Tag Archives: Social Activism

Jew of the Week: Rod Serling

The Twilight Zone

Rod Serling

Rodman Edward Serling (1924-1975) was born in Syracuse, New York. From a very young age he was drawn to performing, spending hours each day acting in his basement. Initially a class clown, and thought to be a “lost cause” by his teachers, Serling was soon a key member of his high school debate team, a public speaker, journalist, athlete, and social activist. The day after graduating high school, he enlisted in the army and fought in World War II as a paratrooper, earning a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, among other medals. After the war, he studied physical education, then switched to theatre, broadcasting, and literature. It was in his college days that he began writing, directing, and acting in radio programs. He struggled to break through in the radio industry for several years after, meanwhile earning money on the side by participating in dangerous flight experiments for the Air Force (and nearly getting himself killed on multiple occasions). He then tried his luck at television, and after many years of writing scripts, Serling finally got a break. His 72nd script, Patterns, earned many accolades and was described by some at the time as the best program in the short history of television. After this success, he had little worry finding jobs. However, corporate sponsors and politicians always meddled with his scripts. Fed up with this, Serling created his own show: The Twilight Zone. The series became an instant hit, and in 2013 was ranked as the third best TV show of all time. Serling went on to write and produce a number of other television, film, and radio programs. He also wrote many short stories and poems, and published 11 books. On top of this, Serling taught film and media at colleges across the US. Throughout his life, his primary goal was to spread awareness of human equality, world peace, and social justice. This was the underlying theme of all of his work, and Serling himself often stated that “the ultimate obscenity is not caring.” Sadly, Serling died at the young age of 50 from a string of heart attacks. He is credited with helping to establish television as a serious medium, and his episode of Patterns was the first TV rerun in history. He was ranked first among the “25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends” by TV Guide. Serling won 8 Emmys, 3 Hugo Awards, and a Golden Globe, among others, and has been inducted into both the Television Hall of Fame and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

Words of the Week

As long as they talk about you, you’re not really dead, as long as they speak your name, you continue. A legend doesn’t die, just because the man dies.
– From an episode of The Twilight Zone (written by George Clayton Johnson)

Jew of the Week: Irwin Cotler

Irwin Cotler

Irwin Cotler (b. 1940) was born in Montreal and studied law at McGill University. After continuing his education at Yale, he returned to McGill as a law professor, and directed its Human Rights Program for over 25 years. As an expert on international and human rights law, Cotler served as a counsel for famous political prisoners like Nelson Mandela, Maher Arar, and Natan Sharansky. He has advised the Middle East peace process, and was involved in the Camp David Accords that brought peace between Israel and Egypt. In the 1980s, he served as President of the Canadian Jewish Congress, while also working to combat apartheid in South Africa. In 1999, he was elected as a Canadian Member of Parliament with a landslide victory that gave him 92% of the vote, described as “the most stunning electoral victory in this century.” Between 2003 and 2006, he served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and has been lauded for his work in ensuring human rights and citizen privacy, particularly in the face of increasingly restrictive anti-terrorism legislation. He has worked against discrimination, anti-Semitism, and racism, appointing two women to the Supreme Court (making Canada’s the most gender-representative in the world), and appointing the first aboriginals and visible minorities to appellate courts. He issued the first national initiative against racism, worked to bring justice to victims of the Rwanda massacres, and even to indict former Iranian President Ahmadinejad for inciting genocide. Cotler reverted more wrongful convictions than any other minister in history. Having been re-elected as MP no less than 5 times, Cotler recently announced that he will not seek further re-election, and is ready to retire, though he intends to remain very active in social justice and peace activism. Awarded ten honourary degrees and the Order of Canada, Irwin Cotler is described as a key global player “in the struggle for justice, peace and human rights.”

Words of the Week

And God said: “. . . Abraham shall be a great people . . . Because I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him that they shall keep the way of God, to do righteousness and justice.”
– Genesis 18:17–19

Jews of the Week: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield

Ben & Jerry’s

Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen

Bennett Cohen (b. 1951) and Jerry Greenfield (b. 1950) were both born in Brooklyn, and met each other in a junior high gym class – the only two who couldn’t run a mile in under 7 minutes. The bond grew beyond their school years and the two rented an apartment together in their 20s. Greenfield worked as a lab tech while trying multiple times (unsuccessfully) to get into med school. Meanwhile, Cohen jumped through many odd jobs – McDonald’s cashier, janitor, taxi driver, delivery man, crafts teacher. In 1977, the two friends decided to realize an old dream to start their own business. They initially wanted a bagel shop, but finding it too expensive, decided on an ice cream parlour. Cohen had previously learned to make his own ice cream at home, and Greenfield had worked as an ice cream scooper in his teenage years. The two took a $5 ice-cream making course, then scouted a location for their business, looking for a warm place with many college students. They found that all the warm college towns already had popular ice cream shops – except Burlington, Vermont. There they leased an old gas station, and with $8000 in combined savings, along with a $4000 loan, opened the first Ben & Jerry’s. Due to Cohen’s anosmia (lack of smell and taste), they loaded their ice cream with chunks and pieces to give them unique textures – an instant hit. At the same time, they focused on running their business in a fun and socially responsible way. By 1980, Ben & Jerry’s moved to a larger facility, distributing their ice cream in pint-sized containers. The following year, the first franchise opened. Today, there are over 200 Ben & Jerry’s shops in over two dozen countries around the world. The company has built a reputation for philanthropy and social activism, speaking out against GMOs and bovine growth hormones, funding a handful of important causes with the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, and continuing a policy of paying their employees at least double the minimum wage. Though Ben & Jerry’s has been bought out by Unilever, Cohen and Greenfield remain active in the company, and continue to run their own philanthropic ventures (including launching a campaign to support Citizens United, which works to reduce the influence of corporations in political matters). They have been described as “two real guys [who] built a business with a social conscience and a sense of humor.”

Words of the Week

Those who cut down healthy trees see no blessing in their work.
– Talmud, Pesachim 50b