The boy band One Direction (Harry Styles at center). Photo: Wikipedia.

Harry Styles, member of the global pop phenomenon known as One Direction, “loves the Jewish community and wearing a Magen David,” friend of the band, director Ben Winston, told the UK’s Jewish Online News in a recent interview.

According to Winston, who is Jewish, Styles “always has [the Magen David] round his neck and had it on show at the recent Teen Choice Awards.”

Winston, who recently directed a film that documents the globe-trotting life of the group, said, “All the boys love Judaism. They are fascinated by it and they enjoy the family atmosphere. Over the years they have become part of our family really and are interested in what we do.”

The influence extends to locations used for video shoots, Winston explained. For a recent video the band shot in an old synagogue in Miami’s South Beach.

“We shot the video in an old shul in Miami, which is now a museum space called The Temple,” Winston said about the space, which had previously been converted into a large apartment, unlike many of the old synagogues of South Beach, which are now nightclubs.

Styles, perhaps the band’s most recognizable member, was spotted in New York last week sporting a Kippah with his name on it that Winston had given him.

Despite possessing a Hebrew tattoo spelling his sister Gemma’s name and Tweeting from time to time about Jewish holidays, Styles is not Jewish. Responding to inquiries on the matter, Des Styles, the star’s father,  wrote earlier this month on Twitter, “Still lots of queries asking if H is some % Jewish? No idea where any rumours came from in but, categorically, he is 0% Jewish. Not at all.X”