Thursday, March 28th | 18 Adar II 5784

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The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2020

In honor of The Algemeiner’s seventh annual gala, this time held virtually, we are delighted to unveil our seventh ‘J100’ list of the top one hundred individuals who have positively influenced Jewish life this past year. Before you work your way through this exciting list, we wanted to first share some of the thoughts that we discussed as we developed it. If we could group these ideas together, the first would be about creating lists, in general; then, what’s unique about lists and Judaism; some finer points differentiating our honorees from the organizations they lead; and important reflections on all those every day and anonymous-to-us heroes we also want to celebrate without ever knowing their names. And, of course, to thank everyone who helped create the list and worked hard to put together our ‘J100’ gala. 

It’s no secret that the world in general and the Jewish community in particular has seen significant and rising challenges over the past 12 months. History has shown that at times like these, as we face global turbulence and turmoil, the Jewish community can quickly find itself in a position of increased vulnerability. When there is economic uncertainty, disease and racial and class tensions the temptation to seek a scapegoat is strong. Indeed, we’ve seen a significant increase over the past year of coronavirus-related antisemitism, Jews and Israel being thrust into the center of racial grievances, and being blamed for the financial misfortune of others. 

It’s for these reasons that we found the compilation of this year’s ‘J100’ list to be a particularly inspiring exercise. Contained within the list are many individuals whose efforts have been vital to heroic life-saving initiatives, and others who have stood strong against the tide of hate and helped chart a path to a brighter Jewish future. We hope you find it as encouraging as we did.

On Lists

There are lists, and there are lists. From the Forbes 400 to the Time 100, we are witness today to a proliferation of many lists in various magazines and newspapers. The New Yorker even made a list of The Hundred Best Lists of All Time! It seems that in the feeding frenzy of our information overloaded society, categorizations and listings get our attention by presumably helping us make sense of the data flooding our psyches. Lists also carry an element of sensationalism – who made the list, who didn’t – feeding the hunger for competition – yet another staple of our superficial times. No wonder we don’t find such popularity contests waged in earlier centuries; living as desert nomads or inside of a shtetl, where everyone knew virtually no one else but their neighbors by name (for good or for bad), did not exactly lend itself to creating a top ten list of favorites. This is an exclusive product of the communications revolution and the global village it created.

Jewish Lists

Jewish sages, in particular, did not create such lists. Indeed, some actually dismissed the categorization of lists (even of the 13 Principles of Faith of Maimonides, let alone of a list of the “best” one thing or another). It begs the uneasy question of how one can even attempt to measure the value of a person? Isn’t everyone a hero in some way? On what grounds can we presume to judge who is more valuable than the next? With the ‘J100’ list we tried to create something more meaningful, a list aligned with our core mission: the 100 people who have the most positive impact on Jewish life and Israel – men and women, Jew or non-Jew, who have lifted the quality of Jewish life in the past year. Think of it this way: Without these ‘J100’ – either the individuals or the organizations they represent – Jewish life would not be at the caliber it is today. Despite the artificial, superficial, and sensational nature of any list, we sought to transform the information deluge of our times by using the list to shine a spotlight on those gems in our midst, those people who are making a real difference in others’ lives.

We also seek to inspire and motivate our young and the next generation, our future emerging leaders, in rising to the occasion and perpetuating the highest standards of our proud tradition and legacy – in serving and championing the cause of Jews and Israel. Because, as we know, when the quality of Jewish life is raised, the quality of all lives is raised. However, the most exciting part of our work in choosing the ‘J100,’ frankly, was sifting through hundreds of candidates and nominees to discover some surprising finalists. It was a joy to see the breadth of all those who merited a mention, to understand some of the great work being performed around the world on behalf of the Jewish people, and to celebrate their victories by bringing this great work to renewed public attention via this endeavor.

Individual vs. Organization

Inevitably, any list recognizing those that have positively influenced Jewish life will include the “usual suspects,” well-known leaders and officials of governments, organizations, and institutions. Like it or not, bureaucracy is part of the fabric of our society, feeding and supporting Jewish life around the globe, and it is that fabric that provides strength and cohesion to our disparate Jewish population.

Not all the names on the ‘J100’ were included for the same reason. Some are being honored for their personal contributions, others for their work at the organizations or nations they head. Some on the ‘J100’ are long established stars, others newcomers.

Like in any dynamic entity, we included both stalwart leaders with deep roots holding the foundation, while also introducing new branches that will lead us into the future.

