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Seeing people she defended not stand up for the Jewish nation after Oct 7 was a sobering realization.
Whether she’s performing standup onstage, acting in films or writing books, you can always count on Iliza Shlesinger to be unabashedly authentic. She recently debuted a hilarious new comedy special on Prime Video, “Iliza Shlesinger: A Different Animal.”
“I love touring and connecting with fans all over the world, this special was so much fun to perform and I was so excited to share the material,” she told Aish.com. “I did over 30 dates and countless local shows to prepare for this and that was just on this tour. This material was in the making for about a year and a half!”
It’s no wonder Shlesinger has previously released six Netflix specials, the veteran comedian finds the funny in everything she does.
“I listen to people talk when they don't know I'm listening,” she noted. “I watch how we all are, I collect observations about us; all the things we think make us weird but that secretly we all do and say. I do a lot of the absorbing: conversations, archetypes of people, situations, etc.”
For the veteran comedian, the key is looking deeper into the kishkes of the soul.
Shortly after October 7th, Shlesinger was one of the few Jewish celebrities who spoke out about the tragic events, writing an op-ed essay for The Hollywood Reporter.
“I question everything and why things are, wondering why we are how we are and what standards our society creates. All my material comes from a place of deeply wanting an explanation for why people are the way they are.”
But in these uncertain times, where Jewish people are experiencing an unprecedented amount of antisemitism around the world, finding humor can be a bit more difficult to achieve.
Nevertheless, Shlesinger still aspires to find humor in her everyday life. “I mean, isn’t that what being Jewish is?”
Shortly after October 7th, Shlesinger was one of the few Jewish celebrities who spoke out about the tragic events that happened in Israel and antisemitism, writing an op-ed essay for The Hollywood Reporter.
“I wrote that when I felt the antisemitism was so blatantly obvious the world would surely understand that beating up Jews and pulling down hostage posters due to an outrage over a foreign conflict they had no real connection to, was unjust,” she explained.
“I didn’t, and still don't think I was saying anything revolutionary or terribly insightful, I simply wrote it because I had to express myself, as a person who speaks up when something isn’t right,” said Shlesinger.
“It’s not just a voice I exercise for Jews – I always stand against hate. I think the part that was so scary was seeing all the people and groups and causes I have always stood for, or that we as Jews have stood up for weren't standing with us. That was a sobering realization.”
Shlesinger wondered why more Jewish people weren’t being vocal about the rage hey felt.
I wish people would voice their disdain for hate out loud instead of confiding in me. I wish people knew how powerful their voices could be.
“The feedback usually comes to me in a hushed handshake or a private DM – the sentiment often being ‘thank you for standing up, I agree with you’ but it’s done privately. I wish people would voice their disdain for hate out loud instead of confiding in me. I wish people knew how powerful their voices could be.”
Shlesinger has had a lifelong love and appreciation of her Judaism.
“I am from Dallas, Texas (and yes there are Jews there, a lot in fact– way more than there were when I was growing up!)” she quipped. “I was bat mitzvahed and went to Israel with other kids when I was about 17.”
Last year, Shlesinger had a life-altering experience, participating in PBS’s “Finding Your Roots,” the series that explores ancestry with host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. During the fascinating episode, she found out the brother of her paternal great-grandmother Esther Szonek died at Auschwitz. Another sibling, Abraham, survived the Holocaust and emigrated to New York in 1955.
“I didn’t expect to go on and find out that I had family murdered in the Holocaust, I had no idea about that history,” she acknowledged.
“I think, in the moment, I was trying to search my soul and process the new information while being on camera. It's hard to mourn a relative you didn't even know about but, if I'm being honest, learning that horrible history helped reinforce just how connected we as Jews are, for better or for worse.”
With such a busy schedule, the savvy Shlesinger ongoingly juggles motherhood, marriage, performing and creativity. Just don’t ask her how she balances it all.
“Women get asked this often I think. I really believe that there is no balance. Balance suggests everything gets equal attention. How does one quantify that? Does me putting my daughter to bed three nights a week but performing for four count as balance? Does me reading to her but also ignoring her because I have to take a call count as balance? I guess I don't factor in the idea of balance since life is imperfect and lopsided (like my face when I don’t get enough sleep during this ‘balancing act.’
