'Rapping rabbi' makes finals in world's largest blog competition

Prominent British Jewish stand-up comedian and rapper MC Rebbe was named a finalist in the world's largest blog competition this week, with winners to be announced Thursday. MC Rebbe said his was the only blog with a purely Jewish focus to reach the finals in the competition's Culture Blog category, out of nearly 4,000 short-listed entries.

The "rapping rabbi" has been blogging for three years, and says the aim of his online material is to give readers a different perspective on Jews. "The Anglo Jewish community is very insular and shies away from the public eye. In order to dispel myths about Jews people need to see who we are and what we do," he said. "And that we're better, obviously," he adds, laughing.

The performer, who wears traditional Orthodox Jewish garb, occasionally adding flamboyant touches - such as a full-size Passover plate on a necklace - said he has been asked at times if he is Muslim. He also told Haaretz that he frequently encounters anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Zionism.

"There are as many people making anti-Semitic jokes because of their own ignorance, ingrained and overt prejudice, as there are uptight Jews over reacting to intelligent well observed jokes," he said.

MC Rebbe's performances attract audiences that are primarily non-Jewish and from a wide range of ethnic and religious backgrounds. While his performance includes jokes about other cultures, he says has never been accused of racism toward them. "Ironically, a handful of uptight Jews have called me racist," he said.

The immediacy of the blogosphere gives MC Rebbe the chance to touch on rapidly-changing political developments, which would become outdated between shows, he says. Asked his opinion on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, he said "I would happily perform alongside Palestinian comedians. Anything that breaks down barriers and gets people from either side of the divide interacting with each other."

The 2006 Weblog Awards received over 525,000 votes, and organizers expect this year's competition to draw an even larger number. The prize will be awarded at a new media exposition in Las Vegas this week.

Despite the fact that the Weblog Award winners receive only a plaque and a digital "badge" to display on their Web site, MC Rebbe wrote on his Web site "It's very cool to be named as one of the ten best culture blogs in the world. Now vote for me or the baby gets it!"

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