Comedian Jackie Mason drops lawsuit against Jews for Jesus missionary group

Comedian Jackie Mason made a cameo appearance in federal court, accepting an apology from the missionary group Jews for Jesus in return for dropping a lawsuit in which he claimed the group damaged him by using his name and likeness in a pamphlet.

Outside the Manhattan court Monday, Mason, who has starred on Broadway and in films including “Caddyshack ,” did a little spontaneous standup with reporters, but there was a serious tone to his wit.

“There’s no such thing as a Jew for Jesus. It’s like saying a black man is for the KKK,” he said. “You can’t be a table and a chair. You’re either a Jew or a gentile.” The KKK, or Ku Klux Klan, is a white supremacist group that became known for violent attacks on blacks opposing segregation.

Mason told reporters that he had respect for Christians but that did not make him a Christian, just as his respect for Eskimos did not make him an Eskimo.

Jews for Jesus, founded in the 1970s, follows some Jewish rituals but regards Jesus as the Messiah.

Mason’s $2 million (€1.5 million) lawsuit sought the immediate destruction of Jews for Jesus pamphlets featuring an image of him next to the words “Jackie Mason … A Jew for Jesus!?” with information inside that outlines the similarities between Jews and Christians. The pamphlets had been handed out around the city.

The group’s executive director, David Brickner, said in a letter to Mason dated Monday that he wanted “to convey my sincere apologies for any distress that you felt over our tract.”

“To me, and most of our Jews for Jesus staff, you project an image of a loving, caring and wise Jewish grandfather,” he wrote. “We appreciate your broad knowledge and your feeling for all things Jewish.”

Brickner said the tract featuring Mason, 75, was one of hundreds of pamphlets the group regularly writes and distributes. He said he believed its publication was protected by the Constitution.

But he said the group was willing in the interest of peace and love for Israel to retire the pamphlet.

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