Michael Douglas Makes Surprise Yom Kippur Speech at Temple
Image by getty images
Film star Michael Douglas delivered a speech at a temple in a New York City suburb on Yom Kippur.
Douglas — who this summer received the Genesis Prize, informally known as the “Jewish Nobel” — spoke to more than 1,000 worshipers Tuesday night at Temple Shaaray Tefila, the New York Post reported.
In his 20-minute unannounced speech at the Reform congregation in Bedford, New York, Douglas described how he is “reconnecting” with Judaism and recalled how his famous father Kirk Douglas experienced anti-Semitism when he first began working in Hollywood.
Much of the speech was about the need for the Jewish community to be inclusive, according to the Post.
Douglas’ wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, and their children Dylan and Carys, also attended the event. Dylan Douglas celebrated his bar mitzvah at the temple in May 2014, and Carys is preparing for her bat mitzvah. (Douglas reportedly joked that he hopes his latest film performs well at the box office because he is in the midst of party planning for the bat mitzvah.)
Shaaray Tefila Senior Rabi David Greenberg invited Douglas.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
