South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conference and festival held in Austin, Texas since 1987. The 10-day event includes a film festival, concerts, workshops, a trade show, speaker panels, and many other activities, attracting tens of thousands of people. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, SXSW organizers have decided to cancel this year’s event, which was scheduled to begin this week. In the past, there has been a large Jewish presence at SXSW, not only in the number of Jewish attendees, but in terms of the specific activities taking place. Films on Jewish themes, panels on topics of interest to Jews, and Shabbat activities are among the many programs with a Jewish theme. Which of the following was a 2018 Jewish-themed SXSW event?

SXSW 2012: South by Southwest 2012 by shelbysdrummond is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

A. A production of the play Bar Mitzvah Boy by Mark Leiren-Young, about a non-observant Jewish man in his sixties who suddenly decides to become a bar mitzvah and his interaction with a rabbi who is not sure about her own faith.

B. A performance by the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars as part of their 25th anniversary tour.

C. A presentation of the one-man show IN BETWEEN, written and performed by Ibrahim Miari. In the show, Miari, the son of a Palestinian Muslim father and an Israeli Jewish mother, tells of his unique upbringing in two worlds, his theater and dance studies, and his work with Israeli and Palestinian students in a Canadian “Peace camp” as he struggles to reconcile his dual identities.

D. A dance performance by the Israeli Batsheva Dance Company called Venezuela, choreographed by Ohad Naharin. The piece consists of two 40-minute sections with choreography that is the same in both, but music style, lighting and cast which change.

E. A screening of the documentary movie Death Metal Grandma about a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor who became a death metal singer. 

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Joe Biden’s campaign for the Democratic party presidential nomination received a huge boost with his big win in the South Carolina primary. Biden has a long history of support for Israel. At the 2013 AIPAC conference, Joe Biden spoke of his love for Israel and described the moment years earlier when he first realized that Israel mattered to him. As a child in 1948, he sat at his dinner table listening to his father speak about the debate over the establishment of a Jewish state, and it greatly impacted him. How did he describe what his father told him?

Sen. Joe Biden at Kewpee Burger by Beth Rankin is licensed under CC BY 2.0

A. “It was at that table I first heard the phrase that is overused sometimes today, but in a sense not used meaningfully enough...the phrase, ‘Never again.’ It was at that table that I learned that the only way to ensure that it could never happen again was the establishment and the existence of a secure, Jewish state of Israel.”

B. “It was at that table I first heard the phrase that says so much in only three words ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’ the people of Israel live, the nation of Israel lives. It was at that table that I learned that the only way to ensure that the Jewish people, the people of Israel, would continue to live was the establishment and the existence of a secure, Jewish state of Israel.”

C. “It was at that table I first heard the strange word ‘sabra,’ used to describe Israeli people, that they were like the prickly pear–tough on the outside but sweet and delicate on the inside. It was at that table that I learned that the only way to ensure that these unique and special people, these sabras, could continue to thrive was through the establishment and existence of a secure, Jewish state of Israel.”

D. “It was at that table I first heard the word ‘Hatikva,’ the beautiful anthem of the Jewish people, which meant ‘the Hope.’ It was at that table that I learned that the only way to ensure that the hope of Israel to survive and thrive after the horror of the Holocaust was the establishment and the existence of a secure, Jewish state of Israel.”

E. “It was at that table I first heard the word that is used by so many Jews today, the word ‘Bamba,’ that incredible snack that was in a basket on the table. Now my father was talking about Israel, why there should be a Jewish state or something. But I don’t really know what the heck he was talking about because I was just focused on this amazing Israeli peanut butter-flavored crunchy snack. Now, as a politician, I’m used to eating just about anything. Corn dogs, deep-fried Oreos, bacon balls, and smoked raccoon. And being just a regular guy, I love it all. But it was at that table, when I first ate Bamba, that I learned that the only way to ensure that I could keep eating that heavenly food was with the establishment and existence of a secure, Jewish state of Israel.” 

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Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and his Israeli wife (singer and model Daniella Pick) just welcomed their first child. The couple have a home in the affluent Tel Aviv neighborhood of Ramat Aviv Gimel, and Tarantino, who plans to learn Hebew, says that Israel is now his home. Tarantino recently won the Golden Globe award for Best Screenplay for the film Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, and in his speech, he addressed his wife who was at home awaiting the birth of their child, saying, “todah, geveret,” meaning, “thank you, ma’am.” How did Tarantino and his wife spend Christmas/Chanukkah at their Israeli home this past December?

