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April 14, 2022 12:01 pm

Jewish Celebrities Gather to Discuss Antisemitism, Jewish Identity in YouTube Special

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    avatar by Shiryn Ghermezian

    A screenshot from the trailer for “Recipe for Change: Standing Up to Antisemitism.” Photo: Screenshot.

    A group of Jewish celebrities come together to talk about antisemitism, acts of hatred directed at the Jewish community, and their religious backgrounds in a YouTube special that premiered on Thursday.

    In “Recipe for Change: Standing Up to Antisemitism,” the personalities assemble at three Shabbat dinners, opening scrolls placed on their tables with questions like, “how would you define what being Jewish means to you?” “have you ever experienced antisemitism?” and “could the Holocaust happen again?”

    Participants include Zac Posen, Rachel Bloom, Bryan Greenberg, Michael Twitty, Alex Edelman, Ruth Reichl, Rachel Sumekh, Tommy Dorfman, Josh Peck, Hannah Einbinder, Hari Nef, Michael Zegen, and Skylas Astin (who insisted, “my mom’s matzah ball soup is better than yours.)

    The Shabbat dinners were hosted by Ilana Glazer, Moshe Kasher and Idina Menzel, who partnered with chefs Nancy Silverton and Einat Admony to create three-course meals. Rachel Dratch, of “Saturday Night Live” fame, is featured as a reporter speaking with Jews and supporters of the Jewish community in New York City. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt also joined one meal to share statistics about the rise in antisemitism in the US.

    Some scrolls were more lighthearted, with questions like “what makes you proud to be Jewish?” and “tell me you’re Jewish without telling me you’re Jewish.” To the latter, comedian Michael Ian Black replied “my aunt lives in Boca,” while Posen admitted, “I used to make bras out of yarmulkes.” Conversations were also held about Jewish identity, Jewish stereotypes and how to raise awareness about antisemitism.

    Menzel got candid about discussing antisemitism with her children, and Zegen, from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” described the “trauma” he lives with because of what his family faced in the Holocaust.

    “My grandparents on my mother’s side were Holocaust survivors. My grandfather essentially lost his whole family. His father was shot on the way to the trains because he had a club foot and couldn’t keep up, so they shot him,” he told his fellow dinner guests.

    “My grandmother loved telling me Holocaust stories. How she hid in the woods with her family and heard the bombs going off, and felt the bombs going off. So I was raised with these stories, and you talk about PTSD; I lived with this trauma since I was a kid, and it didn’t even happen to me. But obviously it had a profound impact because I guess its the kind of thing where you’re always on the lookout.”

    “Recipe for Change: Standing Up to Antisemitism”  is the latest installment in the “Recipe for Change” series from YouTube and LeBron James’ The SpringHill Company.

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