“Comedians like George Jessel and Eddie Cantor are only vaudeville types,” said Irving Davidson, Brooklyn, in his talk on “Jewish Humor” at the Shaarhe Torah Temple.
“Their presentation is Judaic but the content of their material is essentially non-Jewish,” he claimed. Mr. Davidson presented his subject from an historical and psychological viewpoint, stressing the importance of one’s cultural knowledge for a true appreciation of Jewish humor.
He said that if it were not for their religion and their saving sense of humor the Jews would have perished from the earth centuries ago.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
