Humanizing Jews In TV And Film: JITC Panel With Leading Writers, Director & Producers

JITC (Jewish Institute for Television & Cinema) Hollywood Bureau, in partnership with the Jewish Filmmakers Network, hosted a standing-room-only panel in Los Angeles titled “How Hollywood Can Flip the Script Since October. 7.” Moderated by Marcus J. Freed, the evening featured Oscar-nominated producer Lawrence Bender (Red Alert), screenwriter Alison Peck (You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah), filmmaker Sal Litvak (Guns and Moses), and JITC founder and executive director Allison Josephs.

“Since our research with the Norman Lear Center came out earlier in the year, we’ve been presenting it to various entertainment groups,” said Josephs. “For this particular event, we got a grant specifically tied to the anniversary of October 7th, to do some positive programming in the wake of unimaginable horror. Our angle for the event was: Jews have been increasingly dehumanized since October 7th. And within Hollywood, we have tools to increase humanization, authenticity, and pride.”

Panelists discussed recent Jewish-themed projects that exemplify the kind of authentic, joyful, and heroic representation JITC’s Hollywood Bureau advocates for.

Although JITC was founded initially to address Orthodox stereotypes, its Hollywood Bureau works to improve all Jewish representation. “Our panelists were so diverse—Lawrence Bender’s show deals with an Israeli story, Alison Peck’s film had a joyful, celebratory Reform setting, and Sal Litvak’s movie was about Orthodox Jews,” Josephs said. “In an age now where we have so many enemies from without, it’s so important that we stick together within our own community.”

The evening also featured a screening of JITC’s viral #LikeAJew video, which drew an emotional response. “The response was really overwhelming,” Josephs said, “including Lawrence Bender, who noted on the panel how moved he was by the video.”

Josephs reflected that the night underscored the power of Jewish storytellers to change narratives. “It was really amazing to hear Lawrence Bender talk about how he spent his career standing up for other groups, and then when his community was hurt in unimaginable ways, basically nobody was there for him,” she said. “It made him realize that we have to be here for ourselves.” Alison Peck wrote the screenplay for You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah with the intention of promoting Jewish joy and defying stereotypes. Sal Litvak wanted to tell an authentic story about Orthodox Jewish heroes standing up for themselves.

The evening closed with a hopeful message: “We really want people to know what to look out for, what to avoid, and different ways to tell Jewish stories—showing heroism, having diverse casting, letting Orthodox Jews tell their stories themselves, as opposed to having someone else tell their stories for them. The panelists we brought together show that this kind of storytelling is possible.”

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