A big mazal tov to One Direction star Harry Styles, who turns 21 today. With 23.5 million Twitter followers, Taylor Swift’s most famous ex is bigger than Jesus, Pope Francis, McDonald’s, and the Beatles combined. He’s also an enthusiastic philo-Semite—which, I know, is a terribly old-fashioned word—but truly the only way to describe this boy-band goy who just really, really, really loves Jews.
Styles routinely tweets about Jewish holidays, and has his sister’s name tattooed on his arm (correctly!) in Hebrew. In 2013, dad Des had to step in and clarify that young Harry was, alas, “0% Jewish.” But that didn’t stop London’s Jewish Chronicle from naming Styles one of the 100 most influential figures shaping Jewish life in the U.K. in 2014. Scoff you may, but this is a bloke who can get 148,000 retweets for the statement, “I had gloves on all day.” (Look, nobody said it had to be a profound influence.)
And so! In honor of Styles reaching the legal drinking age in the U.S., we proudly present his nine most philo-Semitic Twitter moments of all time. Biz a hundert un tsvantsik yor, Harry!
It’s Yom Kippur tonight so just wanted to wish my Jewish followers well over their fast. Gemar Tov!!
— Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) October 7, 2011
Happy purim everybody! Enjoy your seudah today and boo loudly at hamann during the megillah!! .x — Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) February 24, 2013
Looking forward to seder night. Always get a bit nervous when I have to sing ma'nish ta'na. But do love a shmorreh matzah. Happy pesach x
— Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) March 25, 2013
A special shout out for Jewish Brit Ben Winston, who directs One Direction’s music videos:
Congratulations to @benwinston for his VMA last night.. I’m filled with nachas. Mazeltov!
— Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) August 26, 2013
Love the Doughnuts and Latkes. Just never understood the point of a dreidel. — Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) November 27, 2013
Shana Tova everyone celebrating .x — Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) September 23, 2014
Better load up now. Yom Kippur just around the corner. — Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) October 3, 2014
Polishing my dreidel and searching for oil. Chanukah sameach everybody. H — Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) December 16, 2014
And finally the pièce de résistance, the tekiah gedolah, from a 2013 exchange with directors Winston and Gabe Turner:
@GabeTurner73 Wise up bocha, can’t you be more of a Talmud Chachum like @benwinston? He’s a tzadik, you’re a shnorer. — Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) January 20, 2013
(Image: Christopher Polk/Getty)
Related: Pop Star Harry Styles Lands on List of Britain’s Most Influential Jews