1 00:00:14,910 --> 00:00:17,910 Hello everyone, and welcome back to people Do want to know 2 00:00:17,910 --> 00:00:20,710 podcast. Today's guest is someone I've 3 00:00:20,710 --> 00:00:23,590 wanted to have on forever. I'm such a fan girl. 4 00:00:23,590 --> 00:00:27,430 It's honestly embarrassing. Arielle Stachel Arielle is a 5 00:00:27,430 --> 00:00:30,950 Yemenite and Ashkenazi Jewish Tony award-winning actor and 6 00:00:30,950 --> 00:00:33,630 singer best known for his breakout role in the band's 7 00:00:33,630 --> 00:00:36,200 visit. He's a Berkeley born, NYU Tish 8 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,520 trained performer whose work covers identity, heritage and 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,640 being visibly Middle Eastern and Jewish. 10 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,120 In 2025 I saw his one man show called Other and I was 11 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,800 completely blown away. You'll hear more about it in the 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,520 episode, but it was the first show I had seen that portrayed 13 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,640 what it's like to have immigrant parents and just the 14 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,200 relatability of trying to fit in in America with clearly 15 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,600 immigrant parents. Of course, this is me. 16 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,000 After the show, I got to chat with Arielle and the rest is 17 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,200 history. I'm so grateful he came on the 18 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,480 pod and I'm excited for you to learn more about him. 19 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,760 I think of him as a total badass because he only works on things 20 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,880 that align with his values. He's very clear on what kind of 21 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,600 art he wants to make. We have many people representing 22 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,880 us in media and in Hollywood, and Arielle is a person who 23 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,600 consistently makes me proud. He's a Mensch, a great dancer, 24 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,200 he's very fun at a party, and he's one of the people you want 25 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,800 to know. Please enjoy this episode, 26 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,360 Arielle. Welcome to PEOPLE You Want to 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,440 Know podcast. I love the title. 28 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:39,240 Thank you so much for being here. 29 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,120 My pleasure. So excited to chat. 30 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,440 You too. I'm gonna start short and 31 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:45,680 simple. How we start every episode here. 32 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,160 Tell us about yourself. What do you do and how did you 33 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,520 get there? I am an actor, I am a writer, I 34 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,120 am a singer. And I suppose I'm here because 35 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,480 I'm also an activist. Yeah, on some level. 36 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:04,160 And, and I got here by trying a bunch of different things that 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,680 failed in my life. So I would say that the first 38 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,160 thing that pivoted me into realizing I was an artist was 39 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:11,800 realizing I wasn't going to make the NBA. 40 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,880 When I didn't make the NBA, I'm like, OK, I got a pivot. 41 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,240 And my sister was a dancer. And so I followed her into a 42 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:25,400 dance class and fell in love. And also felt like I could be 43 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,800 great because when I was in 9th grade, I made a basketball team 44 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,920 and there was a teammate who was 6 foot eight who dunked on my 45 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:31,080 face. And I was like, I don't think 46 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,600 I'm going to be in the NBA. So then I, you know, followed my 47 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,880 sister into the arts. And then after two years of the 48 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,640 arts, my dance teacher was like, I don't think you could be a 49 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:43,240 great dancer, but you might be a great actor and a great singer. 50 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:44,800 This was junior year in high school. 51 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,920 And at that point, my target became Broadway. 52 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:50,520 All I wanted to do is be on Broadway. 53 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,880 All of this happening with the backdrop of me feeling very, 54 00:02:54,880 --> 00:03:00,760 very uncomfortable in my skin as a Yemenite, Israeli, Ashkenazi 55 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:02,760 Jews. So I'm hiding my ethnicity for 56 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,680 all of high school. And in the meantime, pursuing 57 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,080 these other passions as an artist, my passion worked. 58 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:14,480 And because I was sort of like hiding my ethnicity for most of 59 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,320 high school, I would say that was my real acting training. 60 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,320 It wasn't the acting training I was receiving at school. 61 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,400 It was the fact that I was literally pretending to be other 62 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,960 people. And so I got a full ride to 63 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,880 almost every college I applied to, NYU being one of them. 64 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:33,480 And I came to NYU and for two years at school, I was still 65 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,920 hiding my ethnicity from my peers, from my classmates. 66 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,360 And it was a really stressful time because I went through all 67 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,760 of high school, you know, hiding my ethnicity, which also meant 68 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,920 hiding my father, who's Yemenite, Israeli. 69 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,480 But somehow coming to New York and being in the big city and 70 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,280 studying acting made me feel like, is this going to be 71 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,200 forever? Am I going to hide who I am 72 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,880 forever? So after my second year of 73 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,520 school, I decided I was going to drop out and give up on my dream 74 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,760 of being an actor and just go back home because I I started to 75 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,440 be scared of like, if I'm pursuing some of this public and 76 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,200 I get found out. Like it just got to a point was 77 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:12,720 like, you can't lie about who you are anymore. 78 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,600 And that summer I went back home and I spent the entire summer 79 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,240 with my dad and we listen to yummy night music and cook the 80 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,600 yummy night food. And at some point something 81 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:25,520 switched where I was like, I can't hide who I am anymore. 82 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,920 I cannot hide who I am anymore. He was cooking yummy night soup 83 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,760 and I was like dancing along with yummy night music. 84 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,280 And I ran into the kitchen. Sorry, ran into the bathroom 85 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:38,600 instead of crying and I came out. 86 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,480 This was two weeks before the beginning of junior year. 87 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:42,240 And I said, I'm going back to NYU. 88 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:48,800 And on one of my first days back, the assignment was to 89 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,920 share our life story in our acting class. 