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Gal Gadot wants to work with Argentine-Jewish director Damian Szifron
BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — Gal Gadot revealed in an interview that went viral in Argentine media that she would like to collaborate with Damian Szifron, an acclaimed Argentine-Jewish director who often weaves Jewish characters into his work.
A snippet of the Israeli “Wonder Woman” star talking to Argentine journalist Agustin Eme about Szifron was viewed millions of times on social media earlier this month. She said that Szifron’s 2014 film “Wild Tales” was one of her favorite films.
“Damian, I would love to work with you,” Gadot said in the video, which was part of a conversation about her latest Netflix film “Heart of Stone.”
“My personal mission now is to talk to Damian Szifron, to [have him] make a movie with you,” Eme responded.
¿Alguien tiene a mano el teléfono de Szifron? pic.twitter.com/LYUOet5Ahr
— Agustin Eme (@agustineme) August 11, 2023
Before becoming one of Argentina’s best-known filmmakers, Szifron, 48, was born and raised in Ramos Mejia, a small suburb outside of Buenos Aires. He grew up attending a Jewish school and going to the only Jewish center and sport club in the region.
His big break came with the TV show “The Pretenders,” a series about con artists hired to solve people’s problems, which won a Martin Fierro award — Argentina’s equivalent of an Emmy — for best TV series in 2002. Many of the characters were based on Jewish people from the real Jewish community center Szifron grew up attending — the CISO (Centro Israelita Sionista del Oeste, or the Western Israelite Zionist Center), which serves a small, middle-class Jewish community on the western side of the greater Buenos Aires area.
Szifron’s film career began with 2003’s “Bottom of the Sea,” a comedic drama starring Uruguayan-Jewish actor Daniel Hendler. The protagonist of his second film, 2005’s “On Probation” (in Spanish, “Tiempo de valientes,” or “Time For the Brave”), is a Jewish psychologist named Mariano Silverstein.
Szifron’s 2014 anthology film “Wild Tales” won him global acclaim. It also included multiple Jewish characters and moments — such as an entire segment about a Jewish wedding, complete with klezmer music.
He has said that after his paternal grandfather escaped from a train headed to a Nazi death camp. Szifron’s father worked in a cinema.
“He could watch the films for free. He became a huge cinephile, so ever since I can remember I have a memory of being taken to the cinema by him,” Szifron said in 2015.
Gadot’s “Heart of Stone,” an action thriller, was released earlier this month. Pending the outcome of the Hollywood writer and actor strikes, she is set to star as the Evil Queen in a “Snow White” adaptation next year.
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The post Gal Gadot wants to work with Argentine-Jewish director Damian Szifron appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Germany’s Halt to Arms Exports to Israel Is Response to Gaza Expansion Plans, Chancellor Says
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
Germany’s decision to curb arms exports to Israel comes in response to Israel’s plan to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.
“We cannot deliver weapons into a conflict that is now being pursued exclusively by military means,” Merz said. “We want to help diplomatically, and we are doing so.”
The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to take this historically fraught step.
The chancellor said in the interview that the expansion of Israel’s operations in Gaza could claim hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and would require the evacuation of the entire city of Gaza.
“Where are these people supposed to go?” Merz said. “We can’t do that, we won’t do that, and I will not do that.”
Nevertheless, the principles of Germany’s Israel policy remain unchanged, the chancellor said.
“Germany has stood firmly by Israel’s side for 80 years. That will not change,” Merz said.
Germany is Israel’s second-biggest weapons supplier after the US and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of its historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust – a policy known as the “Staatsraison.”
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Newsom Calls Trump’s $1 Billion UCLA Settlement Offer Extortion, Says California Won’t Bow
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference, accompanied by members of the Texas Democratic legislators, at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, California, U.S., August 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Saturday that a $1 billion settlement offer by President Donald Trump’s administration for UCLA amounted to political extortion to which the state will not bow.
The University of California says it is reviewing a $1 billion settlement offer by the Trump administration for UCLA after the government froze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding over pro-Palestinian protests.
UCLA, which is part of the University of California system, said this week the government froze $584 million in funding. Trump has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over anti-Israel student protests.
“Donald Trump has weaponized the DOJ (Department of Justice) to kneecap America’s #1 public university system — freezing medical & science funding until @UCLA pays his $1 billion ransom,” the office of Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post.
“California won’t bow to Trump’s disgusting political extortion,” it added.
“This isn’t about protecting Jewish students – it’s a billion-dollar political shakedown from the pay-to-play president.”
The government alleges universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests and in doing so violated Jewish and Israeli students’ civil rights. The White House had no immediate comment beyond the offer.
Experts have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the Republican president’s threats. The University of California says paying such a large settlement would “completely devastate” the institution.
Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Last week, UCLA agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued this year over a 2024 violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters.
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Trump Nominates State Dept Spokeswoman Bruce as US Deputy Representative to UN
FILE PHOTO: U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce speaks during her first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was nominating State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations.
Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January.
In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a “fantastic job” as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump’s Republican Party holds a majority.
During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory.
Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years.
She has also authored books like “Fear Itself: Exposing the Left’s Mind-Killing Agenda” that criticized liberals and left-leaning viewpoints.
In a post after Trump’s announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a “few weeks” away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts.
“Now I’m blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post,” Bruce wrote on X.
Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his U.N. envoy. Waltz’s Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce’s boss, is still due.
Waltz was Trump’s national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his U.N. ambassador.