by Hannah Brown
Jewish creators behind Mad Men and The Americans describe the growing antisemitism that young artists face.
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‘I knew I’d find out here what’s really going on in TV, because Israel always knows,” said Mad Men creator, Matthew Weiner, on Monday at the final day of Jerusalem Sessions, a three-day event for leading television industry professionals from Israel and around the world held at the National Library of Israel. “The Israeli artists and producers I’ve met here are amazing.”
Weiner was joined at the event by Joel Fields, co-creator of The Americans, another of the greatest television series of all time, in a summit modeled after international events such as Series Mania and Canneseries. In addition to the presentations, it was a networking event, with plenty of time for snacks and schmooze, and highlighted the capital’s role as a hub for creativity and innovation.
Jerusalem Sessions was an initiative of the Jerusalem Media Initiative at the Jerusalem Development Authority, and was supported by the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage, and the Jerusalem Municipality. Representatives of the major Israeli players in the content and creative technology sectors, including SIPUR and Lightricks, were also present.
Just before the event began on Monday morning, Fields spoke to The Jerusalem Post about his recent decision to help launch the Jewish Entertainment Alliance, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, with Homeland creator Howard Gordon, actress Ginner Goodwin, and others to help combat antisemitism in Hollywood.
He mentioned how his grandparents moved to Israel when he was a child and said that his sister, brother-in-law, and other relatives live here, before he described how he has observed the rise of antisemitism following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
'Place started by Jews, created by Jews': Joel Fields
"We’re trying to support a younger generation that has felt under siege in Hollywood. It’s shocking to those of us who grew up knowing Hollywood as a place started by Jews, created by Jews, and which was purposefully welcoming to the broadest possible community. To see the industry turn on its Jewish members has been painful."“Of course, people will say they haven’t turned on Jews, only on ‘Zionist oppressors,’ but that phrase has become a new code for anti-Jewish bigotry – and we know what it is.”
He said that younger artists are suffering the most in this new climate of antisemitism. “Writers, directors, actors – they’ve come to us with horrible experiences. So, there was a joint effort to create a new organization that we hope will move the needle and promote the dialogue that is needed. It’s harder when you’re just starting out, without the protection of an established career.”
Asked whether Fields had experienced antisemitism personally, he said, “Absolutely. People don’t realize they’re singling out the Jewish state with a unique double standard. They’ll hear something like the Al-Shifa Hospital story – a lie – and still remember it as truth. They’ll say, ‘We have no issue with Jews, just Israel,’ which they frame as the embodiment of all evil.
“They don’t recognize the bigotry; they think it’s moral righteousness… Most people in the West think Jews are only a religion. They don’t understand Jews as an ancient people with a shared homeland, culture, and history – multiplicities of religious expression, all bound by one book and one story. That misunderstanding is part of the confusion right now.”
His children have also experienced antisemitism following the October 7 attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israel-Hamas War. “Yes. It’s common. Some young Jews embrace anti-Zionism to shield themselves. Others fight back. Others brush it off. In the West, it feels like a fact of life.”
In his appearance on stage in the library’s auditorium, speaking to writers Niv Hadas and Gili Izikovich, Fields talked about creating The Americans, a series about Soviet spies in Washington in the 1980s, with former CIA officer Joe Weisberg.
Asked about Jewish themes in The Americans, he said, “The show had a significant Soviet Jewish story, of course, that explored what it was like to be [in America] and what it was like to be [in the USSR], which were obviously very different Jewish experiences.” He said that he and Weisberg worked with Russian emigres to ensure the authenticity of the series.
Asked to say a few words in Hebrew, he admitted he was nervous but nevertheless went ahead and said, “I just wanted to say that I am very emotional to be here with you and to be here with the people of Israel, in the Land of Israel and with...” He briefly lapsed into English, saying, “the creative community,” then returned to Hebrew to say, “My sister is here.” Hadas and Izikovich said they hoped he would work in Israel in the future, to which Fields replied, “I would love to… let’s continue the conversation.”
