Yisrael Campbell (born Christopher Campbell) is a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-born Israeli comedian. Campbell, who is of Irish and Italian descent, grew up

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in a Philadelphia suburb. One of his aunts is a

Catholic nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

. A typical Campbell joke is that his aunt is a nun, "which of course makes Jesus my uncle, allowing for easier parking in Jerusalem." Campbell converted to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

with a Reform rabbi, and says that a "spiritual hunger" led him to have a second conversion with a Conservative rabbi. On a four-month visit to Israel in 2000 he decided to have a third conversion and live as an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

.So this Catholic goes to Israel... and other jokes from the Holy Land, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', Michael Posner, May 5, 2008 Campbell and his wife Avital, an Orthodox rabbi, have four children, including twins, and live in Jerusalem. Campbell and his wife both went to the school, The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' wrote that "As far as we know,

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

never had sex with an Orthodox Jew, but if he had – he would have produced Yisrael Campbell.""Wildly Emotional – In a very quiet way," ''The Guardian'', December 17, 2007. In 2006 Campbell appeared with the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour. Campbell is the subject of a 2008 documentary film, '' Circumcise Me''.

References

External links

yisraelcampbell.com
https://www.pardes.org.il/ Living people American emigrants to Israel American former Christians American Orthodox Jews American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American stand-up comedians Converts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism Converts to Reform Judaism Converts to Conservative Judaism Converts to Orthodox Judaism Israeli male comedians Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli people of Irish descent Israeli people of Italian descent Israeli stand-up comedians Jewish Israeli comedians People from Philadelphia Year of birth missing (living people) Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish comedians Jewish American comedians 21st-century Israeli comedians 21st-century American Jews {{US-comedian-stub