A reader notes:

“I remember a comic once doing a routine that included a parody of that song from _Oklahoma!_ ‘Oh, the Hebrew & the Negro should be friends…’ Yes, he was black, and yes, he was very funny.”

[Derb] I shall manfully resist the temptation to embark on a parody of my own, but any readers who care to try are welcome to email their efforts to me. You might try other variations: “Oh, the Sunni and the Shi’ite should be friends…” for example. That might go down well in Baghdad. Or not…

Any parody that is (a) sufficiently witty, and (b) fit to be reproduced on a respectable web site (and I acknowledge that these may be mutually exclusive categories) will be posted, so let me know whether you want your name publicized or not.