Irishman and a Jew: Difference between revisions

No, this isn't [[I Thought It Meant|a place to list stale old jokes]], though it does have a very important connection to them. An [[Irishman and a Jew]] is much subtler (and older) variation on [[Salt and Pepper]] (by comparison, [[White Dude, Black Dude|think of the Irishman as the "black dude" and the Jew as the "white dude"]] -- [[Dissimile|although the Jew will usually have slightly darker skin]]); it is a fairly common but typically low-key form of [[Odd Couple]] pairing that largely originated in [[Vaudeville]], making it [[Older Than Radio]].

 

 

You'll see this trope occur most often in [[Vaudeville]] and in works which originated there; both Irish-American and Jewish entertainers became quite successful on the Vaudeville circuit, and would have had contact with each other and collaborated together. Their real-life collaborations sometimes spilled over into the fictional characters they played and created. Another reason that these collaborations happen so often may be simpler - before World War II, anti-Semitism was virtually unknown in Ireland despite the fact that Dublin has been the home of a sizable Jewish community since at least the 13th century. Also, here's a Fun Fact - the Irish Constitution is one of only two in the world to mention the Jewish religion (it was also the first to mention it).