadcast network Tonight Show appearance in 1971. Maybe next time he can fiddle with his tie like Dangerfield and adapt RD’s joke telling body language. (OOPS! Some jokes might offend people here, too). Here again, he could switch a Dangerfield trademark line:“Our Middle East policy don’t get no respect…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzmXfWexxus&feature=related
But realize, if you’re Jewish (like me) you can poke fun at Jewish people. Jackie Mason (who was once a rabbi) has done it for years:
There are even some satire songs that work if someone Jewish sings them:
Hopefully this post has erased some Jewish stereotypes.
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.