36 | OCTOBER 8 • 2020
Arts&Life
celebrity jews
NFL AND U-M GRIDIRON JEWS
Here are the Jewish players on
an NFL team roster as of Sept.
28 (main source: my friends at
Jewish Sports Review maga-
zine): Jordan Dangerfield, 30,
Pittsburgh, plays (backup) strong
safety. This five-year veteran is
of Ethiopian Jewish background;
Nate Ebner, 32, New York Giants,
plays (reserve) strong safety and
on special teams. For his first
eight seasons he played for New
England, often contributing to the
Patriots many Super Bowl wins.
He signed a one-year deal with
N.Y. in the off-season; Julian
Edelman, 34, New England. This
great wide receiver doesn’
t seem
to be slowing down. On Sept.
21, he had eight receptions and
a career-high yardage total in a
game against Seattle.
As I’
ve noted before,
Edelman had only one Jewish
great-grandparent. It’
s unclear
if he has formally converted to
Judaism, but he identifies as a
Jew in a religious sense and in
a “community solidarity” way.
Most recently: raising money for
Tree of Life synagogue shooting
victims and publicly reaching out
last July to a player who post-
ed something antisemitic. The
Christian Science Monitor called
Edelman’
s response a “master
class on how to handle hate.”
Other players include Anthony
Firkser, 25, Tennessee, (back-
up) tight end and fullback. This
Harvard grad had a good 2019
season; Alexander “Ali” Marpet
plays offensive guard for Tampa
Bay. He has started 75 consec-
utive games since 2015, earns
almost $11 million per season,
and was team captain in 2018
and 2019; Mitchell Schwartz,
31, Los Angeles, plays offensive
tackle. Like Marpet, he is highly
paid and has a great streak going
(over 130 consecutive starts);
Sam Sloman, 23, Los Angeles,
is a kicker. He’
s a rookie who
earned a starting spot. His col-
lege teammates nicknamed him
“the kosher cannon.” (Note: five
more Jewish players are on NFL
“practice squads” and there’
s
a chance they will see action
this season). Local interest: Two
Jewish receivers play for the
University of Michigan, which
begins its Big Ten season on Oct.
24: Jake McCurry, senior, and
Jake Thaw, freshman.
Upcoming: Starz has given
the greenlight to a regular series
based on Blindspotting, a hit
2018 film. The film was written
by Daveed Diggs, 38, and Rafael
Casal. They co-starred in this
“dramedy” film as working class
guys trying to cope with racism
and gentrification. The series
(half-hour episodes) will be writ-
ten by Diggs and Casal. Diggs
won’
t act in the series, but Casal
will reprise his role.
Also: Alana Haim, 28, will
be the co-star of a yet untitled
1970s coming-of-age film direct-
ed and written by eight-time
Oscar nominee Paul Thomas
Anderson. Alana and her two
sisters (Este, 34, and Danielle,
31) form the popular rock pop
band called Haim. The upcoming
film features multiple storylines
and big-name actors, like Bradley
Cooper, who will have small parts
in the film. Anderson loves Haim’
s
music and has directed four
music videos for the band.
NATE BLOOM
COLUMNIST
ALEXANDER JONESI VIA WIKIPEDIA
Julian
Edelman
On The Go
people | places | events
STAND WITH TRANS
THROUGHOUT OCTOBER
The first-ever month-long virtual
experience for trans youth and
allies, celebrating gender diversity,
empowering youth, educating
community. Stand with Trans will
provide an extravaganza of enter-
tainment, workshops, networking,
peer support and more. For addi-
tional information, visit standwith-
trans.org/beyou.
ANTI-NAZI RESISTANCE
7 PM, OCT. 8
Using stirring music, powerful
images and suspenseful storytell-
ing, Dr. Jud Newborn will recount
how two former fanatical Hitler
Youth leaders transformed into
the greatest heroes of the German
anti-Nazi resistance. Register at
holocaustcenter.org.
SPECIAL EXHIBIT
ONGOING THROUGH OCTOBER
For one more month, the Holocaust
Memorial Center is hosting a
special exhibit called Operation
Finale: The Capture and Trial of
Adolf Eichmann, which chronicles
the true story of the secret mis-
sion to bring one of the architects
of the Holocaust to justice. View
at holocaustcenter.org. In these
interactive artifact spotlights, you’
ll
learn about the personal stories of
those involved.
BRUNCH TOUR
10:30-1 PM, OCT. 11
Feet on the Street will host a tour
of Midtown/Cass Corridor. Cost
$35. Accommodations and proce-
dures are in place for safety and
comfort amid COVID 19 concerns:
as much as possible outdoors
(including utilizing outdoor patios
at food establishments), limited
size of groups, social distancing,
mask wearing. Info: EnjoyTheD.
com; 313-393-2055.
FREE SEATING & JUDAISM
2-3:30 PM, OCT. 13
“Free Seating: How an
Overcrowded Detroit Synagogue
Transformed American Judaism”
will be the topic of a Zoom gath-
ering sponsored by the Jewish
Historical Society of Michigan.
“Free seating” — the movement
to end assigned or owned syn-
agogue seats and let people sit
wherever they want — began in
Detroit a century ago at Temple
Beth El. Learn how this story took
on national significance. Cost: $10
for members; $18 for non-mem-
bers. Register by 9 pm Oct. 12.
Instructions for joining the Zoom
call will be sent the day before.
VIRTUAL CONCERT
7 PM, OCT. 15
The Sphinx Organization will
host an online concert featuring
Sphinx artists, alumni and students
and includes a world premiere
by Sphinx Competition Laureate
Xavier Foley and performances by
Sphinx Virtuosi, EXIGENCE Vocal
Ensemble, Anthony McGill, Raquel
Gonzalez, and more. Sphinx is
dedicated to transforming lives
through the the arts. Check the
Sphinx website or Facebook page.
Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial
Assistant. Send items to calendar@
thejewishnews.com.
Xavier
Foley
SPHINXMUSIC.ORG