After Oct. 7, actor, author and activist Patricia Heaton formed O7C aka the October 7 Coalition.
“Our motto is to help Christians be visibly and vocally supportive of Jewish people, of Israel’s right to exist and to fight antisemitism, wherever it is found,” Heaton, best known for roles on “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle,” told The Journal. ”I think the first thing you have to do, as a Christian and as a Jew, is to get out of our silos and come together and start getting to know each other.”
In support of this effort, Heaton has been co-hosting unity dinners throughout the country.
“There [are] many Christians who love Israel and [take] many trips to Israel, but they come back and they don’t necessarily know any Jewish people in their own neighborhood,” she said.
At these events, Christian and Jewish leaders, and supporters, come together in conversation and to break bread. “The best way to get people together is over a meal,” Heaton said.
In July Heaton and O7C partnered with Maman Nonprofit (MamanNonprofit.org) for a Unity Table with The Dream Center Foundation.
“We are so grateful to be partnering with Patricia and the O7C,” Sara R. Jacobs, founder/director of Maman Nonprofit, told The Journal. “We have formed a sisterhood and have bonded on so many levels.”
According to Jacobs, both Maman and O7C are nimble, volunteer-based and women-run.
“We share a common spiritual foundation and derive strength from one another,” Jacobs said. “We are so blessed that they are selflessly putting themselves out there to support the Jewish nation and Israel at a time when it’s not ‘cool’ or popular to do so.”
She added, “We are proud to activate and unite our Maman community [as they] show up and show appreciation to our Christian brothers and sisters for standing with us.”
Heaton explained how in her first Instagram post after Oct. 7, she asked, “Did you ever have that thought that, if you were a German during World War II, you hoped you would have been that good German who hid their Jewish neighbors. Well, today we have that opportunity.” And she listed a bunch of places where people could donate.
“Then I said, if you can’t afford it right now, call or text a Jewish friend and just ask how they’re doing,” Heaton said. “You won’t believe how meaningful it will be to [them].”
Heaton calls herself “as Catholic as you can get.”
“My mother was one of 15 children,” she said. “I have over a hundred first cousins on my mother’s side of the family, my grandmother was Catholic mother of the year for the United States and got a medal from the Pope and my sister’s a nun.”
Heaton, along with her British husband, recently experienced her first Passover seder at a friend’s house. It was a “joyful” experience.
The prayers and the music and the food and the history and the symbolism; it was such a rich evening,” she said. “And as a Catholic, who can trace my spiritual history back through the Old Testament, it was very, very meaningful to me; and I saw a lot of my own religious tradition in Judaism, because, of course, Jesus was a Jewish rabbi.”
People ask her why she is advocating so strongly for the Jews. Heaton said what is going on in Israel affects us all.
People ask her why she is advocating so strongly for the Jews. Heaton said what is going on in Israel affects us all.
As she has spoken to a lot of different Jewish groups, and gotten to know a lot of different people in creating safe and welcoming places, Heaton has found so many similarities.
“I’ve found that the Jewish people are so deeply philanthropic, and it’s been a reminder to me that really our mission on earth for all people is to create opportunities for human flourishing,” she said. “The Catholic Church has always been about serving the poor and they do that everywhere all over the world, but I am seeing that that is also in the Jewish community.”
Heaton added, “It’s easy to partner because we have the same outlook on life, which is, as I said, to help advocate for human flourishing.”
Learn more about O7C at October 7 Coalition.com and follow @theofficialo7c on Instagram. Learn about MamanNonprofit.com and follow @mamannonprofit on Instagram.
Check out the Taste Buds with Deb conversation at https://jewishjournal.com/culture/food/373812/patricia-heaton-philanthropy-food-in-entertainment-and-chicken-chilaquiles/
