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It’s a date: Netflix’s ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ debuts May 3

(JTA) — A matchmaker who says she has successfully paired 200 Jewish couples is the star of “Jewish Matchmaking,” a Netflix series that is set to start streaming May 3.

Netflix announced the series, a spinoff of its wildly successful “Indian Matchmaking” show, nearly a year ago. Now, new details that the streaming giant released on Thursday reveal that it will take place in both the United States and Israel, and will feature people from a variety of Jewish backgrounds.

Their guide will be Aleeza Ben Shalom, an Orthodox Jewish dating coach with a decade of experience who was based in the Philadelphia area and moved to Israel two years ago.

“Jewish Matchmaking” follows Aleeza Ben Shalom, a top Jewish matchmaker, as she helps her clients meet their bashert, or soulmate. (Netflix)

“Finding your person is the hardest thing to do in the entire world,” Ben Shalom says in the show’s trailer, which dropped Thursday. “And that’s where I come in.”

Netflix is keeping most details about the show secret until closer to the launch date, but the trailer shows one man who is part of the process — “I don’t want to have to explain to her why ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ is funny,” he explains, after being asked why he is looking for a matchmaker — and several women. Multiple cast members posted about their involvement on social media on Thursday, including comedian and disability activist Pamela Rae Schuller and Miami-based marketing executive Dani Bergman.

Formal matchmaking is common in the haredi Orthodox world, where many couples pair off through a formal and speedy process that has been depicted in shows such as “Shtisel,” which also streams on Netflix. Other Jews date and marry on their own, and a slew of dating services and apps have catered to matching Jews with each other.

The singles in “Jewish Matchmaking” come from a variety of religious backgrounds. (Netflix)

“In today’s world of modern love, we are used to turning to technology to find love,” Ben Shalom told E! News. “We download apps and we upload profiles. We swipe left or swipe right. And yet, somehow finding ‘the one’ has never been harder.”

“Jewish Matchmaking” will run for eight 30-minute episodes, featuring a diverse set of couplings, from Orthodox singles who observe the rules of negiah — the prohibition on touching before marriage — to Reform and secular U.S. Jews who, data show, are statistically likely to marry people who are not Jewish.

The show — whose title is translated into Hebrew as “Modern Matchmaking” — is modeled on “Indian Matchmaking,” now entering its third season, which also focuses on a professional matchmaker and people looking for love. While the show has been popular with audiences, it has also drawn criticism for reinforcing religious and caste segregation; no couples from its first season remain together.

Jewish singles search for their soulmates with the guidance of matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom. (Netflix)

Ben Shalom, who says she grew up secular and later became more traditionally observant, works exclusively with Jewish singles. This week, she launched a podcast called “The Yentas” with two other Jewish matchmakers affiliated with Tribe12, a Philadelphia organization serving Jewish young adults that includes a matchmaking service.

“We know it can carry a negative gossipy connotation,” they say in the first episode about the name of their show. “Maybe you saw ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ where the word is associated with being a busybody, somebody who wants to make matches but doesn’t have your best interest at heart. We are not that. We are love professionals.”


The post It’s a date: Netflix’s ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ debuts May 3 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Exclusive: Israeli Officials Harshly Critical of Steve Witkoff’s Influence on US Policy on Gaza, Iran, i24NEWS Told

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

i24 NewsAmid growing disagreements with the Trump administration over the composition of the Board of Peace for Gaza and the question of a strike on Iran, officials in Israel point to a key figure behind decisions seen as running counter to Israeli interests: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

The officials mention sustained dissatisfaction with Witkoff. Sources close to the PM Netanyahu told i24NEWS on Saturday evening: “For several months now, the feeling has been that envoy Steve Witkoff has strong ties, for his own reasons, across the Middle East, and that at times the Israeli interest does not truly prevail in his decision-making.”

This criticism relates both to the proposed inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in Gaza’s governing bodies and to the Iranian threat. A senior Israeli official put it bluntly: “If it turns out that he is among those blocking a strike on Iran, that is far more than a coincidence.”

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EU Warns of Downward Spiral After Trump Threatens Tariffs Over Greenland

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Yves Herman

European Union leaders on Saturday warned of a “dangerous downward spiral” over US President Donald Trump‘s vow to implement increasing tariffs on European allies until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.

“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa said in posts on X.

The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said tariffs would hurt prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, while distracting the EU from its “core task” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among allies,” Kallas said on X.

“Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.”

Ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss their response to the tariff threat.

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Israel Says US Gaza Executive Board Composition Against Its Policy

FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinians shelter at a tent camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer/File Photo

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that this week’s Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to government policy.

It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The statement did not specify what part of the board’s composition contradicted Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.

The board, unveiled by the White House on Friday, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Israel has repeatedly opposed any Turkish role in Gaza.

Other members of the executive board include Sigrid Kaag, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process; an Israeli‑Cypriot billionaire; and a minister from the United Arab Emirates, which established relations with Israel in 2020.

Washington this week also announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan, announced in September, to end the war in Gaza. This includes creating a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave.

The first members of the so-called Board of Peace – to be chaired by Trump and tasked with supervising Gaza’s temporary governance – were also named. Members include Rubio, billionaire developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

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