JANUARY 27

Written By Leslie Schapira

Dede Bandaid and Nitzan Mintz Art Studio

🕯 THEME OF THE NIGHT

There was an undercurrent running through every share - a refusal to shrink.
Artists, activists, students, funders, technologists, writers, and policymakers speaking openly about identity, antisemitism, creativity, and courage.

Less “how do we defend ourselves?”
More “how do we build, fund, create, and connect - boldly?”

The Needs of the Community

🎬 STORYTELLING, FILM & CREATIVE VOICE

  • Nim Shapira (Filmmaker & Creative Director)
    Produced TORN Documentary and is now working on a new Holocaust-related documentary exploring 23andMe and identity. Seeking funding and strategic partners. A self-described connector - if you need something (or someone), he’s your guy.

  • Ben Hagari (Artist, Filmmaker, Animator)
    Guggenheim Fellow developing a film adaptation of the Israeli play Walkers in the Dark. Exploring how to bring the project to broader audiences internationally.

  • Malka Wallick (Actor & Filmmaker)
    Our Bodies & Other Shames is entering the film festival circuit. Focused on the universality of girlhood and nuance within Orthodox life. Seeking PR support and media coaching rooted in empathy. Offering coffee meetings to NYC creatives.

  • Dede Bandaid & Nitzan Mintz (Artists & Cultural Ambassadors)
    Create murals as cultural diplomacy. Launching a book around their campaign and exploring how to build effective guerilla art movements. Can offer their deep connections to schools - they have developed the connections by inviting students into their studio to learn, study, and engage with contemporary Jewish art.

  • Ava Eden (Student & Writer)
    Writing for Jewish publications and exploring how to contribute meaningfully to the Jewish intellectual world through research and journalism.

  • Jill Santapolo (Novelist & Publisher, Penguin Random House)
    Passionate about elevating Jewish voices in literature. Offering meetings and publishing guidance to writers incorporating Jewish narratives into their work.

  • Yardenne Greenspan (Writer & Translator)
    Translating trauma narratives and Israeli stories. Seeking literary journals unafraid of nuanced Israeli realities and an agent willing to represent work that speaks honestly about Israel.

  • Yardena Schwartz (Author)
    Author of a book on the Ghosts of the Holy War. Now focusing her energy on how to solve for how little we know our own history and is dedicated to educating audiences through speaking and writing.

🧠 IDENTITY, CAMPUS & BELONGING

  • Penelope Salomon (Sophomore, Barnard College)
    Shared candidly about isolation, social alienation, and the cost of being openly Zionist on campus. Looking for community spaces where she doesn’t have to shrink or self-edit.

  • Victoria Anesh (Jewish Philanthropy Professional)
    Spoke about the rarity - and power - of creative people speaking openly. These conversations create hope.

⚖️ ADVOCACY, POLITICS & IDEAS

  • Shai Davidai (Zionist Activist & Professor)
    Launching a book in September on American intellectual antisemitism and strategies to combat ideological warfare. Producing a podcast and apparel line aimed at normalizing the word “Zionist.” Seeking funding and a fundraiser. Offering his platform to amplify aligned voices.

  • Tal Keinan (Author & Policy Thinker)
    Wrote God Is in the Crowd. Exploring how to reconnect Jews to Judaism and how to harness this moment of rising antisemitism toward deeper Jewish engagement. Looking to recruit high-level academic leaders (PHD Students) from the states to go to Israel.

  • Michael Goldfarb (Democratic Congressional Candidate, Brooklyn)
    Focused on combating antisemitism in public policy. Seeking funding to amplify messaging and volunteers for door-knocking ahead of the June 23 election. Offering political education, event space, and international policy connections.

  • Yael Bar-Tur (Crisis PR & Media Strategist)
    Previously director of Social Media at NYP, podcast host of Ask A Jew, and crisis communications consultant. Writing and publishing commentary - specifically on her Substack “Everyone on the Internet Hates You”. Open to feedback and collaboration in literary and media spaces.

💡 CAPITAL, TECH & INFRASTRUCTURE

  • Bill Adler (Investor)
    Building a “Digital Iron Dome” - launched a fund that supports Israeli entrepreneurs creating technology that protects Western institutions and infrastructure. Seeking aligned investors who want to back “superheroes” building security and integrity in cyberspace and beyond.

  • Michael Girshin (Anesthesiologist)
    Raising funds for an Israeli RV/surfing initiative - blending community, culture, and resilience.

  • Josh Kadden (Entrepreneur - Mitzvah)
    Opened the Nova exhibit. Focusing now on modern consumer brand - Mitzvah - that is a modernized CPG company with events & experiences that express Jewish wisdom and values. Encouraging a shift from defensive posture to cultural confidence - “show them why our culture is dope.” 

  • Becca Litt (Foundation Executive, Media Focus)
    Works at a foundation supporting TV, film, and arts initiatives. Interested in ideas - particularly those engaging influencers and young adults in the space between college activism and traditional fundraising.

  • Doreen Remen (Nonprofit Founder, Art World)
    Leads a nonprofit producing and supporting art projects. Focused on strengthening the ecosystem for Jewish and Israeli artists globally.

🎭 COMMUNITY OFFERS & CONNECTIONS

  • Neil Goldman (Producer, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)
    Seeking meaningful Jewish communal experiences. If you’re interested in bringing people into Jewish spaces, he serves on the board of Chabad West Village and would love to connect. Looking for next producing gig in the spring.

👀 Watch / Read / Support:

Leslie Schapira
Next

October 28