So did Bernie Madoff attempt to atone for his sins on Yom Kippur yesterday? That's hard to say, although prison officials say they did give him the chance to take the day off from his usual work detail: "Prison officials would not say if Madoff, serving a 150-year sentence, took advantage of the day off on the holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith or whether he participated in an evening prayer session with other Jewish inmates on what is a day of atonement and repentance." [ABC News]

Columnist and presidential speechwriter Bill Safire was one of only three non-disloyal Jews President Nixon could name. Here is the speech he drafted for Nixon to read in case the Apollo 11 Astronauts became stranded on the moon!

We've read a lot of reviews of the new Tarantino movie, but our favorite so far came out today in Tablet. Basically it says the new movie would be better if Tarantino was Jewish.

Filmmaker who documented Obama-hating Israelis has made a counterpoint about peacenik Israelis who love Obama.

Updated:An elderly anti-Semite named James W. von Brunn is believed to be the shooter at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Author of anti-Semitic Kill the Best Gentiles, he's known as a hero among white supremacists.

Ron Perelman already has a hand in the restaurant business: He's an investor in Graydon Carter's Monkey Bar and he also happens to own the building that houses Carter's Waverly Inn. But he has a new venture in the works! He's reopening the Blue Parrot, the margarita bar/restaurant in East Hampton that's been closed since 2006. Ralph Lauren had originally planned to take over the space; when his plans fell through, Perelman swooped in. And he's assembled quite the team to give the venue another lease on life.

This cartoon was found on the Web site of Americans For Limited Government, one of the astroturf organizations behind the tea parties. See, Specter's a greedy Jew just like Judas.

New York Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman unleashed a screed yesterday on the Huffington Post about how the media never covers how bad it is for Israelis dealing with Palestinian terrorism. He should know.

According to a new poll, a whopping four in ten American Jews reported some connection to Most Loathsome Financial Villain Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme. This is because all Jews know one another.

Sunday morning brings the dawn in. I've got a restless feeling by my side. Oh, halo. It's the tabloids! Today, Lauren Conrad makes some unwise choices and Mr. Lohan makes an unwanted appearance. Read on.

Antisemitism in Europe has been on a curious and troubling upswing for the past few years, mostly in central Europe, but now it's moving its way west. Some charming under-21 rugby players at Oxford (that's in England) decided to throw a party with a "bring a fit Jew" theme. The young men put on fake payot and carried around bags of money for the fun, splashy event. The University found out and tried to block it, but the kids sneaked their way around it and had the party anyway. The captain of the team, a lad named Phil Boon, has commented on behalf of the students:

You may recall that knife-wielding madman Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's new Chief of Staff, has a dad named Benjamin who used to be an Israeli terrorist! Back in the 1940s Benjamin was in a militant Zionist group that massacred some Arabs and did various other freedom-promoting actions. These things can be a little sensitive, so uh, hey Rahm, whatever you do, don't let your dad go giving racist quotes about Arabs to Israeli newspapers. Okay? Oh hell, it's too late: So Benjamin, will Rahm influence the White House to more pro-Israel?

Last week, Sarah Silverman made a funny video encouraging Jews to vote for Barack Obama. This has old timey comedian Jackie Mason striking back with a video of his own, which he made for the Republican Jewish Coalition. In it, he bashes Obama as having "done nothing" and Silverman as a "yenta" while urging Americans to vote for McCain. But, gee, in January Mason posted a video in which he calls McCain "filthy, disgusting." Which is it, old man? Both sides of Jackie's mouth after the jump. Vote McCain:

Just as British funnymen Ricky Gervais and Simon Pegg have resolved to patch up their "fat idiot" feud, along come Sarah Silverman and Jackie Mason to fill the void with their own bit of culturally specific warring. Perhaps you'll recall Silverman's recent video for thegreatschlep.com, an organization designed to coax young, Jewish Obama supporters to travel to Florida and convince their grandparents to vote Democrat. Creaky comic Mason is not a fan of this idea (to put it mildly) and in an ad paid for by a Jewish Republicans group, he tears into both Obama and Silverman, calling the latter a "sick yenta." Careful, Jackie — if Silverman can handle talking shit about her ex-boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel, she's not going to be daunted by your dated patter. Both videos, after the jump:

So are the Democrats going to have Florida stolen from them again? Not if everyone's favorite Jewey homegirl Sarah Silverman has anything to say about it (Okay, actually, a lot of people can't stand her anymore, but I still like her a lot). Sarah is stumping for Obama by urging folks to use emotional coercion against their aged relatives in Florida in order to get them to vote for the Illinois Senator. Silverman points out that rather than fearing black males, elderly Jews should realize that they have much in common with them. And if they still won't vote for Barack, well, she guesses they won't get any visits from the grandkids anytime soon. And, yeah, I know it's a couple days old, but it deserves a post. Clip after the jump.

Now please don't worry about any PC nonsense. I checked with the Council of Elders and everything's cool. So, Jews! Jewish characters, actors, actresses-anything goes! So long as it's funny or moving or even just plain controversial. And note, I'm going with my first pick because the character is clearly such a Jew, not because the actor is, but do feel free to use any reasoning you like when choosing your clips.

If you happen to be obsessed with Anderson Cooper and/or you're obsessed with the idea that he might somehow be Jewish (he's not), perhaps you'd be interested in this video of the Huffington Post's Rachel Sklar asking the CNN anchor about his "Jewish identity"? Watch as Anderson confesses that when he was a kid, he really wanted to be Jewish and go the Hebrew school, so he could be just like all the other boys at Dalton. (Let's skip the obvious joke there, shall we?) As a very special bonus, you'll get to see Anderson spout the first line of a prayer in Hebrew, proving once and for all that he's probably endured more than his fair share of Saturdays at Temple Emanu-El.

Orthodox Jews-previously thought unknown above 42nd Street in Manhattan-are massing on the Upper West Side, reports The New York Times. And they've come to breed! But despite their somber suits, long skirts and aversion to motor-power on the Sabbath, these young singles are as a hip and unbearable as any Yuppie on that overpriced island. "Although dating is a major preoccupation of the vast number of single twenty- and thirtysomethings, it's hard to think of a group that so completely chooses to live in a neighborhood based on dating opportunities as the city's young Orthodox Jews. And the Upper West Side, an increasingly Orthodox enclave, has over the past four decades emerged as courting central for modern Orthodox singles from across the country and around the world."

It seems Jews prefer John McCain over Barack Obama—at least the ones in the market for silly, politically-themed yarmulkes. In that enormously relevant demo, McCain beats Obama 56 percent to 44 percent. [NYDN]

And a big gold star to the man or woman who uncovers Barack Obama's elusive Columbia "thesis" on Soviet nuclear disarmament. (It was really more of a lengthy term paper, as Columbia didn't do theses in 1983, when Obama graduated). His old poli sci professor Michael Baron, now a retiree in Florida, says he can't find the A-grade essay, claiming it probably got lost in the move. Well, it's nice to know one Jew in the Sunshine State is happy to shield Obama from his rumored past. And hey, speaking of Jews, a yeshiva student in Jerusalem did a bad, bad thing and pilfered the candidate's prayer scroll from the Wailing Wall. That's like returning your mother's call a week late, only to tell her you married an Irish girl. Here's what Obama asked of God: