McCain thinks Purim is the Jewish Halloween.

[LiberalAndProud]

How many folks you have talked to know about the EMBARRASSMENT the man will be if he is elected in November?

Everybody I have talked politics with knows who Rev. Wright is. Everybody I have talked politics with knows that Hillary Clinton really didn't dodge sniper fire in Bosnia.

Discuss McCain's embarrassing gaffe in Israel ... Really? He did that?

Neither one of our candidates will make me hang my head in shame like that man will. That is just plain, simple fact.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/20/787720.aspx

When McCain made a foreign policy gaffe in Jordan on Tuesday, it was Sen. Joe Lieberman who quietly pointed out the mistake, giving McCain an opportunity to correct himself in front of the international press corps. In Israel yesterday, NBC’s Lauren Appelbaum reports, Lieberman once again intervened when McCain made an incorrect reference about the Jewish holiday Purim -- by calling the holiday "their version of Halloween here."

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. McGaffe.

[MADem]

2. It was Lieberman's fault though--he was the one that explained it that way.

He was trying to give a "shorthand" explanation. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/20/787720.aspx

McCain made the incorrect statement during a press conference with Defense Minister Ehud Barak after touring the Israeli city of Sderot to view buildings damaged by Hamas rocket fire. McCain was discussing the numerous rock attacks on the city. "Nine hundred rocket attacks in less than three months, an average of one every one to two hours. Obviously this puts an enormous and hard to understand strain on the people here, especially the 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. That's not a way for people to live obviously."

Purim is not the equivalent of an Israeli Halloween, Appelbaum notes. The holiday -- although a joyous one -- commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from mass execution. When Sen. Lieberman had a chance to speak at the press conference, he placed the blame of the mistake on himself. "I had a brief exchange with one of the mothers whose children was in there in a costume for Purim," Lieberman, who is Jewish and celebrates the holiday, said. "And it's my fault that I said to Senator McCain that this is the Israeli version of Halloween. It is in the sense because the kids dress up and it's a very happy holiday and actually it is in the sense that the sweets are very important of both holidays."

"Could I just say that I understand this is the holiday of Hadassah, otherwise known as Esther," McCain later said. Those in attendance quickly made light of the mistake.

Hey, costumes, candy, a festive atmosphere....only thing different was the "history lesson" associated with the holiday.

I don't know a single Jew who took offense. Really. Most found it "cute" actually.

[LiberalAndProud]

4. Cute???

Lieberman explained it. McCain said it. It was not CUTE. it was STUPID.

thank you

[MADem]

9. You apparently didn't read the excerpt I provided. No one minded.

LIEBERMAN was the guy who "explained it" as HALLOWEEN.

:eyes:

It was amusing, not a terrible "McGaffe." The guy isn't a Jew, he shouldn't be expected to know what the hell Purim is.

Most people found it funny. You can get pissed at McCain for all sorts of things, but anyone who didn't get a chuckle out of that should sue their doctor for performing an unwanted humorectomy.

[fujiyama]

3. LOL What a moran!

It reminds me of the Office episode where Steve Carelle's character goes to a Diwalli party and tells his girlfriend that it's a costume party. She dresses up like a slutty cheerleader.

[Eurobabe]

5. Maybe we should call him McGaffe?

[NanceGreggs]

6. It's not that much of a "gaffe" ...

Purim is a festive holiday, and involves the wearing of costumes, treats for the the kids, noisemakers, etc.

My synagogue holds a big Purim party every year - and coming in costume is greatly encouraged.

Many Jews describe the event to non-Jews as being "not unlike your Hallowe'en."

Far be it from me to defend McCain on anything - but this time, his remarks were not all that unseemly. And I doubt that anyone took offense.

[StevieM]

7. Yeah, it's not a terrible analogy. Purim and Halloween are similar (eom)

[Joe the Revelator]

8. As a Jew, ..

he wasn't far off. Its how I explained it to my Christian wife.