Neil Diamond with guitar singing on stage
Neil Diamond performing in Australia in 2011 (Photo/Wikimedia-Eva Rinaldi CC BY-SA 2.0)

Neil Diamond and anti-Semitic landlords: Good for the Jews?

One episode #140 of the “(Is it) Good for the Jews?” podcast: A week away finds the boys brimming with energy, which Rosen unfortunately uses as fuel for his latest San Francisco rant, which veers into crackpot territory. Fortunately, Goldbrener has his back, creating a safe space that allows Rosen to present his next conundrum: well-meaning but anti-Semitic landlords. Next up: an attempt to pump up Lag B’Omer, a long inevitable study of DJT’s latest, Goldbrener’s love of foot massages — and then:

Is Neil Diamond good for the Jews?

To Goldbrener, this is an open-and-shut case; of course the Solitary Man is good for the Jews! But hold on; Rosen is not so sure. The timing of “The Jazz Singer” led to blonde girls singing “Kol Nidre” at his high school and he recalls an adolescence when Diamond’s Jewfro and bedazzled shirts made life difficult for low-key Jews. There’s no arguing Neil’s songwriting chops, but why couldn’t he be cool like Lou Reed?

Larry Rosen
Larry Rosen

Larry Rosen is a writer, husband, father and author of “The Rabbi Has Left the Building,” a memoir about his son’s bar mitzvah. He co-hosts the podcast “(Is It) Good for the Jews?”

Eric Goldbrener
Eric Goldbrener

Eric Goldbrener is a Libertarian, Zionist, atheist and autodidact technologist. He co-hosts the podcast “(Is It) Good for the Jews?”