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Evan Gershkovich, Judy Blume among 10 Jews on Time’s 2023 ‘Most Influential’ list
(JTA) — The journalist who was arrested in Russia last month and the Biden administration’s antisemitism envoy are among the 10 Jewish members of Time magazine’s “100 most influential people of 2023.”
The magazine’s annual list, released Thursday, includes politician, business titans, artists and innovators from around the world, from President Joe Biden to a YouTube sensation with 145 million subscribers. Each entry is accompanied by a short essay by another prominent figure. Here are the Jews who made the cut.
Sam Altman is the tech entrepreneur who is CEO and co-founder of the OpenAI artificial intelligence laboratory. In 2016, the entrepreneur Peter Thiel told the New Yorker that Altman is “culturally very Jewish — an optimist yet a survivalist, with a sense that things can always go deeply wrong, and that there’s no single place in the world where you’re deeply at home.”
Judy Blume is the children’s author whose books deal frankly with puberty and other challenges of growing up. A film adaptation of her 1970 novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — one of the first mainstream treatments of interfaith families — is opening in theaters this month.
Doja Cat is a rapper and performance artist who burst onto the scene in 2020, when she won MTV’s best new artist award. The daughter of an Ashkenazi Jewish mother and a Black South African father, she is renowned for blending genres.
Nathan Fielder is a comedian and performance artist whose genre-defying 2022 series “The Rehearsal” tackled antisemitism, Holocaust denial and interfaith parenting. It also featured a Portland, Oregon, Hebrew tutor.
Neil Gaiman is a science-fiction writer whose comic book series “The Sandman” was recently made into a Netflix series. Raised by a Jewish family that dabbled with Scientology, he was also an early critic of the Tennessee school district that banned the Holocaust memoir “Maus” last year.
Evan Gershkovich is a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained in Russian in March on spying charges that the State Department has called part of Russia’s “ongoing war against the truth.” The American child of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union, Gershkovich was the subject of an awareness campaign urged during this month’s Passover celebrations.
Bob Iger is the CEO of Disney after returning to the company last year. “His return as CEO in 2022 ushered in a new era of transformation and creative excellence” for the entertainment company, General Motors CEO and Disney board member Mary Barra wrote in Time. He received the 2019 Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, warning that “Hitler would have loved social media.”
Deborah Lipstadt was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2022 as the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. A well-known academic specializing in the history of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, she welcomed Time’s recognition by tweeting, “Receiving this award advances my ongoing fight to stamp out antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
Natasha Lyonne is the writer, director and actress whose popular series on Netflix, “Russian Doll,” used sci-fi conventions to explore identity, trauma and the intergenerational effects of the Holocaust. In his Time essay, actor and director Taika Waititi, who is also Jewish, called Lyonne “the coolest person in the room.”
Janet Yellen is the first woman to hold the role of U.S. treasury secretary. Born to Polish Jewish immigrant parents, she has featured in antisemitic conspiracy theories about “globalist” control of financial institutions.
A handful of other people on the list have Jewish backgrounds. The actor and businesswoman Drew Barrymore, recognized by the comedian Jimmy Fallon for being “a true role model,” is married to a Jewish man, raising a Jewish child and said she has “embraced Judaism,” though she has not announced a conversion. Lea Michele, who last year took over the lead role in “Funny Girl” on Broadway, has a Jewish father but does not identify as Jewish. And the skier Mikaela Shifrin has a Jewish grandfather but, according to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, is “not connected to the Jewish community.”
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US Rejects Israel’s Request to Maintain Sanctions Against Syria
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
i24 News – US President Donald Trump has rejected an effort by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent the full lifting of US sanctions on Syria, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported Saturday evening.
According to the report, Netanyahu associates contacted members of Trump’s inner circle in an attempt to keep some sanctions in place as leverage for future diplomatic negotiations. The effort was unsuccessful, with Trump’s advisers reportedly opposing any partial approach and favoring a complete removal of the restrictions.
Despite the refusal, two Israeli officials told Kan that the Trump administration promised Israel some form of political or strategic compensation in response to Jerusalem’s concerns.
