Pop star Justin Bieber did not visit with a rabbi at the Westside Jewish Communtiy Center (JCC) yesterday despite media reports to the contrary.
“He met with no rabbi. He came, enjoyed playing [table tennis], he does stuff here; it’s not the first time he’s come,” Brian Greene, executive director of the Westside JCC, said in a phone call with the Journal on Thursday evening. “He is not looking for any spiritual revival as far as I can tell. There’s a table tennis center … he enjoys playing table tennis. That’s all I can tell you. The paparazzi decided he was visiting with a rabbi, [but] I’m telling you it’s not true.”
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and celebrity news site X17.com mistakenly reported on Thursday morning that Bieber met with a rabbi at the JCC.
The JCC houses synagogue community IKAR. Additional organizations at the JCC include the Gilbert Table Tennis Center, which is housed on the first floor of the mid-city campus.
Bieber has played table tennis at the Gilbert Center several times before, Greene said.
Bieber, who isn't Jewish, is represented by member-of-the-Tribe Scooter Braun.
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