90 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,640 And I knew this was my opportunity to come clean. 91 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,040 And mind you, my professor was was black and he sort of 92 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,760 accepted me as one of his own. I mean, I had this whole thing 93 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:07,280 and I spent two weeks feverishly writing my life story and sort 94 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:11,960 of confessing all of the moments where I lied about who I was to 95 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,640 sort of fully come clean. So two weeks later, I show up to 96 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:21,480 the class kind of shaking and I sang an ancient Yemeni Jewish 97 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:26,760 song and did a, you know, 10 minute short story play, I 98 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:28,960 suppose, playing different characters in my life and sort 99 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,520 of revealing all the moments where I veered from my truth. 100 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,720 And that was very liberating. So from that point forward, I 101 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:41,400 had to learn what it meant to be a Middle Eastern American in the 102 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:43,080 world. At the time, that's what I 103 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,400 thought that I was. Now it's being a Jew. 104 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:49,760 Now it's being a Jew. So at that point I was trying to 105 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,920 connect with Middle Eastern culture and my Yemenite culture. 106 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,560 And for me at that point, what I didn't mention is that the 107 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,120 reason why I hid my ethnicity growing up was because after 108 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,160 911, there was so much hatred towards anyone who was brown 109 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,880 skinned. And my father had this accent 110 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,320 and the kids didn't really process that he was a Jewish 111 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:08,840 Israeli. The point is that he was brown. 112 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:13,520 He was Yemeni. So my mission became, you know, 113 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,200 sharing Middle Eastern culture and finding pride in it. 114 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:21,360 And so, you know, joined and founded, I guess, a Middle 115 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,320 Eastern, North African, South Asian actors group. 116 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:26,760 I had a short stint at the Yemenite synagogue, Manhattan, 117 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:28,600 realized I didn't really know how to pray like them. 118 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:33,120 So it's like we keep it moving and I just sort of tried to sort 119 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,640 of integrate myself. And then and then, you know, 120 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,240 shortly after graduating NYU in actors years, I guess I kind of 121 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:44,280 made it on some level. I got one of the leading roles 122 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:46,320 in a show called The Band's Visit, which went on to 123 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:49,520 Broadway. And in that show, I was playing 124 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,760 an Egyptian character and at that time as a 25 year old, 26 125 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,720 year old, in my consciousness, I was like, I've arrived like this 126 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,200 is what I've been waiting for, Like I'm playing a Middle 127 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:01,960 Eastern role, like I'm fully in my truth. 128 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,560 Life is good. And I, you know, the show went 129 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:07,920 on to be a tremendous success. We won 10 Tonys. 130 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,800 I won for my performance for best featured actor. 131 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:16,320 And that moment really changed my life on many, many levels. 132 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:19,360 And not just professionally, personally, because I thought it 133 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,440 was an arrival of sorts, but it but as it turned out, it wasn't. 134 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:27,200 And as it turned out, the way that I was looking at the world 135 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,400 and seeing myself was going to shift. 136 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,040 And you already said it, I guess for the brevity sake. 137 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,840 A few years after that, I guess five years after that, obviously 138 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,920 October 7th happens. But prior to October 7th, there 139 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,560 were still a lot of anti-Semitism starting to sort 140 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:46,560 of be spread all over social media from Kanye West. 141 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:52,400 And because of what I'd gone through as a kid, it wasn't an 142 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,120 option to stay silent, even if it made me anxious. 143 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:59,720 I knew that I could only live with myself if I was advocating 144 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,400 for myself, for my people. And so I would say that who I 145 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,520 am, to answer your question, I am two things. 146 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:11,040 On the one hand, I am an actor, writer, singer, and on the other 147 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:15,040 hand, because of my lineage, I'm an activist. 148 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:21,840 And I think that you can't be from a background such as mine 149 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:27,480 or such as yours and not feel like your role in the world is 150 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:32,240 to share stories, humanize, fight against hatred. 151 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,000 And in my case I mean even something smaller, which is like 152 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,440 just make space for. Yeah, or be seen. 153 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:41,919 Exactly. All of these moments culminated 154 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:46,320 into what is now your one man show other where you walk the 155 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,240 audience through this experience with a lot of humor and 156 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:54,160 beautiful singing and art and joy and dance and theatrics and 157 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,200 it's just fantastic. How has the show been received? 158 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,720 Very positively. But I do want to say something 159 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,560 that you know, our art is always in conversation with the world. 160 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:08,800 And when I first wrote it, it premiered at Berkeley Repertory 161 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:14,520 Theatre in June of 2023. And the focus was a myriad of 162 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,440 identity and anxiety. And that was pre October 7th. 163 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:23,480 And I got back to New York and I was meeting with all these 164 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:25,680 producers trying to plan the New York run. 165 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,960 And of course, October 7th happened, and then the lens on 166 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,480 the piece changed by virtue of the fact that I am a Yemenite, 167 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,320 Israeli, American, and so how can I not speak to the moment? 168 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,640 And that became really challenging because you don't 169 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,000 make art to react to the headlines. 170 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,080 Like it's a very dangerous thing. 