Italian PM Under Fire Again, for Jewish 'Joke'

[Elmore Furth]

Dr. Laura, Mel Gibson, Rick Sanchez and Silvio Berlusconi seem to have a slight cultural sensitivty problem. Is there something that is contagious?

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 5, 2010
Filed at 10:37 a.m. ET

ROME (AP) — The head of Rome's Jewish community has joined the Vatican newspaper and others in rebuking Premier Silvio Berlusconi for a joke about Jews, money and the Holocaust which was caught on videotape.

The joke was one of several incendiary comments Berlusconi made while chatting with fans outside his residence on his 74th birthday last week.

On Saturday, the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference slammed the gaffe-prone premier, and the Vatican newspaper said his comments were "deplorable."

In an open letter Tuesday, Jewish community leader Riccardo Pacifici deplored Berlusconi's "imprudent jokes" and called on him to sever alliances with politicians showing "nostalgic feelings about fascism."

Berlusconi has apologized.


.Italian PM Under Fire Again, for Jewish 'Joke'

[CBGLuthier]

1. Here is the joke. It is really, really bad. Judge for yourselves

The Italian leader can be heard telling a joke about a Jew who admits that "during the time of the death camps" he agreed to hide another Jew in his cellar but forced him to pay more than $4,000 a day because "we are Jews." The joke’s punch line, such as it is, involves the man asking his family if he should finally admit to the man in his cellar that Hitler is dead and the war is over.


http://www.theatlanticwire.com/features/view/feature/The-Berlusconi-Holocaust-Joke-That-Infuriated-the-Vatican-2218/

Somebody should tell him that the world's greatest comics are usually jews not italians.

[Democrats_win]

2. Someone should give Berlusconi a rope, maybe he'll hang himself.

Berlusconi is one of the biggest crooks on earth.

[marmar]

3. 'sever alliances with politicians showing "nostalgic feelings about fascism." '

Umm, I think Silvio is one of those with such feelings.