Actor Guri Alfi returns to the US for new episodes of ‘The New Jew’
Veteran comic speaks to Columbia and Harvard students, the parents of Omer Neutra, and Israelis living in the US
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Actor, comic and TV host Guri Alfi returns to the small screen with “The New Jew,” a series he created with public broadcaster Kan 11 in 2021 that had him looking at the Jewish community in the United States.
For these episodes, Alfi traveled to the US to speak to Jews last summer, in the wake of October 7 and the intense antisemitism and anti-Zionism that exploded across college campuses and American cities.
He spoke at length with the parents of Cpt. Omer Neutra, an American citizen who the IDF announced on Monday was killed in a Hamas attack on his tank on October 7, with his body being held in the Strip. Until now, it was believed that Neutra was being held alive.
Guri sat in the sanctuary of New York City’s Central Synagogue with Reform Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl and chatted with student leaders from Columbia and Harvard universities.
Each conversation came across as real, honest, and eye-opening, and Guri was clearly moved by what he was hearing and experiencing.
The two first episodes, currently available on Kan 11, are slightly under 45 minutes, conducted in Hebrew and mostly English, depending on the interviewee.
Alfi’s English is excellent, enabling him to have in-depth conversations with his subjects, including Harvard’s Shabbos Kestenbaum speaking about the university’s failure to combat antisemitism and three older Jewish New Yorkers sitting with Alfi in a diner.
Guri makes his way through several gripping storylines, including his conversation with a Nova desert rave survivor working at a California Jewish camp and with David Lubin, the father of Staff Sgt. Rose Lubin, a lone soldier Border Police officer killed in the line of duty in November 2023.
In an unexpected twist, Guri also interviews the Kibbutz Sa’ad family from Israel’s south who adopted Rose when she became a soldier, hosting her for weekends and holidays. Guri speaks with Lubin’s “adopted” family who are visiting with her family in Atlanta, Georgia.
At the end of the second episode, Guri was present at the hostage rally held weekly in New York City’s Central Park, the Neutra family standing behind him holding posters featuring Omer Neutra’s picture, before the news of his death was announced.
Guri spoke to the gathering, pointing out that as an Israeli and proud Zionist, he is now taking a risk by introducing himself that way.
“The truth is, anyone who is okay with Israel’s existence has become part of one big support group,” said Guri. “History is repeating itself with an intensity that we thought we would never know. Am Yisrael Chai.”
