Your daily spiel for Thursday, Aug. 4

'The Contest' episode SCREENSHOT

Your Daily Spiel is The CJN’s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world. Sign up to receive it in your inbox by clicking here.


The word ‘Israel’ begins with a ‘Z’. Facebook’s Profile Frames, a page that allows you to change your profile photo to reflect who you are supporting through the 2016 Rio Olympics, lists some 206 countries and groups, such as refugees, competing in the Games. The countries/groups are listed in alphabetical order, except for – surprise – Israel, which was reportedly placed dead last (after Zimbabwe). The Israel Olympic Committee sent a letter of protest to Facebook, and the ordering was eventually changed. Sadly, given Facebook’s past history re: Israel, this wasn’t all that surprising.

Like father, like daughter. The Jewish Comedy Festival in Toronto is coming up on Aug. 14 and features a headliner whose surname you might be familiar with: Mason. But it isn’t the animated Jackie Mason who’ll be entertaining, it’s his daughter, Sheba. “I do get a lot of gigs based on that,” she admitted to The CJN. “When they can’t afford Jackie Mason, they get me.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VlOI0in93E

Nice to see those charity funds being put to good use. According to Israel’s Shin Bet security service, the director of the Gaza branch of the international humanitarian aid organization World Vision, 32-year-old Mohammed El-Halabi, has been funnelling tens of millions of the organization’s dollars to a different organization: Hamas. El-Halabi, who was arrested on June 15, reportedly told investigators he’s been a member of Hamas for sixteen years. World Vision, however, has issued a statement supporting him: “Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true. We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence.”

Bet those ‘human rights’ groups will start boycotting Iran any minute now. A 19-year-old teenager has been executed in Iran for allegedly raping another teenager when he was 17. The teen was put on trial, which lasted two months (during which he received no legal representation, according to Amnesty International) and was found guilty. He denied the allegations, saying the acts were consensual and had taken place several times. Homosexuality, of course, is illegal in Iran.

The most offensive Seinfeld story ever told. Billy Domineau, a freelance writer for Saturday Night Live, has put together a dark, unimaginable and yet utterly hilarious Seinfeld spec script. Taking place in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the story revolves around how the attack affects Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer (Newman too). The result is your quintessential Seinfeld plot, finding them at their most narcissistic, egotistical and just plain wrong (at least George, whose story is just so classic him). Best thing you’ll read all day:


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