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Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

September 23, 2019

Labour Calls for Boycotts of West Bank Israeli Settlements

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The UK Labour Party passed a motion during their annual conference on Sept. 23 calling for a boycott of Israeli goods in the West Bank settlements, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.

The motion stated that the party believes in “an ethical policy on all UK’s trade with Israel, in particular by applying international law on settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories” and hopes to forge an international alliance in “rejecting trade agreements with Israel that fail to recognize the rights of the Palestinians.” 

The motion also called Israel’s efforts to ramp up settlement building in the West Bank “illegal” and endorsed the notion that Palestinians should “return to their homes.”

Additionally, the motion criticized the British government for being “a colonial power during the 1948 Nakba when Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes.” Nakba is Arabic for catastrophe; Syrian historian Dr. Constantin Zureiq coined the term in 1948 to describe “the defeat of Arabs in Palestine” after Israel fought off seven Arab countries in the 1948 War of Independence.

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) denounced the party vote in a statement posted to Twitter.

“With [Labour Party leader Jeremy] Corbyn now uniquely singling out the world’s only Jewish state for boycotts, it’s no wonder the Jewish community fears the prospect of him becoming prime minister,” LFI said.

Sussex Friends of Israel similarly tweeted, “At least the pretense is now over, the phony war at an end. Not only do we now know Labour support boycotts but it also makes clear that the only country they will boycott is a Jewish one. Anti-Semitism 101!”

The motion was passed after “Palestinian flags were unfurled and chants of ‘Free Palestine’ were shouted” during the preceding debate, per TOI.

Also during the conference, a pamphlet comparing Israel to the Nazis was handed to attendees entering the venue in Brighton. A flag featuring a cartoon depicting a plane with the words “The Lobby” firing a missile labeled “defamation” at Corbyn was hung just outside the venue as well; Corbyn condemned the cartoon.

At least nine members of parliament have resigned from the Labour Party in 2019, saying that Corbyn’s leadership has enabled anti-Semitism to thrive in the party. However, a YouGov poll published on Sept. 22 found that 66 percent of Labour members don’t think the party has an anti-Semitism problem. Thirty-seven percent, a plurality, believe the allegations of anti-Semitism are coming from “opponents who want to undermine Corbyn.” Fifty-six percent of Labour members said they’re against Britain forging a trade agreement with Israel when Britain exits from the European Union.

Labour Calls for Boycotts of West Bank Israeli Settlements Read More »

Grounds of Boston-Area Synagogue Vandalized

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BOSTON (JTA) — The grounds of a suburban Boston synagogue were vandalized.

Congregants of Temple Sinai in Sharon, about 25 miles south of Boston, discovered graffiti of unidentifiable defacing symbols splashed over the large Star of David in the pavement near the synagogue’s front entryway as they arrived for Friday night Shabbat services. The Sharon Police Department is investigating.

Two similar markings made with a sticky liquid substance were found in the plantings in the mulch beds on either side of the building, according to a police department statement posted on its Facebook page, along with photos of the vandalism. The town has a sizable Jewish population and is home to several synagogues.

“While these markings were easily removed with soap and water, we imagine that their presence may remain in your minds, hearts and spirits,” synagogue president Cindi Crutchfield wrote in an email to congregants and shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Crutchfield offered congregants support from clergy, as well as from mental health professionals who are temple members.

In an earlier email, Rabbi Joseph Meszler encouraged congregants to attend religious services and synagogue programs planned for the weekend.

“We will share in a prayer for strength when faced with adversity: Am Yisrael Chai – the Jewish people lives,” the rabbi wrote. “This is not only a chant of defiance but also a statement that we should continue to lead our lives fully, without fear.”

Speaking to JTA, Robert Trestan, regional director of the New England Anti-Defamation League, said: “Synagogues are increasingly becoming ground zero as anti-Semites continue sending messages of hatred to Jews.”

Grounds of Boston-Area Synagogue Vandalized Read More »

Netanyahu and Gantz Agree to Hold Negotiations for a Unity Government

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz have agreed to hold negotiations to form a unity government.

The heads, respectively, of the Likud and Blue and White parties, announced the negotiations late Monday night following a two-hour meeting at the Jerusalem residence of President Reuven Rivlin. They spent an hour each with Rivlin and alone.

