Happy Hanukkah from J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter had Jewish schoolmates

It’s a Hanukkah present for Hogwarts fans.

J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” books, confirmed on Twitter Tuesday that the legendary school for wizards did indeed have Jewish students. The revelation came after a user of the social network tweeted at Rowling: “[M]y wife said there are no Jews at Hogwarts. I’m a Jew so I assume she said it to be the only magical 1 in the family. Thoughts?”

Rowling responded, “Anthony Goldstein, Ravenclaw, Jewish wizard.” (For muggles and others unfamiliar with the “Harry Potter” world, Ravenclaw is one of the four houses of Hogwarts.) Several hours later, she posted an addendum: “OK, let me clarify that! Anthony isn’t the first Jewish student, nor is he the only one. I just have reasons for knowing most about him!”

The author, evidently inundated with questions about Hogwarts’ diversity, also tweeted: “To everyone asking whether their religion/belief/non-belief system is represented at Hogwarts: the only people I never imagined there are Wiccans. ... [I]t’s a different concept of magic to the one laid out in the books, so I don’t really see how they can co-exist.”

The student body also included LGBT wizards, Rowling said, in response to a Twitter user who said she “like[s] to think it’s a safe place” for such students. “But of course,” Rowling replied, including an image of Harry’s famous glasses above a rainbow flag. The text on the image reads “If Harry Potter taught us anything, [i]t’s that no one should live in a closet.”