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion addressed the audience and implored the international guests to “tell the truth about Jerusalem,” to counter lies being told around the world. Eyal Benbenisty, director of the Jerusalem Media Initiative, and Daniel Susz, director of Jerusalem Sessions, spoke and interviewed guests, as did the trio behind the popular podcast The Movie Eaters – Liad Herman, Nitay Dagan, and Arnon Rosenthal – who brought their humor and enthusiasm to the stage as they conducted some of the interviews.
Others taking part in the event included Danny Cohen, the British producer whose films include The Zone of Interest, about the commandant of Auschwitz and his family. After the film’s director, Jonathan Glazer, made a confusing speech when he accepted the Best International Feature Oscar in 2024, saying that the Holocaust and Judaism had been “hijacked by an occupation,” Cohen was the only one who worked on the film to criticize the statement.
Noted Cohen: “People won’t remember what Jon said after the Oscars for very long, people… will watch that film for, I hope, many, many decades… I started speaking out about anti-Jewish prejudice and October 7, and it would have been, I think, hypocritical of me… if I had stayed quiet.” He said he had chosen not to bring up the issue with Glazer.
Hagai Levi, creator of the new series Etty, based on Etty Hillesum’s diaries, and one of the creators of the original BeTipul, spoke critically of the Israeli government. Unlike other creators working abroad, he said he had not faced antisemitism, partly because he had the “luxury” of not taking money from Israeli film funds. The greatest hatred he had faced was from the right-wing extremists in Israel. “I’ve never felt threatened, I’ve felt hated,” he said.
Acclaimed author Eshkol Nevo, whose novel, Three Floors Up, was made into a movie by Nanni Moretti, said he was working on a screenplay based on one of his stories in the collection, Hungry Heart. The other stories would be adapted into another film by Moretti, he said.
Other participants in the event included Susan Rovner, the CEO at MicroCo and former chairman of entertainment content at NBCUniversal; Hagar Ben Asher, the co-creator of Bad Boy, and director of Dead Women Walking; Erik Barmack, the producer of Dark and Cable Girls; producer Danna Stern, whose credits include On the Spectrum and His Honor; and Dikla Barkai, one of the producers of Shtisel.
For the final interview of the day, Sigal Avin, creator of the series Losing Alice, spoke to Weiner about Mad Men.
“When I wrote the Mad Men pilot on spec, nobody wanted it,” said Weiner. “It was rejected everywhere. Years later, when I was [a writer] on The Sopranos, David [Chase, creator of The Sopranos] read it. He gave me this piece of advice before I went into casting: ‘You’re going to hear it, and it’s going to sound terrible. But when the right person reads it, you’ll know. Don’t rewrite it, it’s good.’
“He was right. That faith – in the material, in the audience – changed how I work.”
While Don Draper, the main character, played by Jon Hamm, is famous as a complex anti-hero, Weiner talked about the other characters as well. Betty Draper, Don’s first wife, was based partly on his mother, he said.
“With Betty, I was writing from a very loving, compassionate place about squandered potential. I honestly feel this woman probably shouldn’t have had children. She could have run one of the biggest arms, weapons factories in the world. That’s how capable she is – and how boxed in.”
Asked how he has kept going in a famously difficult business, Weiner said, “I say this without exaggeration: I’ve been rejected more than anybody in this room. Constantly. I’m very sensitive; I hate it. I don’t know why I survived, but somehow I thrive on it.
“What saves me is the writing itself. When I’m writing, I am completely in control of my world. I know who’s going to win, who’s going to lose, who’s going to kiss whom, and who’s going to fly. I don’t know it when I start, but I decide it. That world is incredibly satisfying. Even when it’s not going well, in the back of my mind I know, ‘I can rewrite this.’”
Talking about one of the more prominent Jewish characters on the show, department-store heiress Rachel Menken, he discussed a line in which she said of Israel, “I’m glad it’s there,” even though she did not want to move there.
“Let’s not assume I agree with everything my characters say. That line is hers… She’s talking to someone who isn’t Jewish. I think it’s a wonderful line; it encapsulates a very American attitude from that period: Israel is essential, existential – ‘I’m glad it’s there’ – but also far away,” he said. “Would I write it now? I don’t know. But I absolutely believe she felt that way.”
Hannah Brown
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/article-879763
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