Netanyahu and Gantz, the top two vote-getters in the national election Tuesday, said in a statement released after the meeting that the leaders of their negotiating teams would meet the following day. The statement also said that Rivlin had invited the party chiefs for a follow-up meeting on Wednesday.

Monday’s meeting came after Rivlin concluded talks with representatives of all the parties that will be represented in the new Knesset. The talks concluded with 55 seats going to Likud and 54 to Blue and White. A minimum of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, is needed to form a coalition government.

Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, which won eight seats in the election, did not recommend either Netanyahu or Gantz, instead calling for a unity government. Balad, among the four Joint List of Arab parties, also refused to recommend Gantz, giving him only 10 of the Joint List’s 13 seats.

Gantz and Liberman also met on Monday. Afterward, Liberman said in a statement that the parties have realized that a unity government is the only solution and that the “only argument right now revolves around the question who should serve as prime minister first and who second. I hope that President Rivlin succeeds in bridging between sides and a decision will be made on the matter.”

Prior to meeting with Netanyahu and Gantz, Rivlin said in a statement: “The entire country is looking at us with deep concern that we will go to elections for a third time. A stable government cannot be formed without the two big parties and this, I believe, is the will of the people.”

Netanyahu was unable to form a government coalition following a vote in April.

Netanyahu and Gantz Agree to Hold Negotiations for a Unity Government Read More »

‘Incitement’ Wins Best Picture at Ophir, Becomes Israel’s Oscar Entry

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“Incitement,” a drama about the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist in 1995, was named best picture at the Ophir Awards, Israel’s Oscars. It automatically became the Israeli submission in the international feature film category at the Academy Awards.

“Rabin was a giant of a man who was murdered because of his struggle to bring peace,” director and co-writer Yaron Zilberman said in his acceptance speech. He added that he hoped that “a leader can arise who, instead of dividing and inciting, can unite us and cause us to love one another, raising the level of love and not the level of violence.”

Told from the point of view of assassin Yigal Amir, “Incitement” triumphed over the satiric comedy “Tel Aviv on Fire”, workplace sexual harassment story “Working Woman,” cop drama “Love Trilogy: Chained,” and “The Unorthodox,” about the founding of the Haredi Shas Party.

‘Incitement’ Wins Best Picture at Ophir, Becomes Israel’s Oscar Entry Read More »

UN Releases First-Ever Report on Anti-Semitism

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For the first time ever, the United Nations released a report on anti-Semitism on Sept. 20; the report warned of anti-Semitism from white supremacy and anti-Zionism.

The report notes that U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief Ahmed Shaheed was “alarmed” at the rising anti-Semitism worldwide, specifically citing white supremacy and radical Islamists as sources of it. He went on to warn of “left-wing” anti-Semitism involving criticism of Israel veering into anti-Semitism.

“In some cases, individuals expressing such views have engaged in Holocaust denial; in others, they have conflated Zionism, the self-determination movement of the Jewish people, with racism; claimed Israel does not have a right to exist; and accused those expressing concern over anti-Semitism as acting in bad faith,” the report states.

“[Shaheed] emphasizes that it is never acceptable to render Jews as proxies for the Government of Israel. He further recalls that Secretary-General [Antonio] Guterres has characterized ‘attempts to delegitimize the right of Israel to exist, including calls for its destruction’ as a contemporary manifestation of anti-Semitism.”

The report then provides both sides of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

“Critics of BDS assert that the architects of the campaign have indicated that one of its core aims is to bring about the end of the State of Israel and further allege that some individuals have employed anti-Semitic narratives, conspiracies and tropes in the course of expressing support for the BDS campaign,” the report states. “The Special Rapporteur notes that these allegations are rejected by the BDS movement, including by one of its principal actors, who asserted that the movement is ‘inspired by the South African anti-apartheid and U.S. Civil Rights movements;’ maintained that they oppose all forms of racism and that they take steps against those who use anti-Semitic tropes in the campaign, and stressed that they employ ‘nonviolent measures to bring about Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law.”

Shaheed denounces anti-BDS laws, as he calls boycotts a form of “legitimate speech,” although he did call for anti-Semitic tropes to be condemned.

