January 6, 2026

‘TORN’ Film Documents the Battle to Keep Up Hostage Posters in NYC

On October 7, Hamas kidnapped 251 people from Israel. Soon after, the hostages’ faces were seen on posters that said “KIDNAPPED” throughout New York City. While it was comforting to see these faces at first, a battle erupted on city streets, with people tearing down the posters in defiance.

Now, that struggle is captured in the new documentary, “TORN: The Israel–Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets,” by Israeli-born, and now Brooklyn-based, filmmaker Nim Shapira. In it, he interviews 10 people – family members of the hostages, artists, and activists – and explores the themes of free speech, identity, and empathy in a time of deep polarization.

“Friends and colleagues were telling me the hostages were AI, or actors,” Shapira told the Journal. “And then people of every age group, every ethnicity, every background started ripping the posters down. It was surreal. Watching them come down was shocking, confusing, and painful — and yet I was fascinated by what the act revealed. People weren’t just ripping paper. They were expressing anger, denial, mob mentality, and in many cases, complete emotional shutdown. It felt like empathy collapsing in real time.”

“It felt like empathy collapsing in real time.”
– Nim Shapira

The 75-minute documentary is currently Oscar-qualified and under consideration for Best Documentary Feature; the Academy invited Shapira for a conversation and uploaded it to their official YouTube channel, which reaches millions. It was also recently licensed by PBS for national broadcast and international distribution.

Over the past year, Shapira has hosted more than 100 in-person screenings throughout the United States, including Ivy League campuses to Jewish community spaces to civic and interfaith organizations. Each screening was followed by honest and sometimes intense conversations with audiences.

“These discussions have become as central to the project as the film itself,” said Shapira.

Throughout the film, Shapira shows not only why the posters went up, but why people justified tearing them down. However, he said there was a common theme: “They all converged into one thing: erasing Jewish pain. The posters were being torn down, yes, but so was the social fabric of the city.”

The filmmaker, who has lived in New York City for 13 years, is cautiously hopeful about the situation there, he said, “not because things look good, but because the alternative is unlivable. New York is too diverse, too intertwined, too interdependent for permanent fracture. Our only path forward is learning to disagree without dehumanizing. Bridges aren’t built from agreement. They’re built from curiosity, humility, and the willingness to see someone else’s pain even when you don’t share it.”

While “TORN” is a snapshot of time in New York, its themes resonate across the U.S., as well as other Western cities grappling with division, antisemitism, and free speech issues.

“Antisemitism isn’t a Jewish problem, just like Asian hate isn’t a ‘problem’ for the Asian American community,” Shapira said. “These things reflect something much bigger and darker in the society we live in.”

With “TORN,” Shapira said he hopes to help people step out of their own bubble and see “the other.” He wants viewers to “question the narratives they know — and consider the possibility that multiple truths can exist at once. To disagree without dehumanizing. To hold complexity without shutting down.”

Already, the film has received positive coverage from liberal and conservative outlets, and from audiences that span Jews, Muslims, Christians, and more.

“I want ‘TORN’ to live in universities, community centers, synagogues, mosques, churches, and living rooms… anywhere people gather to try to understand one another,” Shapira said. “If the film helps even a few people pause, listen more compassionately, or rethink how they engage with people who hold different truths, then it’s already done its job.”

To host a screening of “TORN,” visit Torn-film.com

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Los Angeles Area Jewish Preschools and Early Childhood Centers Receive $1 Million in Grants from EarlyJ Program

Community / Kylie Ora Lobell

Jewish preschools and early childhood centers in Los Angeles are getting a boost: EarlyJ, which makes investments to advance the quality, impact, and reach of Jewish early childhood education, is giving $1 million in grants to 13 schools. They include Temple Isaiah Preschool, Tashbar Sephardic Yeshiva Ketana, Levy Family ECC of Sephardic Temple, Erika J Glazer Early Childhood Center of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and Hillel Hebrew Academy.

“Investing in Jewish ECE, which supports young families at such a formative moment in their lives, is an investment in the Jewish future,” said Sharona Israeli-Roth, founding president and executive director of EarlyJ. “As young families begin to build their life routines, we want the Jewish community to welcome them in and offer the support, rituals, and friendships that add meaning for the rest of their lives.”

“We want the Jewish community to welcome them in and offer the support, rituals, and friendships that add meaning for the rest of their lives.” – Sharona Israeli-Roth

EarlyJ, which was founded in the Bay Area, is supported by The Rodan Family Foundation, Koum Family Foundation, Weingarten Foundation, several other American Jewish funders, and UnitEd/Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. The organization’s investments in the Bay Area have led to a nearly eight percent Jewish ECE enrollment increase as well as six new preschools. Research shows that Jewish preschools and ECEs are where parents and children become active members of their Jewish communities.

