Anti-Zionists have long insisted (in English, at least) that they don’t hate Jews – only “Zionists”. You see, unlike those vulgar Nazis, they aren’t so barbaric as to oppose our existence outright. They’re only, quite understandably, uncomfortable with this absurd notion – passed down to us by Herzl et al – that we are equal […]
I’m not the best faster, which means I’m usually not the best at Yom Kippur prayers. But I did notice two things this Yom Kippur, once while I was praying and the other time while I was not praying. In Avinu Malkeinu, the customary prayer we say over and over again during the High Holidays, […]
“I’m really glad I’m a part of this.” In Adam Sandler’s new Netflix film, You’re So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, for me the line that summed up the essence of the film, was when protagonist Stacy Friedman declared at the end, “I’m really glad I’m a part of this.” What is the “this?” When […]
An amazing team at ABC and On The Red Carpet filmed a mini documentary on my life as an Orthodox Jewish woman, why I started Jew in the City, the JITC Hollywood Bureau, and why Jewish representation matters. They captured my life, my joy, my relationship to my Jewish identity so authentically because they let […]
Sunday night, as I lit the first candle of the Menorah, I thought about my personal journey of performing this incredible commandment with pride and joy. My story begins in 1982 in Odessa, Ukraine, which at the time was controlled by the Soviet Union. I was raised in a traditional Soviet family at a time […]
If you were in Times Square over the summer, you likely encountered some bold billboards calling out antisemitism. One of them read: Here’s an idea: Let’s ask everyone who’s wondering if antisemitism is real to wear a yarmulke for a week and then report back. In a time when, so many Jews are feeling like our […]
