Lindsay Lohan is Not Jewish

Lindsay Lohan bugs me. I don't care if she drinks underage, does drugs, or screws every guy she meets. That stuff is par for the course. What does bug me is that she thinks turning a five-thousand-year-old religion into her latest fashion trend is a cool thing to do.

No, I'm not talking about Lindsay's hideous leggings/bike shorts. I'm talking about her necklace, which bears the Hebrew word "Chai," meaning "life" (the "Ch" is pronounced as in German or Scottish, a throat clearing noise, not as the "ch" in "chair"). The "Chai" is a traditional Jewish good luck charm, and wearing one is the equivalent of wearing a Cross.

I'm not religious, nor am I practicing, but I am Jewish, and I reserve the right to be offended. But the point is not that I'm offended. The point is it's offensive. Co-opting traditional Jewish iconography into your wardrobe, simply because it's a trendy thing to do, is really disrespectful, and just because Madonna is trying to recruit you into her little cult, does not make wearing it cool.