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Obama’s Yarmulke
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More in The ShmoozeJewish supporters of Senator Barack Obama’s presidential bid have found a new way to advertise their political bona fides: the “Obama-kah.”
Jews for Obama, a volunteer group affiliated with the Illinois Democrat’s Faith-Action-Change NYC group, has created “Obama 08” yarmulkes, just in time for High Holy Day wearing. With a background of ivory suede, the yarmulkes feature the campaign’s logo above the words “Obama 08.”
The yarmulkes, however, are not a campaign fundraiser or a for-profit business venture.
“Our goal is to provide Jewish supporters of Senator Obama with creative means to start conversations with their families, friends and fellow congregants, and hopefully help build the Obama movement as we head into the presidential season,” wrote Matt Walters, one of the volunteers who helped develop the yarmulkes, along with Alex Sherman and Josh Bloom, in an e-mail to The Shmooze.
The yarmulkes are available through the group’s Web site, http://jewsforobama.blogspot.com. The cost is $5 per yarmulke plus a flat shipping fee of $5.
Comments
I still have a Gore-Lieberman yarmulke (with Hebrew characters) from the 2000 elections; I wore it every day of the recount (to no avail, alas!). Once I went to a shtibl on the Upper West Side for Friday night davening and an older Jew pulled me aside to chastise me for making such a "divisive" statement on shabbos. "It makes for makhloykhes," he said. "Makhloykhes?" I asked, incredulously. "In this neighborhood?!" He replied, "Not everybody here is a Democrat," or words to that effect (it was, after all, about 7 years ago...). I told him, "it makes makhloykhes for the people who are looking for makhloykhes." He didn't have much to say after that.... Yarmulkes of all styles and designs are regularly used as vehicles of self-expression, and a plain black yarmulke says as much about a Jew as one bearing an Obama slogan does. Truth be told, in some segments of the orthodox world, it's one of the only vehicles of self-expression left.
Suede? Faux suede or suede as in leather? If leather derived, then this might be a faux pas.
Once a Muslim, always a muslim. I don't trust him any farther than I can spit. It does seem inappropriate to solicite on Yom Kippur, or any Shabbos for that matter.
I think this is a little inappropriate. To be advertising, perhaps especially for a politician, on a religious garment, seems to me to be in bad taste.