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‘Stranger Things’ star Brett Gelman proposes to singer girlfriend Ari Dayan in Jerusalem
(JTA) — The Western Wall and Jerusalem skyline provided the backdrop for actor Brett Gelman’s proposal to his now-fiancée musician Ari Dayan.
The couple, together since 2019, announced their engagement Friday on Instagram.
“SHE SAID YES!!!” Gelman shared. “Can’t wait for Mr. Gelman to become Mr. Dayan,” Dayan wrote.
Gelman, 46, is best known for his roles as the conspiracy theorist and private investigator Murray Bauman on Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and as the insufferable Martin on the BBC comedy “Fleabag.” He grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, a heavily Jewish suburb of Chicago.
Dayan, meanwhile, is a singer and performance artist from California. She has posted videos previously from Tel Aviv and has also shared about her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor whom she said inspired her song “Sara.”
The pair have collaborated in the past, including for the music video for Dayan’s 2022 song “Love” and in a Hanukkah singalong (with Dayan singing in Israeli-accented Hebrew) taped in their Los Angeles home and posted to Instagram.
In a joint interview with Ladygunn in 2022, Gelman called the “Love” video a “total equal collaboration.”
“Ari is a comic genius and her previous videos hadn’t showcased that side of her,” Gelman said. “Plus, the song itself has a celebratory tone to it.”
“We found our mutual voice pretty quickly,” Dayan said. “It has a lot of both of us in it both conceptually and tonally. I find a lot of joy at laughing at myself and I think Brett does too. This is a love letter to that part of ourselves.”
In an interview with W Magazine last year, Gelman said his Jewish background is the motivation behind his approach to the world both in terms of humor and empathy. Coining the term “Jaddy” to refer to a “sexy, Jewish, masculine man,” he said his style role models are actors like Elliott Gould and Richard Dreyfuss who dispel the stereotype of nerdy Jewish men.
Gelman will appear alongside Natalie Portman in the upcoming Apple TV series “Lady in the Lake,” focused on the disappearances and deaths of a Jewish girl and a Black woman who were treated with unequal media attention in the 1960s.
Gelman was previously married, from 2015 to 2018, to the Jewish performance artist Janicza Bravo with whom he collaborated on a film called “Lemon” about a washed-up Jewish actor.
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Report: Regime Change Not Ruled Out as US Mulls Escalation Against Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a march amid the disputed presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno
i24 News – The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, as the US administration of President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government, Reuters reported Saturday citing four officials familiar with the matter. An escalation that would go so far as overthrowing Maduro’s dictatorial regime could not be ruled out, it is understood.
The report could not provide the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor confirm that Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela.
Two of the US officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro. Another “senior administration official” said he did not rule anything out regarding Venezuela.
“President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” the official was quoted as saying.
Also on Saturday, three international airlines canceled their flights departing from Venezuela, the day after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over the country.
Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca and TAP Air Portugal canceled their flights departing from Caracas on Saturday, according to Flightradar24 and the official website of Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.
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Indonesia’s Biggest Islamic Group Asks Chief to Resign Over Invitation to Pro-Israeli Speaker
Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Yahya Cholil Staquf, secretary general of the 60-million member Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, at his office in Jerusalem. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO.
Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a US scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.
The leadership of NU, which is also the world’s biggest Islamic organization with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.
NU cited Staquf’s invitation to a person “affiliated with an International Zionism network” for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.
Staquf, who has been NU’s chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf’s invitation to former US official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.
Staquf has apologized for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz’s background, adding that he condemned Israel‘s “brutal genocidal acts in Gaza.”
Berkowitz often writes in support of Israel‘s campaign in Gaza, according to his website, including a piece in September aiming to refute allegations of genocide against Israel.
Berkowitz spoke at NU seminars about the history of Western political thought in August, his website showed.
Berkowitz did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment that reached him outside of office hours.
Indonesia, the world’s Muslim-majority nation, has routinely condemned Israel‘s actions in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since the war broke out in 2023. It has long advocated for a two-state solution and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Protesters at Tel Aviv Rally Call for State Inquiry into Oct. 7 Failings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl. In Jerusalem on 16 October 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli protesters gathered on Saturday in Tel Aviv, to demand the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a committee to initiate a state inquiry on the security failings of October 7.
Saturday night rallies in Tel Aviv have been a fixture of the two-year-long war in Gaza that was triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that saw the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Protesters charged that Netanyahu refuses to be held accountable for his share of responsibility in Israel’s blackest day. They likewise took exception to Netanyahu’s wish to select the members of the committee, arguing this represented subversion of the democratic process.
Protesters also demanded the return of remains of the three deceased hostages still remaining in Gaza: Ran Gvili, Dror or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.