JustASC

 

It’s a day late (blame the snowstorm) but here’s our annual Purim News Quiz. Each item below contains a correct answer, based on an actual news event. Send your answers to editorial@njjewishnews.com for a chance to win a nifty NJJN water bottle.

1. In September, the Israeli beach town of Bat Yam made headlines after tourists reportedly spotted:

a) A whale swallowing a self-styled holy man

b) A mermaid

c) An attentive Israeli waiter

2. What’s a “Coastie”?

a) An affluent Jewish girl attending a Midwestern university

b) A member of the Israeli Olympic bobsled team

c) A new kosher snack cracker

3. In December, Hamas complained about plans for what?

a) Bingo night at Gaza’s Great Mosque

b) A Miss Palestine beauty contest

c) A Nablus nightclub called “Gaza Strippers”

4. What was the unusual proviso in the last will and testament of Chicago dentist Max Feinberg?

a) Any grandchild who married a non-Jew would be disinherited

b) He endowed a Halitosis Research Institute at Tel Aviv University

c) His gravestone should read, “Max Feinberg is filling his last cavity”

5. In July, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), one of New York City’s most eligible Jewish bachelors, raised eyebrows by doing what?

a) Using the JDate alias “RedHotHebrew”

b) Filibustering a prospect at a Speed Dating event

c) Announcing his engagement to a Muslim woman

6. In July, why was a Dresden politician fined?

a) For playing loud klezmer music outside City Hall to disturb a neo-Nazi march

b) For carrying an unlicensed clarinet at a city-sponsored klezmer festival

c) For interrupting a city council session with an impromptu performance of “Rumania, Rumania”

7. What modern-day bar and bat mitzva ritual did a Scarsdale, NY, middle school seek to curb?

a) Invitations being delivered to students by scantily-clad celebrity impersonators

b) Sunday-night parties that caused young guests to nod off the next day in class

c) The wearing to school of personalized sweatshirts guests received as party favors

8. Who said the following: “I’m still the funky white Jewish boy from Richmond,Va.”?

a) Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House Republican whip

b) Singer Elliott Yamin, who rose to fame on season five of American Idol

c) Seth Greenberg, Virginia Tech’s head men’s basketball coach

9) Which of the following stories is not true?

a) The head of Israel’s Health Ministry announced that Israel will refer to “swine flu” as “Mexican flu” so as not to offend kosher sensibilities

b) A group of 50 rabbis took a plane flight over Israel, offering prayers to ward off swine flu

c) To prevent the spread of swine flu, a doctor at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center recommended that people refrain from kissing mezuzot in public places

I’ll post the answers tomorrow.

[UPDATE: Here are the answers: 1: B, 2: A, 3: B, 4: A, 5: C, 6: A, 7: C, 8: B, 9: trick question — all three stories are true.]