For centuries, Jewish culture has been identified by the never-ending hora dance, accompanied by accordion players and klezmer bands. The terms “cool” and “Jewish” have never quite seemed to go together.

In the past several years though, Jews around the world have taken cool into their own hands, creating a Judaism dressed in bling-bling and rapping to the music of 50 Shekel.

The trend of expressing Jewish pride originated in music and has spread to clothing and media.

Israeli music has been able to keep up with the styles of American music, shifting from the folk music of Naomi Shemer in the 1960s to MTV-esque music in the 1990s. Only recently has Israel been able to match America’s latest hip-hop trend with musicians such as Subliminal and 50 Shekel.

These musicians, decked out in gold, could pass for any American rapper. Look closer, though, and it’s not difficult to see the giant Stars of David and Chai necklaces dangling from their necks.

Pride for Jewish rap has spread to Jewish teenagers worldwide, but only in America have Jews created a new line of hip, chic and Jewish clothing.

A year and a half ago, Jason Saft, 26, of New York, catalyzed a new line of clothing, which combined Jewish humor with modern trends. He created a clothing line that individuals of all religions ate up: Jewcy.

“People were coming up to me on the street, Jews and non-Jews, saying ‘I have to have that shirt,’” Saft told the Los Angeles Times.

Saft’s idea became so popular that Urban Outfitters, a chic clothing store, used the theme of Jewish pride by producing T-shirts boldly shouting, “Everybody Loves a Nice Jewish Boy.”

Chosencouture.com, a newly organized company designed to showcase Jewish pride and tradition, has created a line of clothing with phrases such as “Challah Back” and “Yo Semite” plastered across T-shirts in order to add humor to Jewish tradition.

“I think those shirts are a great way to get kids to like and appreciate their heritage,” said Crissy Cutrone, a junior government and politics major. “Sometimes I think those shirts go a little overboard, crossing the line of sacrilege.”

But this new trend doesn’t stop at music and clothing; the media has grabbed hold of the idea, extending its humor far beyond the borders of what is appropriate.

The Jewish magazine, Heeb: The New Jew Review, started two years ago with the task of proclaiming Jewish pride, and Comedy Central recently aired “The Hebrew Hammer,” a spoof on Jewish rituals and culture.

Though Heeb has proven successful among Jewish teens, it is drawing criticism from the Anti-Defamation League. Kenneth Jacobson, the ADL's associate national director, said the magazine's goal of “reaching out to young, disaffected Jews is a very nice idea,” but its name is “not very constructive,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

The editor of Heeb has said the name is a way of reclaiming an ethnic slur, in the same way that some gay people now use the term ‘queer’ to describe themselves.

“I really do believe there is something profound and exciting going on right now with young Jews who are trying to connect with Judaism in thoroughly untraditional and in thoroughly new ways,” Joshua Neuman, Heeb’s publisher and editor, told the Los Angeles Times.