July 30 2020
Volume 50 - No. 31
By Friedrich Gomez
Editor’s Note: Friedrich Gomez wanted to dedicate this week’s cover story to Pete De Jong, who passed away on Wednesday, July 15h, here in Escondido. Mr. Gomez, like so many of us, greatly admires the De Jong family and was saddened to hear of Pete’s passing.
According to countless JewishAmerican comedians: “You know you’re Jewish because you’re as tall as your grandmother by the age of seven! And as tall as your grandfaThe Paper - 760.747.7119
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ther by 7 ½. Yes, you’re Jewish! Because you have at least six male relatives named David, and also because you thought yelling was normal!”
The aforementioned statements are a staple of many Jewish comedians’ arsenal of jokes, a funny commentary that is almost a requirement in their bag of humor.
Jewish comedians, worldwide, have long poked fun of their own cultural roots – longer than can be remembered. More often than not, the
recurring humorous theme has long been: “You know you’re Jewish if . . .” and then the litmus test begins with an assortment of comical queries. According to Jewish-American comedian, Billy Crystal: “You know you’re Jewish because your dog responds to Yiddish! Yes, Yiddish, which is a language with a cough and a spit. Until I was 15, I lived in a raincoat!”
For Billy Crystal, he’s just warming up in the bull pen: “You know you’re Jewish because your mother is
You Could Be Jewish . . . See Page 2
always feeding you! Her first words over the phone are always, ‘Are you eating enough?’ Until I was 12, I thought my name was ‘taste this.’ As kids, when we would sneeze, gravy would come out of our noses!” (“Mr. Saturday Night,” Castle Rock Entertainment video, 1992.) Food and close ‘mothering’ have long been a stereotypical truism within the Jewish upbringing, inculcating traits and bonding from infancy onward to adulthood. As a standard, time-worn cliché has