171 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:52,760 Like you want to make art that release that really is coming 172 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,120 from a place I, I would say that is Evergreen. 173 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,120 And if it touches the headlines, that's cool. 174 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,400 But Evergreen is something that's always true. 175 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,320 Which is which is, you know. Yeah. 176 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:09,200 What does it feel? And it took a moment to digest 177 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:16,440 October 7th and talk about my experience inside of it, inside 178 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,280 of a play that, as you say, is timeless. 179 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:23,320 That's speaking to something that is larger than the slogans 180 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,720 that we see on social media. So. 181 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,920 But I would say that, you know, the interesting thing about how 182 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,560 it's received is that we finally opened it in New York after 183 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:34,760 doing 3 productions regionally. And I would say New York is the 184 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:36,760 place where it received the most. 185 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:41,440 It became the most politicized, which, you know, I didn't really 186 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,200 embark on the journey of writing the play to be political. 187 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:47,160 I told it to say to tell my story. 188 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,880 It just so happens, though, that there are times in the world 189 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:51,760 where the thing that you're creating with the thing that you 190 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,800 are becomes political. You know, I think that at the 191 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:59,200 heart of it is a person dealing with anxiety, anxiety that is 192 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:05,080 very much rooted in the complications of identity as a 193 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,320 Jew. But I think because one of the 194 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:12,040 main strands is anxiety, it's something that has been able to 195 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,920 reach people from a multitude of backgrounds. 196 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,320 But I will say that there's something very, very special 197 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,960 about connecting with Jewish people in this moment. 198 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,400 And so, you know, the piece has taken me for a ride that I 199 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:26,800 didn't even know I was going to go on. 200 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:31,720 And I'll add that aside from the fact that the show touches that, 201 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:34,400 you know, you're Jewish and now we're in this difficult time for 202 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:39,400 Jewish people, any immigrant or child of immigrants should the 203 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,560 show should resonate with them. Because watching what you showed 204 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:47,120 on stage, you brought me back to when I was like, you know, 14. 205 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,160 And they didn't want my parents to attend my choir recitals or 206 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,480 my swim meets because I was like, they're going to say some 207 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,160 embarrassing shit, you know, and they're broken English. 208 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:04,160 I was all I it completely like I understood it so intimately or 209 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:09,000 how like all the parents were involved with like the cook off 210 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,760 or the fundraising and I'd be like mom, dad, you don't need to 211 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:13,080 come. It's not a big deal. 212 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,200 You know, because I didn't I knew that they would feel 213 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,080 awkward around these like super American Minnesotan white ladies 214 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:21,920 and they had nothing in common with these people. 215 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,240 So watching you portray that, that's a universal experience. 216 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,760 I appreciate you saying that. I'm so identifying with what 217 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,640 you're saying right now. Did you try to assimilate? 218 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,600 Like did you try to pass? So I with a name like Margarita, 219 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:38,880 you never quite pass, believe it or not. 220 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,560 The The funny thing is, so I grew up in Minnesota, which is a 221 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,720 place where I think assimilation is expected. 222 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,120 It's not New York where there's a lot of people here that never 223 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:50,560 learn English. Like in Minneapolis, MN, you 224 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:54,880 have to assimilate. And for all my life, like even 225 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:58,640 through part of college, I was just like such an American girl 226 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,720 that did sports and like I was in the cool prom group with the 227 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:03,040 party bus. I was friends with all the 228 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:06,920 popular kids. Like, I really, I figured it 229 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:08,280 out. I figured out how the system 230 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,920 worked. And I'd always come home and 231 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,360 speak Russian to my parents and I was like very Jewish and 232 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,120 whatever. But that was always separate 233 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,120 from how I was at school or at sports or in choir or whatever 234 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:20,480 it was. But then when I got to college, 235 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,480 I kind of realized it sucked to do that. 236 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:26,560 I don't know how else to explain that. 237 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:32,160 I was just like being different and worldly is cool, being from 238 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:37,280 Minnesota and is not. That was with a conclusion that 239 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,040 I drew. And so after I finished college 240 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,360 and I worked so hard in school, I graduated a year early. 241 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,160 I hated it so much. I was like, I want out. 242 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,240 I moved to New York and I never looked back. 243 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,360 And my quality of friendships changed immediately. 244 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,120 I felt like I could go to a Russian restaurant, you know, 245 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,280 because those don't really exist in Minnesota at all. 246 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:59,160 And it was like cool to go try infused vodka at this like 247 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,040 Soviet decorated bar in Flatiron. 248 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,680 People found it but endearing and interesting in a way that 249 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:07,880 Minnesotans just, like, don't care for. 250 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:12,520 So yes and no. And I'm really glad that I grew 251 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:14,240 out of it. And my brother, who is much 252 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,360 younger than I am, it's been interesting to see how he's 253 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,960 handled it. He went to a Spanish immersion 254 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,880 for school. So he was friends with a lot of 255 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,280 kids who are Latino or Hispanic. And so he never had to, like, 256 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,400 assimilate as much because they weren't assimilated. 