How Tarzan became an Israeli Craze

Thanks to Bill Hillman and Erbzine for finding this one — a newly published article about how Tarzan became a craze in Israel.

Tarzan of the Jews

by Rex Weiner for Jewish Daily Forward

It’s hard to picture Tarzan, the iconic ape-man created by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs, wearing a yarmulke, or yodeling “Hatikvah” instead of his usual jungle cry. But when the 100th anniversary of the jungle king’s 1912 pulp fiction debut, “Tarzan of the Apes,” is celebrated this fall by the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate, it will honor not only one of the world’s most recognized heroes, but a hero of Israel, as well.

Hear Me Roar: Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan in the early Hollywood movies, was believed to be Jewish by many Israelis, strengthening the country’s attachment to the iconic hero. identification with the jungle character.
“Tarzan was a true cultural phenomenon in Israel,” said Israeli pop culture chronicler Eli Eshed, author of “Tarzan in the Holy Land,” a definitive study published in 1999. “There probably wasn’t an Israeli Sabra who didn’t know Tarzan, or hadn’t played Tarzan games as a child, or read the books and the Israeli Tarzan issues, or not seen the movies. It was part of every Israeli child’s experience.”
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/160253/tarzan-of-the-jews/?p=all#ixzz22snvh4Ez