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Comedian Sarah Silverman hits the streets of Manhattan in search of Jewish allies
(New York Jewish Week) — Amid reports of rising antisemitism, comedian Sarah Silverman, who’s currently guest-hosting “The Daily Show,” took to the streets of Manhattan in search of Jewish allies — or “pro-Semitism,” as she calls it.
In a charming spot, which aired on Wednesday night’s episode of “The Daily Show,” the Jewish funnywoman stands in front of the Union Square Greenmarket. “There’s been a rise in antisemitism,” she says. “I’m hitting the streets looking for a little pro-Semitism. Let’s hope it doesn’t end in a hate crime.”
In a series of person-on-the-street interviews, Silverman asks New Yorkers what they like about Jews.
“They make bangin’ Christmas albums,” comes the first (and rather clever) response from a young woman.
“What is there not to love about Jews?!?” says an enthusiastic man. “The food, the culture, the celebrations.”
Silverman also encounters “a big group of men” — tourists from Belgium — who are perplexed by the comedian’s phrasing when she asks them if they’ve done any “Jewy” things during their visit to New York City.
So, she tries a different tactic. “Have you eaten a bagel?” she asks.
The guys respond enthusiastically with a wave of “Oh, yeah. Of course! Of course!”
“Jews!” she responds.
“Have you ever been vaccinated for polio?” she asks next. When they respond in the affirmative, she yells again, “Jews!”
Over the next few minutes, Silverman discusses famous Jews — including Idina Menzel, Barbra Streisand and Doja Cat — with passersby. “She should be Doja Katz, probably,” she quips.
After teaching a young man a Yiddish phrase, Silverman is seen asking folks if they’re willing to be an ally to the Jews. “What would you do to protect me?” she asks the Belgian dudes, one of whom responds: “I would light the menorah with you.” Silverman is duly impressed.
The spot ends with Silverman explaining her mission to another man who is wearing a knit cap and sunglasses. “I don’t believe you should hate on anybody,” he says. “Just bring love.”
Silverman is among at least three Jewish comedians who have been tapped to guest host the Comedy Central juggernaut since Trevor Noah hosed his last “Daily Show” on Dec. 8. Chelsea Handler sat in the chair earlier this month and Al Franken, who had a long “Saturday Night Live” career before becoming a U.S. senator in 2009, is slated to host March 20 through 23.
As for Silverman, whose last guest-hosting stint is tonight, she’s become a popular internet presence through her podcast and social media accounts following the cancellation of her Hulu show, “I Love You, America,” which ran from 2017 though 2019. Known for being very public with her Jewish identity, she helped popularize the controversial term “Jewface” to describe non-Jewish actors being cast in Jewish roles.
Later this month, Silverman is set to embark on a standup comedy tour, “Grow Some Lips” — which will include a stop at the Beacon Theater in New York on March 16. If you’d like to enter a New York Jewish Week giveaway to win a pair of tickets to the show, head on over to our Instagram page.
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Quiz: For America 250, how well do you know U.S. Jewish history?
The Forward produced The Great American Jewish History Quiz! using Claude, a generative artificial intelligence tool by Anthropic. All questions and answers were researched and written by Louis Keene, who prompted Claude to create the user interface and underlying code and to track statistics.
Questions or feedback? Send us an email: forwardquiz@forward.com.
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Mazel tov, Taylor and Travis: A rabbi’s imagined wedding speech under the celebrity chuppah
I have to admit, as a rabbi, I never imagined I’d be standing at a wedding bringing together two of America’s great religions: football and Taylor Swift.
And yet here we are. I’ve officiated weddings in synagogues, in backyards, on beaches. I was not prepared for Madison Square Garden.
Before I get to the blessings, I need to share a little Torah with you. Don’t worry: I’ll keep it short. Half this room is Swifties and half is Chiefs fans, and the only thing you agree on is that you didn’t come here for a sermon.
The very first matchmaking story in the Torah involves a man named Eliezer, sent by the patriarch Abraham on a mission: find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac. Eliezer travels far, he arrives at a well, and he devises a test. A test that looked past beauty, past pedigree, past fame, past achievement.
The test is simple: When a stranger arrives tired and thirsty, what do you do?
Rebecca does more than just offer water to Eliezer. She sees his camels are also thirsty, and without being asked, she waters every single one. Ten camels. Anyone who has ever watered a camel knows this is not a small thing.
And the Torah stops to tell us: this is the wife for Isaac.
The Torah could have stopped to admire her talent or her beauty. Instead, it stopped to admire her kindness. Because she saw need in the world and responded to it, just because that’s who she was.
Taylor and Travis, I think about that story when I think about the two of you. Because what we know about you isn’t just about the Grammys or the Super Bowls. It’s about the friendships. It’s about the family. It’s the way Travis’s eyes light up when he talks about his brother Jason. It’s the way Taylor has shown up, year after year, for her crew — the people who have been with her since the beginning, long before the sold-out stadiums.
These are people who know how to love. Eliezer traveled hundreds of miles looking for exactly that. Turns out it was worth the trip.
Red zones and red carpets
Now, because we have a professional athlete here, permit me a football analogy.
Every great quarterback needs protection from a tight end like Travis. Every championship team depends on its offensive line. The line doesn’t get the glory. They don’t score the touchdowns. But without them, nothing works.
Marriage is the same. Protect one another. Protect each other’s dignity. Protect each other’s dreams. Protect each other’s hearts. Be each other’s offensive line on the hard days.
And because we also have one of the greatest songwriters in history standing before me — someone who has written the soundtrack to a generation — permit me a music analogy as well.
Every beautiful song has both melody and rhythm. Sometimes one instrument leads. Sometimes another does. But what makes the song truly beautiful is that each makes room for the other. The goal is never the solo. The goal is the harmony.
Marriage is exactly the same. There will be seasons when one of you carries more. Seasons when one of you needs extra support. Seasons of celebration and seasons of challenge. The goal is to reflect each other’s light. The goal is to create something together that neither of you could have created alone.
So, Taylor and Travis, here is my blessing for you: May you always remember what drew you to each other, the soul beneath the spotlight. May you protect each other fiercely and gently, in the stadiums and in the quiet rooms where no one is watching. May you make room for one another — to lead and to follow, season by season, era by era.
And may the love you build together — the real love, the private love, the love that has absolutely nothing to do with cameras or crowds — be the greatest thing either of you ever creates.
Mazel tov.
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The 50 most interesting Jews in American history you’ve probably never heard of
The United States is turning 250 years old. You know the stories of many of the Jews who have helped to shape the country’s history and culture, including such luminaries as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Philip Roth and Barbra Streisand.
But behind the American Jewish names we know and revere are the stories of many other American Jews who influenced the nation — and whose lives reflected the country’s efforts to realize its founding promises — who have found less purchase in history’s spotlight. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of this country’s founding, we’ve collected 50 of those stories here.
Among their number are scientists, athletes, lawmakers, clergymen and a couple genuine American characters — the type of people who, no matter where they were born, ended up living lives that speak to the best of what the U.S. has to offer its citizens.
As one of our honorees, the author Edna Ferber, wrote: “America — rather, the United States — seems to me to be the Jew among the nations. It is resourceful, adaptable, maligned, envied, feared, imposed upon. It is warmhearted, overfriendly; quick-witted, lavish, colorful; given to extravagant speech and gestures. Its people are travelers and wanderers by nature, moving, shifting, restless; swarming in Fords, in ocean liners; craving entertainment; volatile. The schnuckle among the nations of the world.”
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