Later on, the report warns of rising anti-Semitism online, mainly through white supremacists promulgating their rhetoric on  platforms like Twitter, 4chan and Gab. Their narratives focus on “conspiracy theories” of “white genocide” through mass immigration and feminism.

“One study of the neo-Nazi web forum, Stormfront, found that more than 9,000 threads related to feminism had been established since its inception,” the report states. “Of those threats, more than 60 percent mentioned Jews with many claiming that Jews are leading the feminist movement. Another study, focused on 4chan, found, conservatively, 630,000 anti-Semitic posts in 2015, rising to 1.7 million in 2017.”

Shaheed believes that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism should be used “as a non-legal educational tool” to alleviate concerns the IHRA definition could be used to curb free speech against criticism of Israel. Shaheed urged “a human rights-based approach” to fight anti-Semitism.

“This includes implementing measures which foster the development of democratic societies that are resilient to extremist ideologies, including anti-Semitic propaganda, by fostering critical thinking, empathy, and human rights literacy among self-reflective citizens with the requisite proficiency and confidence to peacefully and collectively reject anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance and discrimination,” the report states. “It also requires investments in education and training to enhance society-wide literacy about the different ways in which anti-Semitism manifests itself.”

The Anti-Defamation League tweeted that the report is “important” and thanked Shaheed “for making clear how anti-Jewish sentiment and actions are a ‘serious obstacle to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief.’”

The Elder of Ziyon blogger wrote in an Algemeiner op-ed that the UN report is “a good start,” but criticized Shaheed for not taking a stand on the BDS movement and for not fully embracing the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.

“The continued cover for anti-Semitism disguised as legitimate criticism of Israel shows that even the UN expert on freedom of religion or belief truly doesn’t understand how treating the Jewish state with double standards is simply hate,” Elder of Ziyon wrote.

UN Releases First-Ever Report on Anti-Semitism Read More »

AJC Calls on EU to Label Hezbollah a Terror Organization

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The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is urging the European Union (EU) to designate Hezbollah as a terror organization in an ad that will be featured in The New York Times on Sept. 24.

The ad, which can be seen on the AJC’s website, points out that the Arab League, Argentina, Canada, the Gulf Operation Council, Israel, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States have all designated Hezbollah as a terror organization. The ad states that the EU has only designated Hezbollah’s military wing as a terror organization, not its political wing.

“This is self-delusion at its worst and most dangerous, allowing Hezbollah to operate its ‘political’ wing in Europe by recruiting members and raising funds,” the ad states. “As Hezbollah leaders themselves declare repeatedly, it is one indivisible organization.”

The AJC campaign will also feature 30-second ads on television news channels, including CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.

In addition, the AJC has a report on its website arguing against the EU’s various claims against designating Hezbollah as a terror organization. The report notes that Hezbollah has a “terror infrastructure” throughout Europe, pointing out that Hezbollah attacked “a bus of Israeli tourists” in Bulgaria in 2012 and as well as detonated “two car bombs at the Israeli Embassy and a Jewish charity in London” in the 1990s. Hezbollah also engages in criminal activity in European countries, including drug trafficking, counterfeiting euros, hacking computer servers.

Additionally, Hezbollah frequently promulgates anti-Semitic rhetoric under the guise of anti-Zionism, the report states, arguing that “Hezbollah has learned to manipulate the guilt complex that permeates certain European countries whose Jewish communities were decimated during the Holocaust” through its narrative of “the oppression of the Palestinians that they say is perpetuated by Israeli policies, then use that fiction to justify delegitimizing a Jewish state.” 

Examples of Hezbollah’s anti-Semitism includes Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah denying the Holocaust in 2010 and the terror group’s yearly celebration of Al Quds Day, which the Iranian regime started in 1979 to call for the destruction of Israel.

“One need only see the Stars of David engulfed in flames and hear the death chants to understand this has less to do with Israel and more to do with a deep-seated demonization of the Jewish people,” the report states.

AJC Calls on EU to Label Hezbollah a Terror Organization Read More »

Inspiring Jews Who Died in 5779

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(JTA) — The close of every year brings with it bittersweet reminders of the incredible figures we lost in the year that was.

This year the task of remembering the departed is particularly fraught as 12 people on the list were lost to acts of anti-Jewish violence in U.S. synagogues. Along with the shooting victims in Pittsburgh and Poway, California, are artists, activists and ordinary folks who heroically answered the call of history.