257 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,440 So it was like cool to speak another language, cool that your 258 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:32,960 parents are immigrants. It was normal. 259 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,000 Whereas I went to like a very American school. 260 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,480 So thankfully he did not have to pass as much. 261 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:44,000 Yeah, your environment really is a big part of the way that you, 262 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,880 the nurture, I think, is as important as nature. 263 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,560 So it's interesting, I would say, as I think about what you 264 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,200 just shared with me and the way that I think about my own life 265 00:14:54,200 --> 00:15:01,920 is that, you know, I spent 20 or so years wrestling with a 266 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:06,800 Yemenite identity. Not the Jewish part, not even 267 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:08,440 the Israeli part. It wasn't a thing. 268 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:10,960 It was what it meant to be Yemenite. 269 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:13,800 And of course I knew I was Jewish, of course, and it was 270 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,000 Israeli. But the thing that I was 271 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,920 perceived as was Arab growing up or Middle Eastern or, or what 272 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,840 have you, right? Because of being in California 273 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:28,520 and kids not having, you know, the nuanced understanding of 274 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,720 people's identities like you experienced as well. 275 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:35,440 And in addition to that, I also grew up, I would say, 276 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,080 identifying as a person of color, it means a lot. 277 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:41,520 Like even in high school, for example, the girls who were 278 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:43,960 attracted to me were more often than not black. 279 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:45,960 For whatever reason, white girls didn't like me. 280 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,280 This wasn't a thing. The only time that changed was 281 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:52,360 when I won the Tony and then and then it kind of like people's 282 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,200 tastes change after that. But but anyway. 283 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,920 But what I'm trying to say is that, so what's been interesting 284 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:02,200 and what's been really heartbreaking and confusing I 285 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:06,760 think in the last five years is that a community that I felt 286 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:12,920 like I belong to and a community that I as as an actor, you end 287 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,040 up spending lots of times with time with people that you look 288 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,800 like, because the way that you look is generally how you were 289 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,440 cast. And so in my case, I was cast 290 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,280 Middle Eastern, right? And so I'm more often than not 291 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:30,720 in cast with other Egyptians and Lebanese and Yemen, what, what 292 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,280 have you, right. Of course, in the last five 293 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:38,880 years, last few years rather, you know, that fracture, it's 294 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,840 been both confusing and frustrating, but not entirely 295 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,920 bad because I would say that there are the Super political 296 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,080 folks who those bonds have, have have broken. 297 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,480 But then there's also just like the people who are like willing 298 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,440 to like DAP you up and be like Habibi, you know, like before I 299 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,280 came here, I was at my favorite Yemeni cafe, which I go to 300 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,040 almost every day and write. And they love me. 301 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,680 They know that I'm Israeli as well. 302 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,680 You know, they let me film a segment for other actually on 303 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:11,160 ABC at their place. And there isn't that tension. 304 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:16,480 But but in general, you know, the schism that I now feel as a 305 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,119 person of color with other people of color that I once 306 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:24,920 identified with has been the most unique experience I've ever 307 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:29,320 felt and has made me feel more Jewish than I ever have. 308 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,880 But mind you, I didn't really, even though I am half Ashkenazi, 309 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,680 I didn't really identify with Ashkenazi culture at all growing 310 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,240 up because again, growing up in America, you are really 311 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,200 separated on how you look more often than not. 312 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,520 So I was the brown kid at Jewish day school. 313 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,960 So it's been a really interesting experience for me 314 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:57,720 now kind of finding Jewish community that feels kind of 315 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,840 home, but not fully home because there are experiences, I feel 316 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,840 like even for example, for you, you sharing your immigration 317 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,400 story, that's something that's like a, I'm like, I, I can 318 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,680 connect to that. So now it's I would say that the 319 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:16,280 evolution of my identity is now in a very influx space. 320 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:18,400 That's not necessarily a bad thing. 321 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,280 That's a good thing. And you can lead by example for 322 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,440 all the people who can't reconcile those differences. 323 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,960 Like if you and I were friends when we were nine years old or 324 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,440 whatever, that would have been a different story, right? 325 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,680 So someone has to lead by example, and someone has to be 326 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,520 the first, and that's not an easy position to be in. 327 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,600 Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, it's why I it's, and 328 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:43,000 it's why I've transitioned to being a creator, you know, 329 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,680 because a lot of people in my position, having made it to 330 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,240 Broadway, there's a trajectory that you go on. 331 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,280 And I was kind of like, but I want to sit here and think about 332 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:56,640 my Yemenite Jewish roots. Like, I just want to write like, 333 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:58,720 it's what I want to think about when I wake up in the morning. 334 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:00,520 I think about that. I think about my lineage. 335 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,120 I think about my grandparents. I think about the music. 336 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,400 I think about my childhood. I think about the crazy and 337 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,000 bizarre experience it was to try to like hide my ethnicity. 