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