Shmuley B in da house?

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wants to run as a Republican for Congress. The talk show host intends to pitch for the party's nomination for a New Jersey district. If he were chosen to stand and then elected in November, he would, he believes, be the first rabbi in the house.

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Muzzle Tov: a dog's life

You recall last week I lauded Muzzle Tov, the greyhound who won his race after Shabbat. He was back in action last Saturday, when he should have been taking kiddush in his kennel, and this time he managed only fifth. Mind you, the Torah talks about resting your cattle, not your dog.

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No ears for Mr Livingstone

Rabbi Alan Plancey, emeritus United Synagogue minister and a Conservative councillor, experienced chilly feet this week, not because of the snow but the idea of going to a charity dinner for Orthodox school Side by Side, whose guest is Labour mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone.

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All hail to a truly top dog

Let's bask in the glory of Muzzle Tov, the greyhound who romped to victory in the 20.17 at Romford on Saturday night. It was the seventh win out of 43 races for the speedy kosher canine.

I notice he was racing after Shabbat; there must be a lesson in that. Give that dog a bone.

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Peston's hair-raising claim

"No, I don't dye my hair," BBC business editor Robert Peston told his Observer interviewer on Sunday, "It's good Jewish genes. My dad, who's 80, has still got a full head of dark hair."

Is our DNA indeed hairier? I already see the protest letter from the League of Bald Jewish Gentleman.

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Dramatic gift from Israel

The New Israel Fund has received a donation with a difference. Israeli writer A.B. Yehoshua, a guest of the UK charity last year, has offered it the English premiere of his new play, about a London meeting between Israel’s future premier David Ben Gurion and revisionist Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky.

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Why the JC is well-balanced

Guardian writer Kira Cochrane recently complained of male bias in the press, with almost 80 per cent of articles written by men.

Allow us to blow our own trumpet. A byline count of recent JCs shows nearly half of our articles were by women.

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Speaking of little Israel

The CIES Football Observatory, which publishes reports on European soccer, has done a survey of player heights in the top leagues.

The tallest belong to the German Bundesliga averaging above 6 foot.

And the shortest? Israel's Ligat Ha'Al, of course, whose members do not quite reach 5 foot 11.

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Pesach comes early at Tesco

The seasons are surely out of synch. The other day I spotted a bee struggling to find a flower.

Now someone tells me that Brent Cross Tesco are stacking the shelves with Pesach goods - and it's not even near Purim.

But then what do you expect from a company that has Easter eggs on sale on Boxing Day?

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In defence of large portions

Metro reviewer Marina O'Loughlin enjoyed Mishkin's, London's new Jewish-themed but distinctly unkosher deli which serves smoked eel and pork hot dog beside chicken soup and knishes.

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Selling like hot cakes

Hurry if you want to find a seat at Jewish Book Week, even though it is three weeks away. A number of sessions have already sold out - including those with novelists Umberto Eco, Howard Jacobson and filmmaker Claude Lanzmann.

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Hot on the felafel trail

Could Israel be about to become the new taste of TV? After London restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi's splendid BBC documentary on food in Jerusalem last month, ITV chef Philip Vickery has been out to Israel to sample its flavours. He will be reporting on This Morning on Monday about what he found.

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Sex please, we're frum

America's Jewish Week ran a feature recently about koshersextoys, a website purveying padlocks, prostrate plugs and other pleasure-enhancing items, based in the yeshivah town of Lakewood. My rabbinic adviser has yet to tell me whether such toys should be circumcised.

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