338 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,480 So I think about it a lot. And so that ultimately is what I 339 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:15,760 say. You know, when I started it by 340 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,200 saying on on one track I'm an actor or whatever, but I really 341 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:24,080 am someone who is purpose based with my work and and that has 342 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,800 been a really interesting experience over the last five 343 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,280 years as well. You had these videos that you 344 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,960 made that were addressed to basically like other Arabs, I 345 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,360 think, or like other people of color. 346 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:39,880 That was shortly after October 7th. 347 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:44,040 And like any video that you posted with, that messaging went 348 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,200 viral and all these Jewish people were in the comments. 349 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,800 Like, see. My activism journey on social. 350 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,360 So I think that the you know, the first thing that you know, 351 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:57,920 my, my activism started with a toe dip post October 7th, Then 352 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,080 I'm starting to jump into the pool a little bit more. 353 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:06,040 You know, the toe dip was, hey, there is this awful thing 354 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:07,200 happening in the world right now. 355 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,240 We all acknowledge that, right? But born out of that art is a 356 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,760 lot of misinformation, right? And so the first thing that I 357 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,160 would try to do as a storyteller and say, listen like. 358 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,120 My family's Yemeni, like, that felt like the first form of 359 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:24,240 activism for me to be like, no white colonizer from the family, 360 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,520 refugees from Yemen, bro. Like, it's like, you know, that 361 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,760 was the first thing that I felt comfortable offering, right? 362 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:38,200 And then I think it evolved and then I started doing skits that 363 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:42,160 sort of revealed the tension and, and lack of understanding 364 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,440 about the multitude of Jewish identities and, and how angry 365 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:48,720 people get. If I say I'm Arab Jews, I'm 366 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,800 Yemenite, a lot of people would be really pissed. 367 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:55,520 If I say I'm Israeli, a lot of people think that doesn't exist. 368 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,240 You know, if I say I'm a person of color, a lot of people say, 369 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:00,640 well, that's, well, that's not true because there are no white 370 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:02,000 Jews, because we all come from Judea. 371 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,960 I mean, there's not a thing that I can say that won't incite 372 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,560 anger in somebody. And I started sort of playing 373 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:12,440 with that tension. And I really enjoyed, I think, a 374 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:16,240 mixture of direct addresses, which is where I just shared my 375 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,960 feelings straight to the camera. And then I also like being 376 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:23,200 artistic with it and kind of showing myself in a scene. 377 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:27,480 But hopefully that scene reveals something larger about just the 378 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,800 craziness of the situation and the way that we politicize 379 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,720 people's identities. But I think the things that 380 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:38,600 actually traveled the most were my addresses to Mamdani in that 381 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,320 I basically was like, yo, I relate to you. 382 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,120 I'm, you know, if my position is I'm really happy that there's 383 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:47,520 going to be a Muslim mayor. Like that's a cool thing, cool 384 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,760 thing for our country, but I relate to you because I imagine 385 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:55,640 our childhoods as young brown men were probably somewhat 386 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,640 similar on the playground. Like I just sort of so I, I just 387 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:00,600 came and said, listen, I've experienced that. 388 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:04,320 I've experienced the sting of anti Arab, anti Muslim 389 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,160 environments in United States. And it made me want to hide who 390 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:11,440 I was for 20 years. And now, whether or not you 391 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,920 intend to or not, you are perpetuating the new layer of 392 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:20,320 hatred which I'm also feeling. And so I sort of come to that 393 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:21,920 community, I would say, with love. 394 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,040 I always try on my social media to end with an extended arm, 395 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,520 always at the handout, always. But the idea being like I'm now 396 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,280 experiencing something and seeing it happen to my community 397 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,640 in a way that you might not be aware of did. 398 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:38,800 They ever acknowledge. That people on his team did, but 399 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,240 he hasn't directly, which is cool. 400 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,880 Got a lot of life ahead of us, Got a lot of life ahead of us, 401 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:51,720 you know, but I try to be of service as an artist by sharing 402 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:56,680 my own life experiences in a way that can be additive to the 403 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,200 conversation. So that's kind of my sort of 404 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:03,440 metric for am I going to share? Because I think social media is 405 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,320 crazy and I think that, you know, it's just such a wild 406 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,880 world out there. But, but so, you know, I've 407 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,480 tried to be inclusive, I've tried to build bridges, you 408 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:17,320 know, but at the end of the day, I am the son of an Israeli 409 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:23,120 father, Yemenite Israeli father. And I'm always going to honor 410 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:25,440 that, especially after what I went through growing up. 411 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,520 I will never negate that. And I have a lot of space for 412 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:31,360 empathy. I have a lot of space for 413 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:34,440 inclusion. I have a lot of space to talk 414 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,160 about things that I think Israel is or isn't doing well. 415 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,760 But I don't have a lot of space to negate who I am. 416 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:43,280 I have 0 not that complicated to me. 417 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,280 I think the way that Jewish stories are told in the media 418 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:52,040 now is really changing. If we look back, kind of like at 419 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,240 the traditional archetypes of how Jewish characters were 420 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,440 portrayed. We've got like the Holocaust 421 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,840 survivor, and then we have the lovable, funny Jew in the 422 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:07,000 sitcom, and then we have on rare occasions in films like Munich, 423 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,960 the strong Jew who fights back, usually Israeli, or like an 424 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,320 Ellie Cohen, played by Sacha Baron Cohen. 