This type of list – “The top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life” – has its inherent challenges. First, what defines “positive”? What some consider positive, others consider destructive. Jews notoriously disagree on what positive impact means. Fully cognizant of the controversy such a list could stir, we approached the creation of this list with a particular strategy, infused with a sense of humility and respect, to be as all-inclusive as possible while maintaining our integrity. This list should not be seen as an endorsement of anyone or any entity and way of thinking; rather, the people on this list are a reflection of the rich and broad spectrum of Jewish life – those who have positively contributed and helped shape the Jewish future.

We want this list to not be a definitive one, but a type of snapshot and perspective of the Jewish world today. The ‘J100’ is far from perfect – but which list of this type would not be? Rather, we want it to serve as a provocateur, challenging us all to think about what we value and consider precious; what we honor as being a positive influence on Jewish life and on Israel.

Anonymous Heroes

Jewish life, now and throughout history, is fraught with innumerable heroes – mostly unsung. A mother unceremoniously bringing up a beautiful family. A quiet nurse attending to the ill. An anonymous philanthropist sending food packages to the needy. The unobtrusive kindergarten teacher lovingly attending to and shaping young lives. Positive influences abound, yet few are called out.

Moreover, the Jewish community is decentralized. A leader in one city or town who has a major impact on their community may be completely irrelevant in another city. No list – not of 100, not of 1,000 – could capture and do justice to the countless daily acts of heroism and nobility impacting Jews and Israel.

There are innumerable rabbis, lay leaders, educators, and administrators who are beloved and are transforming their Jewish communities. As important as these individuals may be – and they certainly deserve their own list – the ‘J100’ does not include these heroes. Instead it focuses on individuals that have global and international impact, and that come from diverse groups – such as writers, teachers, government officials, and NGOs. In some ways, the ‘J100’ should be looked at not as a bunch of disjointed individuals, but as a mosaic – a confluence of many different colors and hues that create a diverse painting.

Thank You

In the spirit of The Algemeiner, we want this list to lift the quality of our discourse and standards in seeking out the best within and among us. We hope you enjoy reviewing and studying this list, and we welcome all your feedback, critiques, and suggestions to be included next year, in what has become a tradition at our annual New York gala event.

We extend our deep gratitude to our ‘J100’ honorees and special guests, to those who support this great institution, and ultimately to our readers, the Jewish people, and friends of the Jewish people whom we serve.

Disclosure: Algemeiner staff and their immediate families were disqualified for inclusion on the list. Some of the ‘J100’ finalists are friends and associates of The Algemeiner. As a media entity with many relationships, The Algemeiner inevitably has many friends and supporters; yet we didn’t feel it fair to disqualify highly qualified candidates simply due to their connection with us. Instead, fully cognizant of that reality, we placed special emphasis on impartiality and objectivity to choose only those who fit the criteria.

The Algemeiner editors

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Former NBA player and entertainer

Regarded as one of the 50 greatest players to have competed in the NBA, basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has also been a powerful voice off the court against racism and for inclusivity at a time when American sports have been roiled by racial controversy. In 2020, Abdul-Jabbar challenged antisemitism in American sports head-on, writing in his Hollywood Reporter column that athletes, politicians and celebrities who engaged in Jew-baiting were promoting the “dehumanizing characterization of a people that caused the police abuses that killed… George Floyd.” Abdul-Jabbar then quoted the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Omer Adam

Musician

Israeli pop star Omer Adam spent the Simchat Torah holiday in Dubai, in a colorful sign of the warming ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The American-Israeli superstar, whose music fuses elements of eastern and Western pop instrumentation, was hosted at the home of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, and celebrated the holiday with the local Jewish community. “I chose to be in this dream place and meet wonderful people who love the Israeli people,” an emotional Adam declared during his visit. “I’m proud to be an ambassador of music and art in the Emirates, a place where there’s hope for a better world, without wars, and without terror in a magical place that has only joy, and human love.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Deni Avdija

Small forward, Washington Wizards

Tipped as one of the stars of the forthcoming NBA season, Israeli basketball player Deni Avdija was the ninth overall pick in the league’s 2020 draft. The 6’9”, 225-pound forward was selected by the Washington Wizards, becoming the highest-drafted Israeli player in NBA history in the process. The former Maccabi Tel Aviv player averaged 18.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.4 blocks and 2.1 steals to earn MVP honors at the 2019 FIBA U-20 European Championships. The 19-year-old Avdija also helped Israel win the gold medal in back-to-back FIBA U-20 European Championships in 2018 and 2019. The son of an Israeli mother and a Serb father, Avdija made his debut in Israeli basketball at the age of 16. He is the youngest player in Israel to have been awarded with the Israeli league’s MVP title. (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Mira Awad

