Paul McCartney Takes a Break From Solo South American Tour to Celebrate Yom Kippur at Synagogue in Chile

‘You say goodbye, and I say hello (to the Jewish new year). Spotted: Sir @PaulMcCartney at Yom Kippur Services in Chile. Gmar Chatima Tova,’ said Israel’s official X account.

Steve Parsons/Getty Images
Paul McCartney and his wife, Nancy Shevell, at Buckingham Palace on May 4, 2018 at London, England. Steve Parsons/Getty Images

“Hey Jude” — or should we say, Jew?

Beatles legend Paul McCartney is being called a mensch after he was spotted celebrating Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, at a synagogue in Santiago, Chile Saturday.  

Mr. McCartney reportedly took a break from his ongoing solo tour in South America to attend services at a Chilean congregation, Círculo Israelita de Santiago, alongside his wife, Nancy Shevell, who is Jewish. 

“Today we had the privilege of hosting Sir Paul Mc Cartney and his wife Nancy for Iom Kippur in our synagogue in Santiago,” former president of the Jewish community in Chile, Gabriel Zaliasnik, wrote on X. “In times of hate and despair, a bright light of hope for the Jewish people.

Photographs of the 82-year-old singer-songwriter wearing a Kippah even caught the attention of the official X account for the state of Israel, which wished Mr. McCartney a “Gmar Chatima Tova,” a traditional Jewish greeting on Yom Kippur. 

“You say goodbye, and I say hello (to the Jewish new year). Spotted: Sir @PaulMcCartney at Yom Kippur Services in Chile. Gmar Chatima Tova,” the account posted on Saturday. Mr. McCartney performed in Israel in 2008 even though he was pressured by anti-Israel groups to cancel the performance and even faced a death threat from an Islamic militant leader. 

While Mr. McCartney is not Jewish himself, his third wife, who he married in 2011, is from a prominent Jewish-American family. The couple has been spotted attending services at St. John’s Wood Liberal Synagogue in London. Mr. McCartney’s first wife, Linda Eastman, was also Jewish. 

His connection to Judaism even inspired music critic, Seth Rogovoy, to dub Mr. McCartney the “Jewish Beatle” based on his “love affair with all things Jewish — including collaborators, business associates, girlfriends and wives.”


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use