425 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:18,160 How do you think this like Next Generation should portray Jews? 426 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:23,600 I think that one thing is that, you know, I'll start with my 427 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,080 story as an example. You know, the story being about 428 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,960 a guy trying to overcome and battle his anxiety disorder is 429 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,440 an entry point that welcomes everyone in, right. 430 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,760 And then inside of that, I'm a guy who's Jewish and I'm Israeli 431 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,240 and I'm American and I'm not argumentative about it. 432 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:46,480 I'm not I, I sort of just exist and I have, as all humans do, 433 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:51,000 have a lot of life. I mean, we wake up and we're 434 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,560 hungry. We don't know what food to 435 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:53,960 choose. We have relationships that are 436 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,200 breaking apart. We're dealing with our jobs. 437 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,680 We're dealing with, I don't know, getting groceries. 438 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,280 I mean, human, right? And I think that this next 439 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:04,880 generation, I think our job is just to reflect our own 440 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:10,560 experiences as the most nuanced ways that we can and with entry 441 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,600 points that are for everyone. You know, like, I'm thinking 442 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,440 about sinners, right? This movie that just, you know, 443 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,480 triumphed on so many levels. Like, I bring that movie up to 444 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:24,800 say that people can know that it is a movie that is populated 445 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,560 with black actors and is a black story, but believe that it's for 446 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,280 everyone. And I don't think Jewish stories 447 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,240 yet have achieved that. And so I think we just need to 448 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,240 keep making more. And, you know, I think that 449 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,880 there's a fine balance between waving a flag and telling a 450 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,000 story. I think the story is the thing 451 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,240 that we should be focusing on. And through that, I think 452 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,440 there's going to be a lot of really great Jewish stories that 453 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:49,080 people get to interact with. Does that make sense? 454 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:53,720 Yeah, The critique I see is that any time that we try to make 455 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,560 Jewish films like that, what ends up happening is it's like 456 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,280 actually devoid of anything Jewish. 457 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:04,400 Like for example, this movie Sinners, it has strong black 458 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:09,800 characters who represent a proud African American person, right 459 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,280 with black music, everything black culture. 460 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:17,520 When Jews try to make shows that appeal to others, it's like 461 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:22,480 nobody wants this, right? Where being Jewish is just a 462 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:27,960 feeling and eating holla. So it strips what truly being 463 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,320 Jewish actually is for the vast majority of people, which is not 464 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,720 just a feeling or eating holla. It's a lot more for most all 465 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,240 people. So we need to figure out how to 466 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,240 tell stories in a way that are true. 467 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,480 But, you know, to that end, aren't there? 468 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,560 Like isn't, didn't Sdissel have a moment? 469 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:49,120 I know that's a very specific kind of Jewish experience, but 470 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:51,120 do you know that show? I never watched it, I is it 471 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,320 popularized in American? Maybe it got onto Netflix, but 472 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:55,760 but no, I, I hear what you're saying. 473 00:26:55,760 --> 00:27:00,680 I mean, I mean, listen, I'm 34, almost 35 years old and it 474 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:04,280 continues to be a revelation to many, many people that my family 475 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:08,200 is Yemenite and Jewish, right? So like I say that to say that 476 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:13,960 we have to also, you know, boost and support the diversity of the 477 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:18,240 Jewish community, in addition to sharing stories that are proudly 478 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,360 Jewish, as you're saying. My hope is that we just continue 479 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:22,920 to make shit. Yeah. 480 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,320 And what I really love about your show is that it's 481 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,480 unapologetic. It's a matter of fact. 482 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,160 This is who I am. This is what I stand for. 483 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,120 This is what I believe. And there's not like a 484 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:39,720 disclaimer or, you know, a caution label on it. 485 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:42,760 There's no apologizing. And that's what I think we need 486 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,360 more of in Jewish storytelling. Not. 487 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:48,960 Oh well, I guess being Jewish is a feeling to some. 488 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:52,640 Yeah, you're saying, you know, but here's The funny thing, 489 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,160 right? Like whenever we talk about 490 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,320 Israel nowadays, more often than not, there's a lot of a 491 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,640 qualifiers, as you say, but also the first thing that people 492 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:07,160 think about is war attention. Yeah. 493 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:08,000 What? What have you? 494 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,560 When I think about Israel, I don't think about that. 495 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,000 I think about wonderful summers. I think about my aunts. 496 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:15,840 I think about my cousins. I think about the beach. 497 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,360 I think about Jahnun. I think about driving to a lots 498 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:21,360 with my cousin. It's really warm. 499 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:26,000 Amazing feelings. And so when I talk about Israel 500 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,560 or my Israeli identity, I'm not going to be pulled into a 501 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:33,160 discussion that doesn't feel authentic to me about what 502 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,480 Israel means. So I think there's also that 503 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,680 like the unapologetic nature is also saying like, I don't need 504 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:40,880 to qualify this. I don't need to apologize for 505 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,720 it. This is just the story of XYZ 506 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,000 happens to be Israeli. I hope that people continue to 507 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,360 make them, but I think that we are in like, this is also a 508 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,880 microcosm of it right now. You saw a deficiency in the 509 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:59,560 market that there were people you want to know and maybe they 510 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:01,760 were not getting that. And so you did it right. 