Musician

Israeli-Arab pop singer and former Eurovision song contest winner Mira Awad has always believed that music brings people of different backgrounds closer together – which is why she took aim at British rocker Roger Waters in June 2020, over the former Pink Floyd vocalist’s backing for the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Awad urged Waters to have the “courage” and “the balls” to visit Israel, perform in the country, and share his thoughts while there, rather than opposing dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis from his base in London. “The boycott movement – you’re cutting the conversation,” Awad charged. “I’m trying to work a conversation and you’re cutting the conversation.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Zach Banner

Offensive tackle, Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner rushed to the defense of the Jewish community following an antisemitic social media post by his fellow NFL player, DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles, in July 2020. Banner, who is of Chamorro and African-American descent, has said that several of his family members were Jewish. His first season with the Steelers coincided with the 2018 massacre at the city’s Tree of Life Synagogue. Reflecting on the atrocity this year, Banner said: “We need to understand that Jewish people deal with the same amount of hate and similar hardships and hard times. I want to preach to the black and brown community that we need to uplift the Jewish community and put our arms around them just as much when we talk about Black Lives Matter and elevating ourselves.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Charles Barkley

Former NBA player and broadcaster

In a year when the rest of the world saw the USA as riven by racial divides, NBA superstar Charles Barkley established himself as a voice of unity and reconciliation. After a number of African-American celebrities flirted with antisemitism on social media, former Philadelphia 76er Barkley challenged them directly. “You guys are famous, you got a platform. But I don’t understand how you can fight hatred with more hatred. I’m disappointed in you guys,” he wrote. Congratulating fellow NBA legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s stance against antisemitism, Barkley declared: “I don’t want to alienate anybody. And to take shots at the Jewish, the white race, I just don’t like it ’cause it’s not right.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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From his masterly portrayal of the late Israeli Mossad agent Eli Cohen to his sidesplitting reprise of his famous character Borat, actor Sacha Baron Cohen has continued to entertain and enthrall his audience. 2020 was a year when the world saw more of Baron Cohen’s serious side, as he explained to the New York Times that he was speaking out boldly against antisemitism because “I needed to do that to live with myself.” Baron Cohen – who also won rave reviews for his role in the Netflix movie “The Trial of the Chicago 7” – went on to explain that when Borat first appeared in 2005, “you needed a character like him who was misogynist, racist, antisemitic to get people to reveal their inner prejudices. Now those inner prejudices are overt. Racists are proud of being racists.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Actor and writer Jesse Eisenberg discovered a haunting personal connection with the legendary French Jewish mime artist Marcel Marceau when he played the role of Marceau in the movie “Resistance.” Marceau – who was born Marcel Mangel – began aiding efforts to rescue Jewish children when he was 15, just a few years older than many of the children whom he saved. His own father was murdered at Auschwitz. Said Eisenberg: “My family comes from a part of Poland that is very close to where Marceau’s father came from in south-eastern Poland, so in some ways, it felt like I was playing somebody who, were I born with the same genetic makeup but 70 years earlier, I would be him.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Josh Gad

Actor

2020 was a busy year for Jewish actor and producer Josh Gad. As the coronavirus pandemic closed the world down, Gad launched an online movie club on YouTube, entertaining audiences with classic films and encouraging donations to charities like Dig Deep, Project Hope and No Kid Hungry. It was also a prolific year for Gad’s own output, with starring roles in the HBO comedy series “Avenue 5” and the Apple TV musical comedy “Central Park.” In July, responding to a spike in antisemitism in the US, Gad protested that bigotry against Jews was coming “from people in a position who should know better and who have the ability to really send messages to a large swath of people who I would imagine can benefit from such greater messaging than intolerance, at a time when there is so much intolerance.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Jonathan Jakubowicz is a Venezuelan filmmaker and writer, winner of the German Film Peace Prize 2020 for his film "Resistance,” which stars Jesse Eisenberg as Marcel Marceau – the famous French Jewish mime artist who rescued Jewish children in France from the clutches of the Nazi occupation. Jakubowicz, who grew up with Holocaust survivors on both sides of his family, knew that trying to make a Schindler’s List-type movie would prove to be too painful. With “Resistance,” he was able to bring a Jewish fighter against the Nazis to life on the screen. “This is really one of the most important stories that’s ever been told,” the director reflected in an interview. “It became my mission to tell it and I didn’t stop until I did.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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Helen Mirren

Actor

Legendary British actor Helen Mirren rushed to the aid of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic shut down theaters and concert halls around the world. Featuring much loved Israeli musicians including Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman, and Itzhak Perlman, Mirren’s gala raised funds “to ensure that we can keep the music playing, showcasing musical excellence and bringing a message of peace and harmony,” as the IPO said in a message of thanks to the star. Mirren – whose screen depictions include Empress Catherine the Great and Queen Elizabeth II – is a frequent visitor to Israel and an outspoken opponent of efforts to subject the Jewish state to a cultural boycott. (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)

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