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Hen Mazzig’s New YouTube Series to Be an ‘Unapologetic Celebration of Jewish Identity’ With Star-Studded Guests
Hen Mazzig speaking to NBA Pacers Executive and Pacers Foundation Chair Rachel Simon in his YouTube series “And They’re Jewish.” Photo: Screenshot
Israeli author, activist, and social media influencer Hen Mazzig will host a new YouTube series in which he talks with a diverse group of Jewish personalities about how they connect with their heritage and Jewish identity.
The co-founder of the Tel Aviv Institute will host the weekly series “And They’re Jewish,” which premieres April 2 on his YouTube channel but will also be available to listen to as a podcast. The digital series has nine episodes so far – with potentially more as Mazzig conducts additional interviews with guests – and will give viewers an insight into the personal lives of stars like “Will & Grace” actress Debra Messing, who will appear in the premiere episode of Mazzig’s series, “Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik, and Emmanuelle Chriqui from “Entourage.”
The series showcases the diversity of Jewish voices including Alexandra Socha – who played Glinda in the Broadway show “Wicked” and Esther Maisel on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — Eyal Booker from “Love Island,” NBA Pacers Executive Rachel Simon, actor Etai Benson, “Stranger Things” actor Brett Gelman, and artist Zoe Buckman.
“My hope is that it will be a way to engage with Jewish people that is beyond just trauma, and to humanize Jews,” Mazzig, 34, told The Algemeiner. “There is nothing on the big screen or on TV that is really humanizing Jews in a way that is approachable [and] that you can connect to.”
“Jewish identity shouldn’t be controversial,” he added. “The fact that simply being openly Jewish in the media feels radical, is a big problem. And I want to live in a world where Jewish identity is as normal as any other identity. Where Jewish actors, artists, and musicians can just proudly embrace their heritage without fear. ‘And They’re Jewish’ is a step towards this future.”
Mazzig traveled around the world to speak with his guests for the digital series. He made stops in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and London. The activist himself was born in Israel but has family roots in Iraq and Tunisia. His ancestors immigrated to Israel as refugees, and he lives today between Tel Aviv and London.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, nearly 9,000 antisemitic incidents took place in the US in 2023, a year unlike any since the organization began tracking such data on antisemitic outrages in 1979. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that anti-Jewish hate crimes in the US spiked to a record high that same year. Despite Jews making up just 2 percent of the US population, antisemitic hate crimes accounted for 67 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes and 15 percent of all hate crimes of any kind recorded by the bureau.
“And They’re Jewish” is Mazzig’s unique approach to combatting the rise in antisemitism, he explained to The Algemeiner.
“Jewish representation in mainstream media is shrinking. Jewish identity is erased and reduced to cliches or only discussed when it’s tied to trauma or conflict,” he said. “And since Oct. 7, [2023], I’ve done whatever I can to help our community, and speak up and hear the truth about the conflicts and about the challenges that our community is facing.”
“‘And They’re Jewish’ was really a product of a lot of pain, so much pain for our community – for the Jewish friends I have in America, and the UK, and to see how much we’re being abused and othered,” Mazzig continued. “And I thought to myself, ‘How can we fight it in a more effective way to really impact our community?’ That’s how ‘And They’re Jewish’ came about. I’m reclaiming Jewish visibility, but not through the lens of victimhood. But through joy, success, and unapologetic celebration of Jewish identity.”
“And They’re Jewish” premieres April 2 on YouTube.
The post Hen Mazzig’s New YouTube Series to Be an ‘Unapologetic Celebration of Jewish Identity’ With Star-Studded Guests first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.