All Shlesinger can do is be the best she can, on a day to day basis.
“I try to be happy and avoid things that hurt – I bring my daughter on tour when I can, I try to be on my phone less, be present more. I try to take brakes… I try to remember I am an artist and I'm sensitive and I have worked really hard to have what I have. I try to remember stand up is the best job in the world even when I’m sad or disappointed. I also try to remember that my best is usually enough. Right?”
People who are deranged enough to go out of their way to tell you they hate you, aren't open to facts or your point of view.
When she’s not onstage, you can find her working on her podcast, Ask Iliza Anything, where fans can write in.
When we asked her for advice to help anyone that is experiencing antisemitism on their social media, she said: “People who are deranged enough to go out of their way to tell you they hate you, aren't open to facts or your point of view. I've spent too much of my energy trying to present level headed, fact-based arguments about, say, why Jews deserve to live – and the cold truth is, most of the accounts are either bots or people trying on antisemitism as a personality.”
Shlesinger herself often receives hateful comments on her various platforms.
“What matters is not what they said to scare you, for sport. What matters is how you let it affect you and your day. But always rise above, with facts and intelligence. Never let them turn you into what they are. You can always block, but my personal favorite is mute so they get to scream into a void and will never know no one is hearing them.”
Enjoyed article
The world very quickly forgot the atrocities of October 7 and instead started blaming Israel and us Jews for the war in Gaza.
It is called victim blaming. They blame the victim and forget about the perpetrator.
Anti-Semitism is not new. When at age 9 a primary school male teacher hit me on the head with a long ruler and called me "Jew boy" I discovered Anti-Semitism.
OMG! So terrible!!
I see. So everyone has to belong to YOUR political party or they are wrong.
Thanks for your view.
When you tell people, “Don’t be antisemitic!”, what are you saying? You’re saying, consider people of other ethnic groups to be as important as members of your own. Try to see their perspective. In fact, see them as individuals who are store clerks, lawyers, nurses, ignoring the irrelevancies of meaningless ethnic labels. But does Shlesinger have any intent of following her own advice? Not a chance. I take it she thinks there's no such thing as anti-Palestinian racism, not realizing, or caring, that this is as offensive as saying there's no such thing as antisemitism. So no one will listen to her advice not to be prejudiced, because she doesn't follow it herself.
Right! It is beyond comprehensible that Netanyahu and his cohorts can morally justify the killing of the ordinary people of Gaza, who themselves are also Hamas’ victims. Euphemisms like "collateral damage" means that innocent people die or are maimed for life.
And the long-term damage to ISRAEL and the Jewish people is being revealed as I write.
According to Melanie Phillips's book it is not only a Jewish and Israel problem but a problem affecting/ affecting the whole world's western values not Muslim values
What is Philip talking about the real Palestinians are Jews and the others are Muslim Arab imposters that are terrorist and want to make Israel and the world " Judenrein " ( free of Jews) these Muslim terrorists are stealing the Jewish people identity, and gullible ignorant people fall for it, anti Semitism now is disguised as anti zionism but it is the same thing, it is sad that some people are useful idiots and don't learn about the book Melanie Phillips from England wrote called " The Builder's Stone" I think it is called that Jews and Christians and other non Muslims should fight to preserve western values especially Judeo- Christian values, that the world shouldn't turn into a backwards Muslim society G _ d forbid, that is the goal of the enemies of Jews and Israel
Yes. Definitely! Very frightening!!
A great professional at her craft and even a better person for being more than a mensch by publicly supporting the Jewish people and Israel when so many other Jews in Hollywood or other Jews in the entertainment world have little to say about Oct 7th and the world’s blatant antisemitism.
Concordo.
When it comes to Jews in Hollywood, billionaires and successful people, they are not Jews; or are they the typical Jew from 1930’s who did NOTHING whether in Europe, America and the whole world!! If our own don’t stand up and be counted, how can we expect anyone to help and speak out against Jew hatred. Heartbreaking!!