The American Jewish World Service has released its Judd Apatow-produced public service message. Plenty of A-listers, and some of them even deliver the goods when it comes to being funny. Jacob will have more on the video and AJWS’s gala bash Thursday night. For now I’ll just say that the gala and video dramatically underscore the power of this organization, especially since Ruth Messinger took it over, to energize and inspire Jews (and non-Jews) of all ages with its vision of living Jewish values and teachings by working to combat a host of social ills plaguing the wider world. At the same time, the pesky question persists: This is important work and increasingly one of the most effective ways of attracting people to take part in a Jewish-sponsored cause, but what about Jewish people who need help, just maybe not as much help as children straving or dying of disease in Africa? And, if you’re inclined to ask that question, you’ll probably cringe when Sarah Silverman quips: "I don’t think they help any Jews. I mean, like, Jews are fine." Of courtse, she always makes you cringe (and laugh).
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
