Stewie is Jewish?

Throughout the Arab world, during the month of Ramadan, when families gather to eat their evening meal and break their daytime fasts, Arabic television networks broadcast their best soap opera dramas and garner high ratings. This Ramadan, an Egyptian production created a drama on the life of Egyptian singing diva, Layla Murad, a very popular singer and actress who was born Jewish and was the daughter of an Moroccan born cantor, Avraham Zaki Murad. Her mother was a Polish born Jew. The drama is directed by a Syrian. and stars Safa Sultan, the Syrian actress. Murad recorded 1,200 songs and starred in 27 films.

The show, “Ana Albi Dalili” (My Heart is My Guide), tells of the life of Murad and shows Jews as being integrated in Arab society. In 1946, a year after Murad married the Egyptian director, Anwar Wajdi, she converted to Islam. They divorced in 1951. In 1952, she married one of the leaders of the ’52 revolution, and after their divorce, she married another film director. The drama, which erroneously has Egyptian Jews greeting each other with “Shalom” shows Jewish leaders as Egyptian patriots.

Not to be outdone by Arab channels, American broadcasters are… maybe… catering to Jewish audiences for Sukkot. Namely, this evening, HBO will broadcast a quasi Seinfeld cast reunion on Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Fox’s “Family Guy” will follow a story line in which Lois discovers that her mother is Jewish and a Shoah survivor, and thus she is Jewish. Therefore Stewie, Chris, and even Meg, are Jewish. Ben Stein is the voice of the local rabbi, and the kids get sent to a Jewish school. And this episode is followed by an episode of “American Dad” in which we learn that Snot’s name is Shmuely.

Oh, thank god for the Jewish sweeps season!