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10 Heartwarming Jewish Stories from 2020
WORLD GABE FRIEDMAN | JTA.ORG
THERE’S NO sugarcoating it:
2020 was a difficult, trying,
tragic year.

But just because COVID-19
dominated the headlines and
our personal lives, that doesn’t
mean there weren’t any Jewish
bright spots. Plenty of history
was made and here are some of
the Jewish stories that helped
distract us from the pain of the
past year.

The Jews involved with the
vaccine Several Jewish scientists
have been at the forefront to
produce an effective COVID-19
vaccine, trying to alleviate the
suffering inflicted on the world
by the virus.

There is Mikael Dolsten,
the Swedish Jewish head scien-
tist at Pfizer, who was key
in helping the pharmaceu-
tical giant produce the first
approved vaccine.

Tal Zaks, an Israeli, is
the chief medical officer of
Moderna, the other American
company to produce a vaccine
authorized by the FDA.

And the CEO of Pfizer,
Albert Bourla, is a Greek Jew
proud of his heritage — Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu claims that helped
Israel become one of the first
countries to secure a Pfizer
vaccine contract.

Even this year had its bright spots.

Getty Images; photo design by Grace Yagel via JTA.org
Harris have helped charge a
wave of love for intermarried
families. The couple released a
video together about Chanukah
— “one of our favorite holidays
in our big, modern family,”
Emhoff said.

Zach Banner as mishpocha
The 6-foot-8,
nearly 350-pound offensive lineman
for the Pittsburgh Steelers
of Chamorro and African-
American ancestry became
one of the Jewish community’s
favorite sons this year.

After the Philadelphia
Eagles’ DeSean Jackson made
headlines in July when he
posted a series of anti-Semitic
messages on social media,
Banner was among the most
prominent people to call him
out and say publicly that Jews
“deal with the same amount
of hate, similar hardships
and hard times” as the Black
community. Banner said he
was partly inspired to speak
out after being in Pittsburgh
during the Tree of Life
synagogue shooting in 2018.

Banner’s love for the Jews
didn’t stop with one post
— after what he called an
outpouring of love from the
community, he donated some
of his earnings to a Tree of
Life-related charity and tried
challah to raise money for his
charitable foundation.

Maybe it was all of the
quarantine isolation. Maybe
it was the sense of solidarity
brought on by the pain experi-
enced around the world this
year. Whatever the reason, this
was the year that a large chunk
of the celebrity zeitgeist, Jewish
and non-, had fun marking
Chanukah. Non-Jewish rock star Dave
Grohl and his Jewish producer
posted eight entertaining covers
of songs by Jewish musicians,
one for every night. Haim, the
Jewish pop band, marked the
holiday with song and dance
and a guitar giveaway. Daveed
Diggs, the Black and Jewish
star of “Hamilton,” gave us
a delightful Chanukah rap
(for kids). Jewish Broadway
star Nicolette Robinson and
her non-Jewish Broadway
star husband Leslie Odom
Jr. covered “Maoz Tzur” for
a holiday album. And the list
didn’t stop there.

See 2020, Page 21
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The first Jewish second
husband Vice President-elect Kamala
Harris wasn’t the only member
of the Biden presidential ticket
to make history. Her husband,
Doug Emhoff, became the first
“second husband” in American
political history — and the first
Jewish spouse of a president or
vice president. He has relished
the role, speaking at events
aimed at Jewish voters and
with Jewish politicians.

The year of the celebrity
Along the way, Emhoff and Chanukah video
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DECEMBER 31, 2020
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