A Jewish Saddam Hussein?

Who better to play the role of Saddam Hussein than... Yigal Naor?

When Newsweek reporter Dan Ephron started watching HBO's ongoing series "House of Saddam," he thought the actor playing the 21st century's most famous dictator sounded familiar, a little like his grocer in Israel in fact.

Turns out, Ephron has an ear for Israel. The actor who plays Saddam Hussein is Yigal Naor, an Israeli. One of his co-stars, who plays "Chemical Ali", is Uri Gavriel. With a name like "Uri Gavriel", is there any doubt that he, too, is an Israeli?

New York casting agent Avy Kaufmann reasons that Israel happens to have some phenomenal actors. In addition, Israeli actors are preferred to Arab actors, because their English tends to be better and their acting style is more "Western".

Check out the full Newsweek article here.

And a shout-out to my dad (Mr. Zuz) for passing this along! As he said in the email... We are EVERYWHERE!
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Olympic Rings

So Olympic fever has hit every corner of the globe, and Israel is right in the thick of things (kinda)

So I don't know about you, but I have been eating up the Olympics, guzzling gallons of Olympic Kool-Aid through my NBC-sponsored beer bong, and watching every second of Michael Phelps that I can. Which got me to thinking... when will I see my first Israeli in prime time, fighting for that gold medal? When will we hear Ha-Tikva ringing through Beijing's Forbidden City?

Turns out, the Israeli Olympic tradition is not so storied. Although they have competed since 1952, Israel has only won 6 total medals. That being said, things have been on an upswing recently, as 2004 saw an Israeli climb to the top of the medal stand in Athens, as Gal Fridman claimed the title as world's best windsurfer. Guess all that practicing in the Dead Sea paid off!

Anyway, if you are wondering what sports will give our beloved Israelis the best chance for gold this time around, keep on eye on Gal on the surf board again. But, also pay attention to the Bird's Nest, the home of track and field in Beijing. Russian-born Aleksandr Averbukh could win Israel's first ever track and field medal, in the pole vault.

So looking to rebuke all those jokes about Jews maybe not being the most athletic specimens? Sorry, but the Olympics probably will not give you much help.

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