The report comes as the US Congress recently voted to permanently repeal sanctions imposed on Syria under former president Bashar al-Assad, clearing the way for foreign investment to return to the war-torn country after more than a decade of conflict. Trump had previously suspended the sanctions twice, following pressure from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, key backers of Syria’s new leadership.
Syria is now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist leader who had strongly advocated for the complete repeal of sanctions. He argued that maintaining sanctions under US law continued to deter international companies from engaging economically with Syria, even after political changes.
The repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, enacted in 2019, was included in the annual US defense bill and passed by a wide margin in the Senate, 77–20, after approval by the House of Representatives. The legislation, named after a Syrian military photographer who documented abuses in Assad’s prisons, had effectively isolated Syria from the global financial system and now awaits Trump’s signature.
On Friday, al-Sharaa addressed the Syrian public to welcome the lifting of sanctions, publicly thanking Trump as well as Saudi, Qatari and Turkish leaders. His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was removed from the US terrorism list in July, as the new Syrian leadership seeks to present a more moderate image and normalize ties with the international community.
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Report: Iran Advances Missile Program, Continued Arms Transfers to Regional Proxies
An Iranian missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, Aug. 20, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Reports indicate that Iran has resumed development of its ballistic missile program while continuing to supply weapons to allied militias across the Middle East.
According to an unnamed US official speaking to Saudi Al-Arabiya, Tehran is using “every possible means” to transfer arms via both land and sea, viewing support for its regional proxies as a top strategic priority.
The official emphasized that the United States is actively working to prevent these shipments, coordinating with regional partners including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq to secure borders and limit arms transfers.
However, challenges persist, particularly in Lebanon, where the army is heavily engaged in efforts to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the south, leaving border control vulnerable. Iranian shipments reportedly also rely on Lebanese ports, which authorities are struggling to monitor effectively.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed the state of the country’s nuclear facilities, confirming that they suffered “serious damage” during June’s 12-day conflict with Israel. Speaking to Russia Today, Araghchi insisted that while the attacks caused physical destruction, Iran’s technical capabilities remain intact.
“Technology cannot be bombed,” he said, adding that Tehran has rebuilt what was damaged and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to its nuclear program and right to uranium enrichment.
Araghchi warned that any attempt to repeat the previous strikes would fail. “If they [Israel] want to repeat the same failed experiment, they will not achieve a better outcome,” he said, signaling Tehran’s determination to restore and continue its nuclear and military programs despite international scrutiny.
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Sa’ar Urges Diaspora Jews to Move to Israel Amid Rising Anti-Semitism
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks next to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and EU commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica as they hold a press conference on the day of an EU-Israel Association Council with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
i24 News – Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar delivered a sharply worded address on Sunday evening at a Hanukkah candle-lighting conference in Rishon Lezion, using the gathering to criticize Israel’s opposition leadership and call on Jews abroad to immigrate to Israel amid rising global antisemitism.
The event, attended by around 1,000 activists and supporters along with Knesset members and local mayors, marked Sa’ar’s first major public conference since announcing his return to the Likud party.
As he lit the eighth candle of Hanukkah, Sa’ar framed his remarks around national resilience, security, and leadership during wartime.
Addressing Jews in the Diaspora, Sa’ar warned that antisemitism has intensified worldwide and accused many foreign governments of failing to respond decisively. He said Israel had invested significant diplomatic effort over the past year to push back against what he described as a new wave of open antisemitism, including convening an international conference in Jerusalem earlier this year.
“Jews have the right to live safely anywhere,” Saar said, “but history teaches us to recognize danger when we see it.” He appealed directly to Jewish communities in countries including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, and Belgium, urging them to immigrate to Israel.
Sa’ar described Israel as the only place where Jews can fully ensure their security and identity, calling on families to “come home” to the Jewish state.
Sa’ar also launched a fierce attack on opposition leaders over their conduct during the ongoing war, singling out opposition head Yair Lapid without naming him directly. He accused opposition figures of advocating an end to the conflict on terms favorable to Israel’s enemies, even as the government pursued military operations against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran-backed threats.
According to Sa’ar, while the government was making what he called difficult and historic decisions to weaken Israel’s adversaries, the opposition was promoting what he characterized as surrender-driven policies in exchange for hostage releases. “Either way,” Sa’ar said, “they are unworthy of leadership.”