The Jewish Wizard of Oz releases ‘Let it Snow’
Jeff Goldblum has recorded another of the great 'Jewish' Christmas songs
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
It won’t have dawned on the multitude flocking to see the film of musical Wicked, but we know the man bedecked in emerald green to match the city is played by Pittsburgh’s most famous Jew.
Jeff Goldblum decided at his barmitzvah – a performance lauded by his mother, obviously – that acting would be his yellow brick road. Raised Orthodox, Jeff’s great grandfather left for America in 1911, but the family who remained in his village, Starobin, were all murdered.
Growing up in Philadelphia’s West Homestead where there were few Jewish families, like Wicked’s green-skinned Elphaba, Jeff felt like an outsider. But these days he is an insider, modelling for Loewe and Prada and performing as pianist and front man of The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
In time for the holidays, Jeff and the orchestra have released a jazzy version of Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn’s Let it Snow. Jeff has not shared his chrismakah list but counts his most prized gift as the record Katz Puts On the Dog, recorded in 1958 by Yiddish-fluent musician Mickey Katz, father of Cabaret star Joel Grey. So casting Jeff as Oz is inspired as finally a member of the tribe is described as “great and powerful.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
