Via Tim Blair comes this story about Russell Crowe:

Tough guy actor Russell Crowe was so upset by a fire-bombing at a Jewish school in Montreal, Canada he called to offer a donation to help rebuild its library, a school spokeswoman said.

Crowe is in Canada to film Cinderella Man, a film directed by Ron Howard about the life of boxer James J Braddock, who defeated world champion Max Baer in an upset match in 1935.

"It was a huge morale boost for the school community," said Shelley Paris from Montreal.

The United Talmud Torahs elementary school was fire-bombed earlier this month and police said a note with anti-Semitic comments was found on the outside wall of the gutted library.

"He said he was very upset about what had happened, that a place of learning should be attacked that way," Paris said of Crowe, who is working in Toronto.

"He wanted to make sure that our students knew that he was thinking about them and that he was very upset about the fire-bombing."