Tag Archives: Israel

Jew of the Week: Don Joseph Nasi

Prince of Europe

NasiDon Joseph Nasi (1524-1579) I’m not sure why they haven’t made a movie about this man yet, but they should. His story is quite fascinating. In a nutshell, he was the head of a banking empire, the Duke of Naxos, the Count of Andros, and the Lord of Tiberias. He actively sought a national homeland for the Jews, initially hoping for Cyprus, later receiving a grant from the Ottomans to start settling Israel. He single-handedly triggered a war between Turkey and Venice, sparked the Dutch uprising against Spain and brokered a peace treaty with Poland. At one point, he went by the secret name Juan Miguel to escape the inquisition. He monopolized the wine industry in Moldavia and the beeswax industry in Poland, financed the Yeshiva of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), established a printing press for Jewish texts and maintained a vast library in his house to be used freely by Torah scholars. For his foundational work in seeking to establish an independent Jewish state in the Holy Land all the way back in the 16th century, he has been called the first real “proto-Zionist”.

Constantinople (Modern Instanbul) – where Don Nasi financed the Yeshiva

Words of the Week

The entire people of Israel comprise a single soul; only the bodies are separate
– Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe (Tanya, ch. 32)

Jew of the Week: Scarlett Johansson

The Most Successful Actress of All Time

JohanssonScarlett Ingrid Johansson (b. 1984) The daughter of a Danish architect father and a Jewish producer mother from the Bronx, she was named ‘Sexiest Woman Alive’ in 2006. Actor, model, singer, a Global Ambassador for Oxfam and a critic of the media’s obsession with body image. Her most notable film role was alongside fellow Jewish actress Natalie Portman in The Other Boleyn Girl, and most recently in Iron Man 2, alongside fellow (half) Jewish actor Robert Downey Jr.

UPDATE [2018]: Since first writing about Scarlett Johansson nearly a decade ago (she was one of the very first Jews of the Week!), her fame and success has grown tremendously. She has become one of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars, and in 2017 officially became the highest-grossing actress of all time, with her movies having earned over $3.6 billion. Some of that is owed to her popular role as the Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Johansson is also an active and generous philanthropist, and a proud supporter of Israel. Among the many organizations she supports are Stand Up to Cancer, Too Many Women, Oxfam, and USA Harvest. In 2012, she was honoured with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

Words of the Week

Life and death are in the hands of the tongue.
– King Solomon (Proverbs 18:21)

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.