Where Have All the Celebs Gone?

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
‘Much of Hollywood has never wrapped its arms around Israel with much enthusiasm, but on this unabashedly celebratory occasion, it would have seemed that at least some of the Jewish big leaguers… might have come out for this event to support the Jewish homeland,” wrote Dikla Kadosh in The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, lamenting the fact that there was a dearth of A-list celebs taking part in the “Israel at 60” concert in Hollywood earlier this month.
But are celebrities really ducking out of all the festivities? Those walking through New York’s Times Square might answer no.
A number of actors are paying tribute to Israel in video clips that will be shown at the Crossroads of the World this month. Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller, Billy Crystal, Brooke Shields, Robin Williams and Dakota Fanning are among the stars in the 30-second segments projected on two massive screens. The celebrities wear birthday hats, hold cakes and dance around or pose with signs that read “60.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
