Frank Gehry, one of the world’s most renowned architects, has been in town to inspect the final stages of work on the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Kensington Gardens. But could he be Jewish?
Against
First, the name. It is definitely Irish. How can someone called Frank O’Gehry originate from anywhere other than the Emerald Isle? He was a truck driver before becoming an architect. Also, check out his work. He obviously had a few drinks before designing most of his buildings, and this is not a particularly Jewish thing to do. The fact that he is an architect indicates he might be good at DIY, for which he loses Jewish points. Also, he has been working in Abu Dhabi — not exactly a hot-spot for Jews.
For
Gehry is so Jewish you wouldn’t believe it. He was born Ephraim Owen Goldberg in Toronto, Canada. He only changed his name because his first wife was worried about antisemitism. He was awarded a Jerusalem Prize for Arts and Letters. In fact, Gehry is a committed Zionist. He said: “If you’re raised a Jewish kid, Israel’s the most important place in the world, where there’s some sense of belonging when all else fails.”
Verdict
A well constructed argument for Gehry’s Jewish credentials.