“Dan Senor recently talked about investing in a Jewish Renaissance,” Israeli-Roth said. “There’s no more consequential, impactful place to start making that happen than where Jewish communal life truly begins: at early childhood. This is where families first connect to community, where identity takes shape, and where lifelong relationships with other families, with Jewish values, and with a sense of belonging are formed.”

She continued, “If Jewish infant and toddler centers are not easily accessible, parents simply turn to closer non-Jewish options. Once parents start their routine and build friendships at a non-Jewish infant center, it’s very difficult to get them into a Jewish preschool later.”

According to Floryn Rosenberg, director of the Erika J Glazer Early Childhood Center, the EarlyJ funds her school received will go towards an additional classroom for toddlers and a redesign of the outdoor spaces “to reflect the joyful, inquiry-based Jewish learning that anchors our program,” she said. “Our toddler program is often a family’s first step into Jewish communal life. It serves as a gateway into lifelong Jewish connection and belonging. This investment expands access for families, strengthens our educators, and creates meaningful spaces where our youngest children can explore, wonder, and thrive.”

Now that EarlyJ is thriving in the Bay Area, the work will continue there and in LA – and perhaps beyond as well.

“Our investment model has proven to increase enrollment while retaining and empowering educators,” said Israeli-Roth. “We hope other funders and communities commit to creating a Jewish Renaissance, to welcoming more families into Jewish life in these formative years, and to creating a thriving Jewish future.”

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Beneath the Surface: Courage, Community, and the Ocean

Blogs, Commentary, Travel / Lisa Ellen Niver

Diving into Courage: Strength at Depth with Lisa Niver, Author of BRAVE-ish: One Breakup, Six Continents, and Feeling Fearless After Fifty 1. What does being BRAVE mean to you? Being brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared — it means you move forward with the fear. To me, bravery is choosing to stay present in the uncertainty of life. It shows up in the moments when we’re underwater and the world goes still, and also in the moments when we’re sitting alone with our own story, deciding whether we’re willing to tell the truth. Being brave is letting yourself be seen. Divers literally step off the edge into the unknown blue and trust our training, our buddy, and our breath. “Bravery is the willingness to keep going when the outcome is not guaranteed. It’s choosing curiosity over comfort.” 2. One of the most brave things is being vulnerable—and you did just that in your book, laying out personal stories. What was the scariest part of that process? Honestly, every part was scary. It was hard to write the book. Turning it into my publisher and waiting for it to publish was a bit terrifying as well. When you’re underwater, you trust your training: your regulator will deliver air, your BCD will lift you. But in writing my story, there was no regulator, no gauge, no buddy check. It was just me and the truth, wondering how people would receive it. The fear was: What will happen when people actually read this? And then — the beautiful surprise — so many people said: “Your story made me feel less alone.” That’s when I knew the risk was worth it. Sharing my truth meant releasing control over how others might react. The day BRAVE-ish came out, I thought, People are going to know all of this about me. But the notes I received were beautiful — people saying, “Your story makes me feel less alone.” That connection made every moment of fear worthwhile.

Diving Palancar Gardens in Cozumel with Punta Sur Divers, Photo by Catalina Velasco

3. What does it mean to “continue,” not just to start, but to stay open, curious, and brave again? Starting is exciting. Continuing is the work. Anyone can start something once. But staying open—continuing to stretch, restart, return—that is where courage lives. In diving, every descent is new — even if you’ve been to the site before. Conditions change, currents shift, visibility evolves. We adapt. Life is the same. We keep showing up. We keep practicing wonder. We keep learning. We keep choosing wonder over withdrawal. We keep choosing to try again — even when it would be easier not to.

Lisa and Cris diving Palancar Gardens in Cozumel with Punta Sur Divers, Photo by Catalina Velasco

4. If you could leave DEMA attendees with one thought about courage (both in diving and in life), what would it be? Have a buddy. We understand this in diving, but we sometimes forget it in life. Courage doesn’t have to be solo. In diving, we have buddy checks, safety signals, and shared awareness. In life, we sometimes forget we’re allowed to ask for that same support. Find your community — your underwater tribe, your creative circle, your people. Courage becomes easier when we know we won’t have to surface alone. Let people help you hold the weight of the world when it feels like too much. And be willing to do the same for them.

5. Do you think courage can ripple outward? If bravery is contagious, what kind of ripple do you hope to start here at DEMA? Absolutely. Courage creates echoes. I recently spoke with the CHUM Scuba Club in Houston on Zoom, and it is powerful to share stories with people who understand the language of depth — literally and emotionally. One diver says “I tried.” Another says “Maybe I can try too.” And suddenly, a wave moves through a community. As BRAVE-ish celebrates its second birthday here in the Authors Corner at DEMA, my hope is this ripple: Your story matters. Your voice matters. The ocean has room for you — exactly as you are. If my being brave helps one other person take a step toward their own courage — then that’s a wave worth making. Courage is contagious. The diving community knows how to hold each other. We leap together. We learn together. That’s courage — shared. RECENT DIVES: Cozumel: