On The Way To Our Sundance Panel I Advocated For Israel

When we returned to Sundance this week for the third time, I felt like a pro. I knew how to navigate Main Street and where to stay to be close to the local kosher restaurant. Once again, we came back to a packed room for our panel, but this time we had hard data to share. So there was no more conjecture or relying on anecdotes when discussing Jewish representation.

What was also different this time was how bad antisemitism has gotten since our last panel. In 2024, the last time we were at Sundance, anti-Israel protesters took over Main Street and we were overwhelmed at how they were able to spew blood libels on the main thoroughfare during our panel, which was ironically about blood libels on television and in film. We didn’t feel like the plan to keep protesters at bay (last year) felt safe enough for us to return, and my daughter got engaged in Jerusalem around the same time. So we sat out last year.

Coming back this year, two years later, we’ve now seen multiple murders of Jews in the US since. We’ve seen public opinion of Jews and especially Israel continue to plummet. And so on the road to Sundance, I decided to engage the multiple people I met along the way and share my story of being a proud religious Jew who supports Israel – or an Orthodox Jewish Zionist (which are all terms with highly negative connotations!).

I flew out of LAX (because I had to avoid the snowstorm that hit the East Coast). Seated next to me in the airport was a woman in a big fur coat and cowboy hat – classic Sundance attire. When our flight got delayed and people began to grumble, I let her know I was heading to Utah for a panel. As soon as she asked “about what?” I kind of couldn’t avoid the topic. I explained to her the antisemitism that’s been baked into Hollywood since its founding by Jews who had internalized shame. She asked, as a Christian woman, what could she best do to teach her children to be on the right side of these issues?

I was touched by the sincerity of the question and told her, let your children know that there is a lot of propaganda about Israel being spread across every platform. Let them know that the basic ethos of the Jewish people are to love life, peace and justice. She was a world traveler and I encouraged her to get to Israel at some point if she could. She thanked me for sharing the information with her.

Next came my Uber driver from the airport in Salt Lake City to my hotel in Park City. He had a cross hanging off his rearview mirror, so I thought there was a decent chance that he supported Israel. He asked where I had flown in from, and instead of hiding it, I said “Israel.” He was from South America and noted that he was happy that Maduro was taken out. I mentioned that in South America and the Middle East, dictators respond best to force. He told me that “the Middle East is more complicated.” I began to regret my decision to be so forthright. I hoped that the conversation about “the Middle East” was over. But then he engaged me. He explained he had seen maps. It seemed like Israel had taken a lot of land. I was relieved that he was asking with curiosity and respect. I got a chance to go through the whole history with him and explain how enemies of the Jews frame Israel as the aggressor and colonizer. By the time he dropped me off, I was explaining that most of the world is Christian or Muslim, speaks English or Spanish because of colonization. And there is only one tiny country that is Jewish and where they speak Hebrew AND they share that land with two million Arab Muslims who are full citizens. My last point really struck him.

At that point, I was really on a roll.

I got a massage before the panel, because I was sore from all the travel. The massage therapist I was working with came from a small town in Utah and a rough background. She seemed like a person dedicated to self-growth and education. She asked what I was doing there and once again, my panel gave away my identity. When I told her my organization focuses on Jewish representation, she asked, “You’re Jew?” I think I was probably the first Jew she ever met and didn’t even know the word “Jewish” or “antisemitism.” I shared with her how our people have been maligned by our enemies, telling tales of our violence and bloodlust, when all we want is a tiny sliver of land where we can live in peace.

She had heard the chants against Israel but thought “Palestine will be free” just meant freedom – isn’t freedom a good thing? I explained that “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” meant that they want the entire land free of Jews. They want to throw us into the ocean. She was so horrified by the true meaning of the chant that she texted me after she left and told me she wanted to make a rhyme that we could say back. I told her that Jews are not very good at rhymes. She told me she is and sent me this:

Divinely guided and protected by God,
Deserving of peace, let’s clear this fog,
We stand in our power
To live in truth
Together…we honor peace, for all elders and youth.
Allow us to exist and practice this way.
Knowing that all we have is this day.

I was touched. I was getting through to hearts and minds. Finally, I ended my Sundance panel prep with the lovely makeup artist I’ve used the last few years. I already knew that she was a supporter of Israel with her Latter Day Saints background and our prior discussions. She asked how she could know what the truth is as current events come up. I told her to read both sides: Read what traditional media accuses us of and then read our explanation of how it went down.

Our panel was packed with writers, directors, producers, agents and executives. And I believe we made a big impression on them with our research. But I don’t discount the regular people I met along the way and the power of being an ambassador in regular life. You don’t need a fancy festival platform to do it. Just read up on the issues and speak from you heart.

If you found this content meaningful and want to help further our mission through our Keter, Makom, and Tikun branches, please consider becoming a Change Maker today.