Quentin Tarantino by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

A. Watching the 1947 holiday classic comedy-drama Miracle on 34th Street. The movie tells of a Macys Santa Claus named Kris Kringle (played by Edmund Gwenn) who claims he really is Santa Claus, leading to a trial to prove his sanity and verify his claim, ultimately restoring faith to those around him.

B. Watching the 1946 holiday classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life. In the film, starring James Stewart, a suicidal George Bailey’s life is saved through the intervention of his guardian angel, ending with George surrounded by his loving family and singing Auld Lang Syne.

C. Watching the 2000 animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The movie, based on the book by Dr. Seuss, stars Jim Carrey as the Grinch who decides to ruin Christmas for the residents of Whoville. However, his encounter with six-year-old Cindy Lou Who ultimately leads him to an epiphany and a renewed understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.

D. Watching the 1997 animated version of A Christmas Carol, about a miserly businessman, Ebenezer Scrooge (voiced by Tim Curry). Scrooge is led on a journey by three ghosts looking at his past life, his present life, and his future life, leading him to self-redemption and a recognition of the joy of giving.

E. Watching the 1994 holiday classic movie Pulp Fiction. The beloved family film revolves around hitmen Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson) in a series of violent, bloody, horrifying stories of murder, rape, drug overdosing, accidental killings, and a Twist dance contest, bringing Christmas joy to all involved.

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Kirk Douglas died recently at the age of 103. Douglas, whose real name was Issur Danielovitch, made his film debut in 1946, and went on to perform and star in dozens of movies, in addition to writing, directing, and producing. He was nominated for and received numerous awards, including Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, Kennedy Center Honors, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award. After Douglas’s bar mitzvah, his synagogue offered to sponsor him to become a rabbi, but he declined, already knowing that he wanted to be an actor. Judaism was only a minimal part of his adult life until he was in a near-fatal helicopter crash, about which he later said “I came to believe that I was spared because I had never come to grips with what it means to be Jewish.” He did, however, make one reference to his religious observance during his acting career. What did he say?

Kirk Douglas by monstersforsale is in the public domain

A. Referring to the 1950 film Young Man With a Horn, in which Douglas played Rick Martin, a character based on jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, Douglas said, “As a kid, I used to love hearing the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I tried it once, but couldn’t get out a single note. I thought that was hard, until I had to learn to play the cornet for this role.”

B. In the 1960 epic Spartacus, Douglas played a Roman Republic slave named Thracian. In the opening scene, Douglas refused to work in the mining pit, so he was sentenced to death by starvation. Said Douglas, “While I wasn’t an observant Jew, I did always fast on Yom Kippur, even though I never went to synagogue. So there I was on the set of Spartacus, being sentenced to death by starvation, and it was actually Yom Kippur, the day I wasn’t eating. It was just a crazy coincidence, but I never forgot that. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence.”

C. In 1966, Douglas starred as Colonel Mickey Marcus in the film Cast a Giant Shadow. The plot is based on the real-life story of David “Mickey” Marcus, a Jewish officer in the United States military who was recruited to help the fledgling Israeli Defense Forces in the 1948 War of Independence. Douglas told of his experience filming in Israel on Yom Kippur. “The shoot went on that day. I didn’t mind, I never celebrated Jewish holidays, and neither did the other cast and crew, almost none of whom were Jewish. I went into the food tent on the set during a break and got a sandwich. I sat down next to an Israeli actor who I was shooting a scene with that day. He wasn’t eating, just reading. I offered him a bite but he said he was fasting. I didn't understand that. He was working, but he wasn’t eating. I always thought Judaism was all or none. That was the first time I thought about how I could find my own place in my Jewish observance, and the next year, I began fasting on Yom Kippur.”

D. Douglas starred as Doc Holliday in the 1957 movie, Gunfight at the O. K. Corral. Douglas said of the role, filmed on location in the desert town of Tombstone, Arizona in September of 1956, “It wasn’t very comfortable. Especially on Yom Kippur. I worked on the holiday, but I still fasted. And let me tell you, it’s not easy riding horses in the hot Arizona sun on an empty stomach.” 

E. Referencing his costar in the 1952 movie The Bad and the Beautiful, Douglas said about Yom Kippur, “I still worked on the movie sets, but I fasted. And let me tell you, it’s not easy making love to Lana Turner on an empty stomach.”

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