for college students by college students

Actor Shares
Hard-Won Lessons

Israeli actor and former IDF soldier motivates students.

Isaac Weiss } jewish@edu writer

Israeli popular TV actor Dean Miroshnikov takes a selfie with WSU SFI students.

sraeli actor Dean Miroshnikov vis-
ited Hillel of Metro Detroit on Feb.
6, where he spoke to Wayne
State University students
about growing up as an immigrant in
Israel as part of Students for Israel (SFI)
Cultures of Israel program.
As one of today’s popular Israeli
TV actors, his presentation focused on
his struggle of being of minority back-
ground and his desire to fit in, and
touched on formative points in his life,
including his military service and expe-
rience as a soldier in the 2010 Gaza
flotilla incident.
Miroshnikov was born in Ukraine
with the first name Dmitri. In his pre-
sentation, he compared his experi-
ences before and after his family
made aliyah: In Ukraine, his peers at
school taunted him as “dirty Jew,”
and in Israel, they called him “dirty
Russian”— which didn’t even make
sense because, he explained to the
students, he was Ukrainian.
The desire to abandon that aspect of
his identity and the advice of a model-
ing agency motivated him to legally
change his name to Dean Martin,
which he at first concealed from his
mother. Later in life, more comfortable
in his own skin, he embraced his roots

I

WSU SFI student Isaac Weiss with Israeli
popular TV actor Dean Miroshnikov

58

March 8 • 2018

jn

and changed his surname back to
Miroshnikov. His ultimate goal was to
be an actor.
In the IDF, Miroshnikov served in
an elite commando unit analogous to
the U.S. Navy SEALs. His very first
mission, in May 2010, was the opera-
tion to halt the ships attempting to
break Israel’s naval blockade around
the Gaza Strip. He was not mentally
prepared for the violent resistance
his team encountered; he was the
fifth soldier to rappel onto the Mavi
Marmara and suffered serious injuries.
He described a funny situation dur-
ing this traumatic military operation.
While being medically evacuated by
helicopter with life-threatening injuries,
including a broken arm and head inju-
ries, he was mostly aware of a desper-
ate need to go to the bathroom (pos-
sibly exacerbated by the fluids medics
administered to him). The moment the
helicopter landed at a hospital in Haifa,
he staggered out and proceeded to do
so.
In a moment that prompted laughter
from the WSU students, he revealed he
then discovered a crowd of journalists
and photographers had been standing
behind him, and he shared one of their
photos (taken from a safe angle).

Miroshnikov concluded his presenta-
tion on a more positive and motivation-
al note. When he unexpectedly found
himself regarded as a hero after the
2010 incident, he explained, he “final-
ly stopped running away” from who he
was and now regrets that it took him
so long.
After recovering from his wounds,
he turned to pursuing a childhood
dream of becoming an actor and con-
tinues to make a successful career in
Israel television and films. He maintains
that everyone can realize their dreams
and emphasized the importance of
unwavering commitment to those
dreams. He said he is rejected for roles
90 percent of the time, but he does not
let that discourage him from attempt-
ing the 10 percent of auditions that are
successful.
He recommended writing goals
down on a sign visible when waking up
as an exercise for sustaining motiva-
tion.
The event was hosted by Hillel
of Metro Detroit and Wayne State
University Students for Israel. @

Isaac Weiss of Ann Arbor is a sophomore at Wayne
State University. He is a member of the WSU
Students for Israel and an active member of Hillel of
Metro Detroit.