511 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,400 And the other thing I'll say is that like the the emphasis on 512 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:09,880 on, you know, movies and film and TV, that's one thing. 513 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,320 But what about podcasts? This is literally a new way that 514 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,880 we are getting to know people and coming into contact with 515 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,600 cultures and it's exciting. And so I just want to commend 516 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:24,840 you and say that this is also the active way of doing exactly 517 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:28,720 what you're saying, giving people 45 minutes to discuss 518 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:32,200 their lives, which, you know, highlights elements of them 519 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,080 being Jewish, but also them being a person. 520 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,640 And hopefully by the end, people are getting a well-rounded sense 521 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:41,480 of what Jewish people are. So I, I just want to say that, 522 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:46,000 you know, I think the range of ways that we share Jewish 523 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,400 stories has really grown, and this is one of them right now. 524 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,520 Thanks. I really appreciate that. 525 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:54,760 Actually, like when you talk about qualifiers and one of the 526 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,040 recurring challenges I have with my show in particular is I'm 527 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,840 always having people on that have, you know, controversial 528 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,040 off the beaten path viewpoints. Not saying you're one of those 529 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,920 people, but in general, I'm known to bring people like Peter 530 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:12,320 Beinart on and there's a subset of listeners that's like excited 531 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,120 about it because they want to know what these people are 532 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,200 thinking. And it's like kind of like the 533 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,160 audacity of it. It excites them. 534 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:23,240 But then there's another subset of people that say, how could 535 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,400 you endorse this person at this time? 536 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:27,360 I'll give you a very concrete example. 537 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,920 I asked Jeremy Jacobowitz who openly said he is voting for 538 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:35,080 Mandani to come on the show. I wanted to hear a Jewish voters 539 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:36,760 perspective on voting for Mandani. 540 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,640 I thought that that would be the best thing that I could offer my 541 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:45,440 listener because we want to know what were they thinking? 542 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:47,040 They don't want to talk to us, right? 543 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,680 Let's figure out what is driving the decision behind this pool of 544 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,400 voters that did influence the election in New York. 545 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,880 So I thought everybody would be so overjoyed that I brought this 546 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:01,120 guest. Instead, I got messages like, 547 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,200 how could you? Even though they all know that 548 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,400 it's not an endorsement from my side, they know where I stand. 549 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,640 What I love about the podcast medium and what I think is 550 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,040 important for the future of telling Jewish stories is having 551 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:18,920 the critical thinking to be able to withstand uncomfortable 552 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:23,000 things. When you consume film, podcasts, 553 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,240 any medium, it's not a element of persuasion. 554 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,960 It's up to you to discern what you're persuaded by and what 555 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:34,480 you're going to leave. And a lot of what we see today 556 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,200 as people, what they watch, what they follow, is an endorsement 557 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:39,440 of what they believe. Yes. 558 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,600 Listen, I've thought about this a lot. 559 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,560 And you know, whenever you wade, I mean, this is an incredibly 560 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,720 divided time. I've never lived through an 561 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:52,320 environment like this myself. And whenever someone chooses to 562 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:58,080 wade into identity and or politics, we can't please 563 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:02,200 everyone. And so I actually have a formula 564 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:08,000 that I use that might help you. So when I make a video, first I 565 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,880 need to ask myself, is it urgent for me to express? 566 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:12,760 And if the answer is yes, then I pursue it. 567 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:14,400 And if it's not, then I don't do it. 568 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:21,240 And then I say, if 33% feel seen by this, it's a big win. 569 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:25,040 If another 30% hates it for one reason, I accept that. 570 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,960 And another 33% hates it for another reason, I accept that. 571 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:30,240 That's just the metric that I use like it's. 572 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,040 Like 1/3 is your rule of thumb. Yeah, and that's just like it's 573 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:37,920 a it's a joke, but it's it's the fact that like haters are going 574 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,280 to hate. And there are people who are a 575 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:45,400 very determined to have you align with their political 576 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:51,520 opinion and how dare you dream of, you know, having them right? 577 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,640 But like for you, that felt that felt valuable to you, and you 578 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,200 pursued it. Oh yeah, OK, it went live, 579 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,680 everything, and I don't regret it for a second. 580 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:03,440 Good. Yeah, that's what I think it is. 581 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,080 I mean, I mean, at the end of the day, it would be cool if we 582 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,120 were all kumbaya and all agreed, but we don't. 583 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,320 And that's also part of being Jewish. 584 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,600 Well, I was going to say, if you want a show where everybody 585 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,080 agrees, that's not my show. It's not and it shouldn't, and 586 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,200 it's echo chambers are so uninteresting to me. 587 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,480 I'm starting to experience the flip side of it where now I'm 588 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,400 like too jewy for certain things. 