Harrison Ford makes his comeback as Indiana Jones this week at the venerable age of 65. So is it possible to play an action hero when you are eligible for a free bus pass? And more to the point, is Ford one of the tribe?
Against
Harrison’s father was called Christopher — a none-too promising moniker, so it comes as no surprise that Ford senior was of mixed German-Irish Catholic ancestry. Ford was born at the Swedish Convent Hospital, Chicago — in all probability, he was delivered by nuns. His all-action demeanour and chiselled looks do not evoke the ghetto. He is both a qualified pilot and owns a ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, and therefore exists well outside Woody Allen territory. Ford describes his religion as “Democrat”. Hmm.
For
Aha. His mother’s name was Dora Nidelman, the daughter of Anna Lifschutz and Harry Nidelman, from Minsk. Ford is therefore halachically kosher. He told reporters that he feels “Irish as a person and Jewish as an actor”, which is probably the right way round. He played in The Frisco Kid, about a Wild West rabbi, and even wears a kippah at the end of the film. He also dressed up as an Amish man in the film Witness and looked spookily Chasidic.
Verdict
Harrison? He’s so Jewish we’re renaming him Herschel.
So we say he is 78% Jewish