Lieberman corrects McCain's Purim gaffe

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Published: 03/20/2008

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Purim is the Jewish version of Halloween during his Israel visit.

McCain was corrected by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), one of the Republican presidential nominee's chief supporters who accompanied him on the trip, according to MSNBC.

In a news conference Wednesday with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak following a tour of the besieged southern Israeli city of Sderot, McCain had noted the impact of continued rocket fire on the city's children.

"As they celebrate their version of Halloween here, they are somewhere close to a 15-second warning, which is the amount of time they have from the time the rocket is launched to get to safety," McCain said. "That's not a way for people to live obviously."

Lieberman at the news conference said the fault was his, as he had compared the two holidays in explaining its significance to McCain.

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