589 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:30,160 Such as? Like nonprofits that want to be 590 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,000 a little more progressively Jewish. 591 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,360 Not so Israel Margarita, not so focused on Zionism. 592 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,040 And so you're not going to please everybody. 593 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,160 No, no, you're not. You have. 594 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,160 To choose what you're comfortable with and what is in 595 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:47,320 line with your values. I'm curious to know what's next 596 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:49,080 for you. What are you excited about? 597 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,320 So I got a book deal from the show. 598 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:55,560 So that's been really exciting. I've been sort of figuring out. 599 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,400 I've been doing really intense writing sessions, which is 600 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:02,360 interesting and exciting. You know, going from, you know, 601 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,320 Broadway, where I interpreted a role to then Off Broadway where 602 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,400 I wrote the whole thing and performed it to now, you know, a 603 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:11,280 new medium. I love new mediums. 604 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:13,400 There are Broadway plans for other. 605 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,600 We're waiting for the right theater, but before that we're 606 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:19,000 going to tour it. So that's sort of really 607 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,400 exciting. And then doing just, you know, I 608 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:26,000 am very mission based right now. So I'm kind of loose and saying 609 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,960 yes. So for example, BJ Barhani, the 610 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,880 the Ethiopian Israeli restaurant owner, it's got shut down 611 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:34,560 because she didn't want to deal with all the harassment. 612 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,440 I met up with her and we came up with this wonderful series of 613 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:41,440 Shabbat dinners that highlight Yemenite Ethiopian culture. 614 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:46,960 So like another way of expanding my mission in a very different 615 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:48,480 way. And I performed during it. 616 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,880 So that's awesome. But I would say, yeah, I would 617 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,440 say the biggest thing right now is the other play needs to 618 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,360 finish its life and with the book, because I put a lot of 619 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,280 work into that and continuing to create. 620 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,720 And I'd like to get, I'd like to get a streaming deal for that 621 00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:06,080 too. That would be really great. 622 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:08,160 And following what feels good to me. 623 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,560 Like I still have agents and managers that want me to do XY 624 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:13,920 or Z, but I'm very selective. But it's an. 625 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,200 Honor and a privilege. Yeah, I'm very selective, you 626 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:18,920 know, So if something, if something comes that is really 627 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,400 exciting to me, I'll pursue it. But like, in a moment like this, 628 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:26,840 it feels challenging to want to be like detective #2 how you're 629 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:27,880 doing. I don't know that like, that 630 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,240 doesn't feel as exciting when there's shit happening in the 631 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:31,520 world. I want to contribute to what's 632 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:36,320 happening in the world. So I feel like again, using my 633 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,760 story as a vessel for my own tikkun olam to humanize Jews, to 634 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,760 humanize Israelis, to try to build bridges, to challenge the 635 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,840 tropes that exist against Jews in any medium that I can, 636 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,200 whether it be dinners, films, on stage, book. 637 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,360 That's that's my shit right now. I want to see you on Hot Ones. 638 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,680 That's my request. I think it would be very funny 639 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:02,200 on that show. Hot 100, the the things. 640 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:04,040 Yeah. Oh, I'm down, I'm down. 641 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:05,160 Maybe we should do another one here. 642 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,000 We could do our own. We'll bring, but we could do the 643 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,840 Yemenite spices like we'll keep having Spicer's hug. 644 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:12,360 I don't know how long I'll last, but. 645 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:14,920 OK. We'll see. 646 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,480 Tell me, how can people connect with you and keep up with your 647 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:18,760 work? All right, people can connect 648 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:24,040 with me on Instagram. Ariel Stachel, you can connect 649 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:27,840 with me at Shabbat dinners, which is all on my Instagram. 650 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:29,440 Everything you need to know is on my Instagram. 651 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,000 OK, excellent. And I have one final question 652 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,520 for you. It's one that I ask every guest 653 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:35,800 who would you like to nominate for people? 654 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:42,600 Do you want to? Know who would I like to 655 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,760 nominate for? Who would you want to know? 656 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,560 Would you want to know? I guess I would nominate 657 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:54,520 Sassoon. Goodbye, my cast mate from The 658 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,240 Band's Visit and prolific Israeli actor. 659 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:01,560 I think it's an interesting story, having been born in Iraq 660 00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:04,720 and moving to Israel when he was in his teens, becoming the big 661 00:37:04,720 --> 00:37:06,880 actor. I think I would nominate him. 662 00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:09,240 Thank you so much. This is an excellent nomination. 663 00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:10,160 Thanks for doing this. Thank. 664 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:11,160 You. My pleasure. 665 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:15,440 And what we're going to eat is we should do nasty food, or 666 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:20,760 people make you try terrifying Russian and Ukrainian food, and 667 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,000 I try scary Yemenite food. Oh, I'm down. 668 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:24,640 There's nothing scary about Yemenite food. 669 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:27,080 It's the best. If you've enjoyed this podcast, 670 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:29,080 please go ahead and rate US five stars. 671 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,720 Be the first to hear our episodes by subscribing to 672 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,560 PEOPLE Do You Want to Know? Wherever you get your podcasts? 673 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:37,680 And for exclusive content, follow us on Instagram at 674 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:38,680 PEOPLE. Do You Want to Know?