The Dilemma of Non-Jews Playing Jewish Characters

The Dilemma of Non-Jews Playing Jewish Characters

It is highly doubtful that Golda Meir could have imagined that forty years after her death Jews would create a storm in Hollywood regarding the actress who would play her character in the upcoming biopic “Golda.”  

Filling Golda’s shoes in the production is the non-Jewish British actress Helen Mirren. This casting sparked a protest by Jewish actors in the United States and the UK against non-Jews playing Jewish characters in movies and series. Just as African or Asian actors insist on portraying African or Asian roles on screen, Jewish actors assert that only a Jewish actor is capable of embodying Jewish characters and representing their people. 

I strongly and unequivocally agree with this opinion. Not only because Golda Meir is a Jewish Zionist figure, the Prime Minister who led Israel in the tense days of the Yom Kippur War, but because the Jewish spirit cannot be conveyed at all by non-Jews. Even if it were Albert Einstein, who lived far from Zionist ideals in America and was totally immersed in the world of science, a non-Jewish actor could not express the same spirit.

I strongly and unequivocally agree with this opinion. Not only because Golda Meir is a Jewish Zionist figure, the Prime Minister who led Israel in the tense days of the Yom Kippur War, but because the Jewish spirit cannot be conveyed at all by non-Jews. Even if it were Albert Einstein, who lived far from Zionist ideals in America and was totally immersed in the world of science, a non-Jewish actor could not express the same spirit.

In the world of cinema there are many examples of non-Jews who have played the roles of Jews, but much more than the complex facial expressions, body language, and distinctive speech, it is the inner spirit that is indescribable. 

If we were to conduct a comparative test, I think both Jews and non-Jews would agree that it is impossible to play a Jew if you are not a Jew. Why is that? It is because of the collective experiences endured by this people throughout the ages that pulses in the fiber of their being. Jews are a people who took the role on humanity’s stage at the foot of Mount Sinai to be a "light unto the nations," a symbol and model of social unity. This is a spiritual message and mission that has not disappeared; it is engraved within them and is passed on from generation to generation. Whether we like it or not, the Jewish spirit is present and alive in every Jew, regardless of the country in which Jews live. 

I have seen Jews from China to South America, from Europe to the Far East, and although the different local culture has influenced their lifestyle, they still remain Jews. They have an essential inner quality that does not allow them to escape their Jewishness, so much so that they can be perceived as Jews. This living heritage cannot be replicated or simulated with authenticity by someone who lacks the innate quality. Therefore, a non-Jewish actor or actress cannot play a Jew. 

In short, non-Jewish actors can be great and win praise by playing Jews on stage, but in practice, the deep and substantial spiritual root instilled in the Jewish psyche, which is connected to the root of creation, will not touch the heart of the viewer.

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How to Play the Game of Life

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Why do children wake up with their eyes wide open and jump out of bed while we open them just wide enough to see the phone so we can set it to snooze? Why are young people energetic and ready to “conquer the world” while older people are cautious and hesitant? Can we stay young-spirited forever? After all, if life is not a game, there is no excitement in it. And if there is no excitement in life, what is the point of living?


If we want to keep enjoying, we need to make life a lifelong game. This game is very different from anything we know. It is not about what we can receive, but about what we can discover! By connecting to other people, we discover new worlds, other people’s worlds!

How do we achieve this? Quite simply, we need to focus on others rather than on ourselves. This may sound simple, but if you try it, you will realize how self-absorbed you are.

We are all like that. Even those who feel that they are generous and giving are absorbed in their giving and do not see how much they do it for their own interest, and how they are focused on their own benefit when they give. Giving is fine, but the focus is the point here. Had the focus been on the receiver, the giver would have discovered countless revelations that are hidden from a self-centered eye.

For the game to succeed, you need partners. It is impossible to play the game of giving without people to whom you can give and from whom you can receive. Therefore, there must be a group of people, up to ten or so, who play the game together.

In order to succeed in discovering the other players’ worlds, we need to think good thoughts about them. Otherwise, we will have no incentive to approach them, no desire to discover their world. We can think good thoughts about each other if we do good things for one another. These can be the simplest things, but they must make us feel good about each other. Positive thoughts about each other bring us closer, and closeness opens our minds and hearts to others, so we can see the world through their eyes.

As with any game, the more we practice, the better we get, and the harder, yet more rewarding the game becomes. But unlike any other game, as we improve in it, we will find that our entire perspective on life changes and expands, and we become wiser and more competent.

The game of life, unlike any other game, reveals to us the secrets of life, the secrets of reality, because when you can look at something from all angles, nothing remains hidden from you.

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