Irishman and a Jew: Difference between revisions

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It is hard to generalize, but the Irish character will probably be [[Large Ham|bolder]] and more [[The Ace|self-assured]], but also more [[Too Dumb to Live|naive]] and possibly [[Ted Baxter|ignorant]]; the Jewish character is more likely to be a bit nervous and [[Lovable Coward|unresisting]], but probably [[The Smart Guy|smarter]] and [[Genre Savvy|more aware]] of how [[Crapsack World|the world actually works]], as well as willing to [[Deadpan Snarker|say exactly what he thinks of it]]. In a way, this could be an oblique allusion to [[Brains and Brawn]], or [[Bully and Wimp Pairing]], but it's usually much more subtle (if it is noticeable at all).

And of course, [[All Jews Are Ashkenazi|the Jew will most likely be a German or some kind of Slav (typically Russian) as far as nationhood goes]], while the Irishman will ''always'' be a Roman Catholic.

Sometimes an Italian or Italian-American will be thrown into the mix, possibly because, other than Irish and Jews, the Italians were the most visible immigrant group in America between about 1870 and 1920. When this happens, the Italian will often be a kind of double agent: siding with the Irishman on matters of personal morality and community life, and with the Jew when it comes to issues regarding the wider world, especially politics. The Italian might even be mistaken for a Jew due to similar coloring and facial features, although he (or she) will be more likely to intermarry with the Irish because of religious compatibility.

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* A late 1960s/early 1970s British sitcom, ''Never Mind The Quality, Feel the Width'', used a fictional variant of this trope, with two tailors; one Irish and one Jewish, going into business together. A Rabbi and a Catholic priest were among the supporting cast. [[The Other Wiki]] mentions the series was not shown on all parts of the [[ITV]] network, but it was transmitted in [[Stroke Country|Northern Ireland]].

* Used on one episode of ''[[Good Eats]]'', of all things. A scene explaining how corned beef came (erroneously) to be associated with Irish cuisine employed a Jewish rabbi and and Irish priest sitting in a bar. After some dialogue and an explanation<ref>Before the Great Famine, a fairly typical Irish dish was boiled ''bacon'' with potatoes and cabbage; when destitute immigrants arrived in New York City, they found that bacon was too scarce and expensive, so they replaced it with corned beef, which they purchased from stores owned by their new Jewish neighbors.</ref> from [[Drop in Character|Alton's nutritional anthropologist]], we get the set-up to a corny old-fashioned joke: "A priest, a rabbi, and a nutritional anthropologist walk into a bar..." Then Alton, the priest, and the rabbi all roll their eyes and get up to leave.

* Used on one episode of ''[[Good Eats]]'', of all things. A scene explaining how corned beef came (erroneously) to be associated with Irish cuisine employed a Jewish rabbi and and Irish priest sitting in a bar. After some dialogue and an explanation<ref>Before the Great Famine, a fairly typical Irish dish was boiled ''bacon'' with potatoes and cabbage; when destitute immigrants arrived in New York City, they found that bacon was too scarce and expensive, so they replaced it with corned beef, which they purchased from stores owned by their new Jewish neighbors.</ref> from [[Drop-In Character|Alton's nutritional anthropologist]], we get the set-up to a corny old-fashioned joke: "A priest, a rabbi, and a nutritional anthropologist walk into a bar..." Then Alton, the priest, and the rabbi all roll their eyes and get up to leave.

* A rare modern-day example is found in Comedy Central's two fake news shows, ''[[The Daily Show]]'' and ''[[The Colbert Report]]''. [[Jon Stewart]] ([[Stage Names|born]] Jonathan Liebowitz) takes news stories heavily laden with corruption, stupidity, and disaster, and handles them with [[Deadpan Snarker|sarcasm and exasperated]] <s>ranting</s> [[Yiddish as a Second Language|kvetching]]. [[Stephen Colbert|Stephen Colber]]'''[[Stephen Colbert|T]]''', despite the French-sounding pronunciation of his character's name, is predominantly Irish-American and unapologetically Catholic, and watching his [[Patriotic Fervor|onscreen persona]] is like watching every single patriotic [[George M Cohan|George M. Cohan]]<ref> Despite what it sounds like, the name "Cohan" is Irish: the Jewish name is usually "Coh'''e'''n".</ref> musical [[Up to Eleven|all at the same time]]. He also shares Gracie Allen's [[The Ditz|obliviousness to reality]].

** Interestingly, in the 1999 comedy ''[[Big Daddy]]'' [[Stereotype Flip|Stewart played Irish-American corporate lawyer Kevin Garrity, while]] [[Adam Sandler]] [[Stereotype Flip|was his "tough," blustering Jewish roommate, Sonny Koufax]].

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** But then, which country hasn't? Even Vatican City has had its share of Jewish popes and cardinals -- besides the obvious Peter, many sources recall the scholar-Pope Sylvester II/Gerbert d'Aurillac as being of Jewish descent.

** That was more than likely used as an insult, as the prevailing attitude of the time was that Jews were 'Christ killers' and thus [[Always Chaotic Evil]], and he was regularly demonized as a sorcerer after his death because of his impressive achievements, magic being another inaccurate trait prescribed to Jews by the superstitious, the uneducated and the stupid (most of Mediaeval society was at least two of these).

* Colin Quinn has recently done a one man show on Broadway, directed by Jerry Seinfeld.

* [[Averted Trope|Contrary to popular belief]], Prohibition-era gangsters Dion O'Banion and Earl "Hymie" Weiss were not this trope. Weiss was actually a Catholic.

* Don Adams, star of ''[[Get Smart]]'', was the son of a Hungarian Jewish father and Irish Catholic mother, both of whom were effectively disowned by their families over the marriage. He was raised Catholic.