Jesse James Can’t Be A Nazi, He Lived In A Kibbutz, Says Lawyer And Jewish Godfather

John Edwards must be thanking Rielle Hunter‘s earth spirits that Jesse James has dethroned him as the most despised man in America. James, Sandra Bullock‘s disgraced husband who cheated on her with some sort of tattoo fetishist, is now under fire for the conveniently-timed release of a photo of him sieg-heiling in a Nazi hat, and he’s pulling out the oldest trick in the book: “some of my best friends are Jewish!”

CNN (via Gawker) has the explanation from James’ lawyer:

A photo recently surfaced of James wearing the German Nazi hat as he raised his right arm in a salute. The hat may have been in poor taste, but it was given to James as a gag gift by his Jewish godfather, attorney Joe Yanny said.

Possessing Nazi memorabilia does not make someone a neo-Nazi, he said.

As evidence that James is no anti-Semite, Yanny said James lived for nearly a month in an Israeli kibbutz. His lawyer would not disclose what kind of treatment the famous motorcycle designer is seeking.

Not that anyone has ever accused James (or his PR team) of hoarding intellect, but “possessing Nazi memorabilia does not make someone a neo-Nazi” is a bit of a tenuous response, especially if there is no concrete reason for owning it– “My grandfather fought in the war” would have been more acceptable, and even that is pretty bad. Also, isn’t living in a kibbutz for a month exactly what a Nazi who is trying to better understand “the enemy” do? There’s no way to win this one, especially with that line of defense.

Chances are James is simply a buffoon and it never crossed his mind that some people would be insulted by reminders of the Holocaust, joking or not. But his lawyer is only digging his hole deeper by using the famed ‘I know someone who knows someone who is of the group I just horrifically offended.’ Plus, it does nothing to erase the fact that he was caught cheating on his wife almost exactly at the same time she won an Oscar (and a Razzie), with someone is almost universally considered repulsive, at a time the gossip mill was in serious need of some new grist.

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