“The Spy,” Netflix’s new show starring Sacha Baron Cohen, retells the heroic story of legendary Mossad agent Eli Cohen during his years undercover in Syria in the 1960s. In honor of this Friday’s premiere, we pulled a Moment exclusive from the archives: Am I My Brother’s Keeper? A Spy Discovers the Truth about His Beloved Brother.
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TV became the preeminent communication force in society from the 1960s onward, with Jews at the creative and business forefront. Walter J. Podrazik and Harry Castleman continue their entertaining survey of the medium’s history with a focus on influential figures such as Fred Silverman, Brandon Tartikoff, Barry Diller and Sumner Redstone and the groundbreaking shows they brought to the screen such as Seinfeld, Happy Days, Charlie’s Angels, Hill Street Blues, The Cosby Show, The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory plus made-for-TV movies and miniseries such as Roots. Their achievements paved the way for the growth of cable, and eventually streaming.
B.F. Pierce is a brilliantly developed, multifaceted character, perhaps best analyzed by M.A.S.H.’s Army psychiatrist, the Jewish Dr. Sydney Friedman (played by Alan Arbus). The doctor’s observation that “while anger turned inward becomes depression, anger turned sideways is Hawkeye Pierce.”
In Our Boys, Tel Aviv native Adam Gabay stars as Avishay Elbaz, a troubled Yeshiva student suspected of taking part in the murder of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy. Lilly Gelman spoke with Gabay over Zoom about his methods of character development and what he learned from his time on the screen.
Since the Civil War, over 400 rabbis have offered prayers during the opening sessions of Congress. C-SPAN Communications Director Howard Mortman shares fascinating stories about some of these rabbis, the mixing of politics into prayers and how words of Torah are tied to the issues of the day.
Crowdsourcing has become a vital tool for many of the Jewish institutions attempting to record and preserve the community’s response to the pandemic.
Tall and blonde with a striking English accent, her height only slightly less discernible over video call, Seymour spoke to Editorial Fellow Lilly Gelman over Zoom from her apartment in Berlin. She explained how she felt a “heartfelt yearning” for the show since she herself was raised in a religious cult and thrown out at the age of 16. But while she felt an emotional connection to Esty and her story, Seymour’s personal life did not influence her design work, which, she says is based purely on observation and character development.