Here are some whose stories inspired us the most.

Pittsburgh victims

On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and opened fire while shouting anti-Semitic slogans. The shooting would become the deadliest act of terrorism against American Jews in the country’s history. Eleven worshippers were killed that morning, ranging in age from 54 to 97. Among the dead were a married couple, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, and two brothers, David and Cecil Rosenthal, along with Daniel Stein, Jerry Rabinowitz, Richard Gottfried, Joyce Fienberg, Rose Mallinger, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger.

Novelist Herman Wouk (Photo by Alex Gotfryd/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Herman Wouk
When Time put Herman Wouk on its cover in 1955, it found the Orthodox novelist’s blend of literary achievement and religious practice to be paradoxical. But over the course of his nearly seven-decade career, Wouk would help usher Judaism into the American mainstream through more than two dozen novels and works of nonfiction, several of which were adapted for the screen. He died on May 17 at the age of 103.

Amos Oz was a literary giant and a vocal peace activist. (Stephanie Pilick/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Amos Oz
Amos Oz won virtually every literary prize short of the Nobel and was perhaps Israel’s most widely translated author. He was also among its most vocal peace activists, calling Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian territories a “moral imperative” and helping to found Peace Now in 1978. In novels like “My Michael,” “Black Box,” “Where the Jackals Howl” and his 2002 autobiographical “A Tale of Love and Darkness” — later made into a film by and starring Natalie Portman — Oz chronicled the emotional development of his young country. He died of cancer in December at the age of 79.

Peggy Lipton poses in a promotional photo for “The Mod Squad,” circa 1968. (ABC/Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty Images)

Peggy Lipton
Actress Peggy Lipton was descended from Russian-Jewish immigrants and raised in a heavily Jewish enclave on Long Island, New York, but she became the quintessential American flower child as the star of the crime drama “The Mod Squad.” In 1974, she married the legendary music producer Quincy Jones, with whom she had two daughters. She died of cancer in May at 72.

Lori Gilbert-Kaye was murdered while protecting her rabbi in the Chabad of Poway shooting in April. The attack took place on a Shabbat during Passover. (Facebook)

Lori Gilbert-Kaye
When a gunman burst into the Chabad of Poway synagogue in April, Lori Gilbert-Kaye reportedly leapt in front of the rabbi to shield him from the bullets. Gilbert-Kaye, 60, was the only fatality in the attack on the San Diego-area congregation. Remembered as a pillar of the community and a regular hostess of Shabbat meals filled with guests, Gilbert-Kaye was survived by her husband, Dr. Howard Kaye, and their daughter, Hannah.

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein arrives in Israel with the first group of immigrants brought by his group, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Dec. 22, 2014. (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews)

Yechiel Eckstein
History will remember Yechiel Eckstein as the man who raised hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly from Christians, to benefit needy Jews in Israel and beyond. But to thousands of Jews in conflict zones who he helped bring to Israel, Eckstein was something of a guardian angel. Eckstein founded the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in 1983, and through a combination of pluck, charisma and tireless legwork made unprecedented progress in raising money for Jewish causes from evangelicals. In February, he died of heart failure in Jerusalem at 67.

Photo of David Berman and Silver Jews (Photo by Yani Yordanova/Redferns)

David Berman
David Berman was a founder of the influential band Silver Jews, which released six albums between 1994 and 2008. Berman, who battled various drug addictions over the years and survived multiple overdoses, long described himself as “ethnically Jewish.” But after a stint in rehab in the mid-2000s, he began going to synagogue and studying Jewish texts. He died in August at 52.

Barbra Siperstein at the Democratic National Committee’s Day of Pride in 2010. (Screenshot from YouTube)

Barbra Siperstein
On Feb. 1, the Babs Siperstein law went into effect in New Jersey, allowing residents to change their gender identity without proof they had undergone gender reassignment surgery. Two days later, the law’s namesake died at 76. Barbra Siperstein was an advocate for gender equality and transgender rights. In 2009, after completing sex reassignment surgery, she officially changed her Hebrew name from Eliezer Banish to Baila Chaya at a ceremony at her Conservative synagogue in Freehold.

Eva Kor, who survived the twin experiments of Josef Mengele at Auschwitz, preached forgiveness. (Courtesy of Kor)

Eva Mozes Kor
Eva Mozes Kor was born in Romania and, along with her twin sister, sent to Auschwitz in 1944. At the concentration camp, they underwent medical experiments at the hands of the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. But Kor was not the type to hold grudges, even against Nazis. She publicly forgave Mengele and made headlines in Germany for embracing Auschwitz guard Oskar Groening at his trial in 2015. Kor died in July in Poland while on a trip organized by the Candles Holocaust Museum and Education Center, which she founded in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1995.

Stan Lee onstage at ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY Presents Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic-Con at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly)

Stan Lee
Few had as significant and enduring an impact on the comic book industry — and the international mega-blockbusters that it would eventually spawn — as Stan Lee, the genius behind Marvel comics. Among the characters he co-created with other artists are Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor. He was born Stanley Lieber to Romanian-Jewish immigrants. He died in November at 95.

Simcha Rotem, the last known surviving Jewish fighter from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, outside his home in Jerusalem, July 23, 2011. (Flash90)

Simcha Rotem
Few historical events more dramatically signify Jewish defiance in the face of persecution than the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. And Simcha Rotem, who died in Jerusalem in December at 94, was its last known surviving fighter. Born Kazik Ratajzer in Warsaw in 1924, Rotem lost six members of his family when the Germans bombed his home in 1939. After the uprising, Rotem led surviving fighters from the ghetto through the city sewers, saving their lives. He immigrated to prestate Israel in 1946 and fought in its War of Independence.

Inspiring Jews Who Died in 5779 Read More »

STAY TUNED: Agents

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Q: 1.What’s the best way to find and get signed with an agency? 2.How do you know if the agency is reliable and will get you far? 

Actors often ask this question, as practical concerns are part of the life of an actor. So, let’s get started on this two-parter!

The first consideration I want us to commit to is: you love acting. The whole reason you want to purse professional opportunities to act is because you love the craft of acting. It is easy to get confused or distracted in the business of acting, by the thought, “do they like me?”. Especially when interviewing for agents or people to represent you. But that is not the fundamental thought that will serve you. Everything you are doing comes from your love for your craft and that is your foundation and your purpose.

The best move you can make from this love is to get really good at it. Take classes, train, study, read plays, see plays, pay attention to the details of your daily life and ask yourself how they move you. Journal. What makes you tick? Keep conditioning your mind, body, and emotional life in every way you can. Keep becoming better at what you love to do.

When you are ready, you will start auditioning. You can upload a picture and resume to www.actorsaccess.com and create a profile, so when projects that are right for you are casting, you will be notified and then can submit yourself for an audition! They will most likely send you material to prepare. The great reason to self-submit, is that then you can gain some experience, if you are cast. If you are cast in film projects (I suggest young actors do student films, these are some great, creative projects and the directors of the future), you can get some footage on yourself or a “reel”, and this help people cast you as well. It’s good to have a reel with your picture and resume up on actors access. It’s also good to have all this going on when you start to approach agents.

An agent will partner with you because they believe that if they submit you for work you may book it, and when you do, they get a percentage of your paycheck. That is their job and how they make a living. You don’t ever pay an agent upfront for anything. An agent sees something in you, and is inspired to believe that you will work as an actor. It’s that simple. So as prepared a package as you can have when you meet with this potential future business partner, the easier it will be to see if it’s a good fit for you both.

Agents are people. Each one is an individual with their own lives, experiences, and tastes, just like you. So while this is a business relationship, it’s development is a little more personal because you are an actor and you are you own instrument. So, it can feel personal whether they want to represent you or not. It isn’t. If you are completely prepared and are doing your best, the right match will come along. It is parallel to any relationship in that way. You aren’t in a relationship with everyone you meet, but sometimes you have enough in common with someone that you want to spend more time together. Agents aren’t your friends. It’s a professional partnership, where you are a prepared and dependable actress, and they are prepared and dependable at getting you opportunities to act.

You want to do your research, in your case, on the best agents for youth. Trade papers/websites for actors have annual listings of vetted agents, and their qualifications, and how they prefer to be contacted. If you have friends in your age group that are represented, you can ask them for referrals. Once you have a list and your package together, you can send it to the agents you want to work with requesting a meeting.

You can also ask the people you know who know who are working with good agents tomake a call or set up an email introduction on your behalf. Meet as many as you can until one feels really right. Again, there is a chemistry involved just like any good relationship. Maybe you get a great energy from the agent, they answer all of your questions in a way you trust and understand, you feel excited to embark on a relationship with them where they submit you for work. If all of these elements are in place, wonderful!!

If not, you can keep looking for the right fit. Also, you may want to be with their agency, but they don’t think it’s the right fit. An Emmy winning casting director said to me once: “rejection is gods protection”. This wasn’t meant as a religious statement, we all have our own relationship with the god of our choice. It was a remark on the spiritual nature of life. Sometimes, you think you want something, don’t get it, and realize later it was better that you didn’t. Choosing to trust the process is working for you, is a choice you can make, and a positive mindset .

In terms of the agency being reliable, you know in your gut if they are. If you are sensing they aren’t reliable, you are probably right. But also, do your research and ask around. It is not difficult to look on IMDB and see who their clients are and if they are working. It’s also okay to start out with smaller boutique agencies, but you need to feel confident that they feel reliable and that you can depend on them. If they are newer, this is going to require you asking twice as many questions about their goals and what exactly they plan on doing for you. Sometimes this situation can work beautifully, because you are both starting out together.

Finally, it’s a partnership. Good agents can definitely help you develop your career. Good agents love what they do and hustle, care, have industry contacts, and are pitching you to them. Good agents will communicate with you, give you feedback on your auditions, and help to make you better. Every good actor that is committed should have this. But it is not essential to work.

You can be working on your craft every day. You are not dependent on a representative to be working. In fact, the best relationships with agents are when you are both giving 100% to your career. If only one of you is, the relationship won’t work. The actor has to keep acting while their agent is submitting them. They have to keep training, dong plays, building relationships with other actors that are putting projects together, watching shows, plays, films that have parts for you. It’s a two-way partnership, and the better you are, the easier it is to represent you!

In the meantime, let your love of the craft of acting spur you on! Create you actors access profile, submit yourself for work. Take classes. Pay attention to art of all kinds. Read plays and screenplays. Condition your instrument. Then when the opportunity comes for that great partnership with your future agent, you will be ready!

Please send your specific questions about the art of acting to staytuned@gmail.com and Kymberly will respond to a different question each week! There are no invalid questions, as long as they pertain to your craft and life as an actor. 

Kymberly Harris is an actor’s director. She specializes in character-driven stories, whether the genre is drama, comedy, thriller, or action. Her extensive experience as a method acting coach to professional actors of all ages has led actors to seek her out to direct them towards their best performances in film, television, and theatre projects.

STAY TUNED: Agents Read More »

7 Items You Can Bring to A Rosh Hashanah Celebration

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Beginning on the evening of Sept. 29, Rosh Hashanah is a lot closer than many Jewish Journal readers may realize. As it is an ideal time to bring in the new year (5780) and get together with friends and family you may be finding yourself at a get-together or two.

In turn, it may be best to have something to bring along to keep your host happy. Below are 7 suggestions for items — that don’t include apples and honey—  that you may want to bring to a Rosh Hashanah celebration. 

1) Bouchon Bakery’s Honey Bundt Cake
Bouchon Bakery is inspired by the classic French boulangerie concept, and Chef Thomas Keller’s memories of life in France. Its popular U.S. locations are based in Northern California, Las Vegas and New York City, and through October 1st, Bouchon Bakery will be offering a Honey Bundt Cake and Challah for Rosh Hashanah this year

Offered as both full loaves and cakes —  as well as in slices — the Honey Bundt Cake is be available for nationwide shipping through Goldbelly.com.

2) Bennett’s Butter Co.
A new-ish food brand with two young Jewish founders, Bennett’s Butter Co. was founded by brother-sister-duo Austin and Bess Orwasher (yes, those Orwashers of the famous NYC bakery). While Orwashers has been famous for its bread, its youngest family members are now disrupting the butter industry. Their most popular flavor is Everything Bagel Butter. Filled with onions, garlic, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sea salt, plus a touch of honey, lemon juice, and scallions, every bite is filled with deliciousness.

