By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — Elmo of Sesame Street had his X account hacked last week. Among the posts made under his name was a call to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, and also antisemitic rants, that “all Jews should die” and “Jews control the world.” This was not the first time that Elmo got in trouble with the Jewish community.
In 2012, among all the Disney, Super Hero, and other characters who compete for photo-taking opportunities in New York’s Times Square, a man dressed as Elmo solicited tips and yelled antisemitic rants, earning the name Bad Elmo. The real Elmo, on the other hand, has a much better history of involvement with the Jewish community, including which of the following?
A. When a girl in the Sesame Street neighborhood named Charlie shows everyone how to bake a challah, Elmo gets the job of sprinkling sesame seeds on the dough.
B. Elmo celebrates Chanukkah with his Jewish friends Gil and Susie and receives his own dreidel in the book, Elmo’s Little Dreidel.
C. Elmo learns about Chanukkah from Charlie, who gave Elmo and his friends “special hats to wear” while they lit the menorah.
D. In a segment on Shalom Sesame, the Israeli version of Sesame Street, Elmo learns the Hebrew word תּוֹדָה, Todah, meaning Thank You, from Seth Rogan.
E. On one Sesame Street show, Rabbi David saw Elmo sitting alone and crying. Elmo said he was sad because he had no friends. Rabbi David told Elmo, “You know that you always have a friend, right?” “Really,” said Elmo. “Who?” Rabbi David replied, “Your name is Elmo. That comes from the Hebrew אֵל מוֹעֵד , “El Mo-Ed,” which means God’s appointed place. So you are always in God’s appointed place and never alone.” To which Elmo replied, “To quote Seth Rogan, Todah, Rabbi.”
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Link to answer: https://rrrjewishtrivia.com/elmo-answer.html
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Mark D. Zimmerman is an author and freelance writer based in Melville, New York.