"ALI G" COMEDIAN CONDEMNED BY ADL, BANNED BY BRITISH JEWS

THE FIRST STORY PROVES THAT THE ADL DOESN'T TRUST THAT NON-JEWS HAVE SENSES OF HUMOR. THE SECOND STORY PROVES THAT BRITISH JEWS MAY NOT HAVE SENSES OF HUMOR.

ADL: Concerned over Borat's depiction of anti-Semitism (YNet)
Popular entertainer Sacha Baron Cohen, more widely known as Ali G., has entertained audiences with his bombastic, push-the-envelope humor. However, his upcoming film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan based on one of his characters, Borat, has the Anti-Defamation League worried. Borat is a parody of an outlandish anti-semite in a series of laughably inappropriate situations.

"The premiere of Sacha Baron Cohen's new film featuring his farcical character 'Borat' has raised anew concerns among some in the Jewish community about the character's notoriously boastful expressions of anti-Semitism and stereotyping of others," wrote the ADL in a press release Thursday.

The ADL worries that not everyone will understand the satirical nature of Cohen's sketch, fearing the humor to be dangerously too sophisticated for some: "When approaching this film, one has to understand that there is absolutely no intent on the part of the filmmakers to offend, and no malevolence on the part of Sacha Baron Cohen, who is himself proudly Jewish. We hope that everyone who chooses to see the film understands Mr. Cohen's comedic technique, which is to use humor to unmask the absurd and irrational side of anti-Semitism and other phobias born of ignorance and fear.

"We are concerned, however, that one serious pitfall is that the audience may not always be sophisticated enough to get the joke, and that some may even find it reinforcing their bigotry," the press release elaborated.

Ali G banned from UK synagogues (JPost)
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, whose anti-Semitic Kazakh reporter persona, Borat, has recently drawn fire from the Kazakhstan government, can add another critic to his list: The Board of Guardians of British Jews, which has announced its decision to remove him from its ranks and ban him from all UK synagogues for the next six months.

In a statement published on the Board's web site on Sunday, Board President Harry Greenberg said Cohen's activities were embarrassing the Jewish community.

"We gave Mr. Baron Cohen an informal warning over six months ago about the Borat character and how it is causing problems with the Kazakhstan government and that this is bringing major embarrassment to the Jewish community," he said.

"Mr. Baron Cohen ignored our letters and phone calls, and therefore, after consultation with our rabbis, we have taken steps to exclude Mr. Baron Cohen and let people know he is not connected with The Board and has been banned from setting foot into any synagogue for six months."

The decision, made by the Board's Surrey Beth Din and effective as of November 23, included a fine of 9,000 pounds as well as Cohen's removal from the Board's honorary executive.