last word
DOCUMENTARIAN Laurel Fairworth
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
I n her more than 20 years in journalism,
Laurel Fairworth doesn’t remember report-
ing any Jewish stories or news.

That changed in 2012, when Fairworth, who
made the career switch to public relations in
2000, traveled to Israel as part of a Jewish
Federation mission following the death of her
mother. Though not her first choice, the Center
City resident ended up visiting the Ayalon
Institute Museum outside of Tel Aviv, which
told the story of a hidden munitions factory
under a kibbutz run by 45 Israeli teenag-
ers. Operational 65 years ago, the factory
secretly produced 2.5 million bullets to be
smuggled to Jewish freedom fighters in the
fight for Israeli independence.

Fairworth became fascinated with the story
of Israel’s infancy and that group that Prime
Minister David Ben-Gurion credited for the
survival of the young state.

"I said to the people (working at the
museum), ‘Oh my God, this would make
a great documentary,’” Fairworth recalled.

“They kind of rolled their eyes. I couldn’t
understand why.

“And it wasn’t until almost two years later
when I came back with a crew, and their
attitude was completely different — 360 degrees,”
she continued. “And they said to me, ‘You know,
hundreds of people have told us that. You were the
first person that came back and did it.’”
“Code Name: Ayalon,” produced by Fairworth and
directed by Michael Lopatin, premiered at the Israeli
Film Festival of Philadelphia in 2020, but almost
three years later, Fairworth and the documentary are
still getting attention.

On Feb. 5, Congregation Rodeph Shalom will
host a screening of the documentary as part of
IsraelConnectRS’ Israel at 75 celebration, with a
question and answer with Fairworth following.

Fairworth said a major broadcast network has
expressed interest in airing the documentary as part
28 JANUARY 26, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
of their programming on Israel’s 75th anniversary.

Since the debut of her first documentary, the
60-something journalist has wanted to dig deeper
into Jewish issues. Along with fellow Philadelphian
Ellen Barkann, Fairworth is producing “Blews and the
Abstract Truth,” a three-party docu-series exploring
Black-Jewish connections through music, sports and
civil rights.

“This stuff’s more personal,” Fairworth said of
her documentaries. “It was the rise of antisemitism,
anti-Zionism — It just felt like this stuff is needed as
the other side of the story, as an antidote.”
Originally from Abington, Fairworth grew up
attending Old York Road Temple-Beth Am, where
she became bat mitzvah.

After attending Pennsylvania State University
for political science and history, Fairworth
entered the public relations world and later
found her passion for broadcast journalism.

She worked in New York, Washington, D.C.,
Los Angeles, Baltimore and South Florida.

After two decades in the industry, she
recognized the trouble people had pitching
stories and brands. She founded Cachet
Communications, using her journalistic sensi-
bilities as a way to help clients catch journal-
ists’ attention.

Shortly after she started her own business,
NBC’s TODAY Show asked Fairworth to be
a producer there, working on documentary
shorts and special reports.

“It was kind of nice to still be with journal-
ists, so I didn’t get rusty,” she said.

But despite a lifelong connection with
Judaism, it never made its way into Fairworth’s
projects. Now that Fairworth has incorporated
more of her Jewish identity into her projects,
she’s found a responsibility to explore the
topics of identity and discrimination in unique
ways, “warts and all.”
For “Blews and the Abstract Truth,”
Fairworth and Barkann worked to assemble a
diverse production team that resembled the
subjects of the documentary series. Working
with Black creators, Fairworth found how
diverse perspectives enhanced the content
of her research and reporting.

“We’re not coming into it with an ax to grind or a
particular side. We’re letting the story speak to us,”
she said. “But I think the best way to make sure I
cover all angles is to have … a team who represents
what the film is about.”
In a world of increased antisemitism, Fairworth
hopes her documentaries provide “food for thought”
and begin a conversation among viewers, ultimately
leading to behavior changes to address or intervene
in hatred.

“What can one person do about it? Not a whole lot,”
Fairworth said. “But if everybody does something?
This is my something.” ■
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of Laurel Fairworth
TELLS LESSER-KNOWN JEWISH STORIES