Israeli comedian Lior Shlein’s controversial comments on his Israeli television program have come under fire from the Vatican. On February 20, the Vatican protested that Shlein’s jokes about Jesus and Mary, which were meant to convey the absurdity of a Catholic clergyman’s Holocaust-denial, were an “offensive act of intolerance.”
B’nai B’rith International (BBI) agrees with Israeli government officials, who say that Shlein’s comments went too far.
“We object to the mocking of religious beliefs and other deeply held sensibilities, something too often sanctioned in the Middle East and elsewhere,” said BBI Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels. “Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rightly noted that, while freedom of expression is guaranteed in Israel, that right should be practiced responsibly and respectfully. We understand the hurt and anger felt by Israel’s Christian citizens, who deserve to be treated with true dignity.”
Israel’s Channel 10, the private station that airs Shlein’s comedy show, apologized for the segment and vowed that it would not be replayed.
News and 