Should there be leftovers beyond Rosh Hashanah, Bennett’s Butter can be used on everything from a marinade, to popcorn seasoning, or simply as a spread it on your favorite bagel, bread or cracker. It’s also tempting to simply eat by the spoonful. Bennett’s Butter is also available in the following flavors: Roasted Garlic Butter, Cinnamon + Brown Sugar Butter, Sriracha Jalapeno Butter, Blueberry Butter, and Mushroom Butter. It is both sold at major supermarkets and through its website at www.bennettsbutter.com in 6-packs.

3) Treeline Treenut Cheese
Treeline Treenut Cheese is the first dairy-free cheese maker with certified kosher and “parve” cheeses. With an array of flavorful, soft French-style and aged plant-based cheeses, Treeline Treenut Cheese draws on traditional dairy cheese-making methods by fermenting creamy cashew nuts with a healthy probiotic, known as L. Acidophilus. This produces a creamy consistency, smooth texture and the rich, natural fermented flavors normally associated with fine dairy cheeses.

The company also recently debuted a Premium New York Style Plain Cream cheese made with just five ingredients: cashew nuts, filtered water, sea salt, lemon juice, L. Acidophilus. In total, Treeline Treenut Cheese, has expanded to include seven flavors and is available in more than 3,000 grocery and specialty stores nationwide, while also recently launching their new online store that sells the cheeses directly to customers.

4) Daily Harvest’s Limited-Edition Kabocha + Spice Latte
At Daily Harvest, the belief is “living good starts with good food” as the food” feeds us physically, mentally and emotionally.” The brand has a Michelin-trained chef and topline nutritionist at the helm to craft and balance all of its soups, smoothies, lattes, bowls, and bites.

Its new Limited-Edition Kabocha + Spice Latte is essentially rich organic coffee fitted into a perfect, seasonal latte and done right. Warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice alongside rich coconut cream make it taste like all the good things fall brings. Cordyceps, an ancient adaptogen, brings holistic, immune-strengthening nourishment for a seriously good for you sip. At only 80 calories per serving, it is nutritious, delicious and sure to keep you alert.

5) Stella Rosa Peach Aluminums
With easily twistable caps and fun packaging, these Stella Rosa aluminums – aluminum cans, of course — are perfect for all activities and lifestyles. Wine for anytime, the Riboli Family created Stella Rosa Peach Aluminums with a proprietary blend of several white grape varietals including Moscato with an addition of natural peach flavors that make it truly distinct. Riboli Family Estates was notably the 2018 American Winery of the Year, according to Wine Enthusiast.

6) Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co.’s Peerless Bourbon
The Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. released its first bourbon in 102 years in June, and as the story goes, it sold out on day one. It released a second batch in August which again sold out immediately. This limited-release bourbon made its outside of Kentucky starting this month and the likelihood it will stay on the shelves long is slim.

Its Peerless Bourbon is rooted in fruits, florals and oaks. The nose features citrus, cedar and honeysuckle as well as a nice balance of spicy oak. Notes of caramel and toasted oak are welcome on the palate while the finish showcases both sweet and spicy notes as citrus and florals duel against dry cocoa and spicy oak. Peerless Bourbon exclusively uses sweet mash instead of sour and non-chilled filtration, barrels product at 107 proof and bottles it as a barrel strength whiskey.

7) Amy Rosen’s “Kosher Style: Over 100 Jewish Recipes For The Modern Cook”
For the same price as a good cake or bottle of wine, you also have the option of purchasing an excellent cookbook that your host can use for the long-term. Amy Rosen’s “Kosher Style: Over 100 Jewish Recipes For The Modern Cook” aims to give you all the recipes you need for successful shellfish-free (and pork-free) home entertaining, be it for a Jewish holiday or a workaday dinner. From crave-worthy snacks to family-size salads, soulful mains to show-stopping desserts, all of the recipes are doable in the home kitchen and are clearly marked as either a meat dish, a dairy dish, or as pareve.

“Kosher Style” is for anyone who likes to cook and loves to eat. Rosen is notably a James Beard Award-nominated, award-winning freelance journalist who is also the author of five books, including the bestselling “Toronto Cooks” and its follow-up, “Toronto Eats.” She is also the founder of Rosen’s Cinnamon Buns, in case you seek top-notch cinnamon buns for this year’s Rosh Hashanah outing.

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