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At the Weitzman,
Jewish Content Creators
Explain Their Jewish Brands
Jarrad Saffren | Staff Writer
Photo by Jarrad Saffren
K osha Dillz is a Jewish rapper
whose videos have gotten
hundreds of thousands of
views. Karen Cinnamon is a Jewish
influencer whose online persona,
about choosing your Jewish journey,
has galvanized more than a million
followers. Yet when they came from New York
City and the United Kingdom, respec-
tively, to appear at Philadelphia Jewish
Film and Media’s Jewish New Media
Festival on May 21, they spoke to
crowds that were a fraction of the size.

At the Weitzman National Museum
of American Jewish History, Dillz had
a conversation with Dan Drago, host
of the Philadelphia music podcast 25
O’Clock, before an audience of fewer
than 20 people. Later in the afternoon,
Cinnamon spoke to a crowd of a little
more than 20 residents, tourists and
fans. Online, these content creators can
attract a mass audience. But in real
life, they could not even come close
to drawing the audience that PJFM’s
annual film festival draws, a number in
the thousands.

New media may be what the kids,
and younger generations in general,
even adult millennials, are consuming,
but what is it? Is it real? Is it substan-
tial? Will it stand the test of time? Is it
art? Is it amusement?
These are still questions with no
clear answers. But if there’s one thing
that is clear after the Jewish New Media
Festival, it’s this: Presenting as Jewish
on the internet is an identity and brand
that can gain you a following.

Dillz, real name Rami Matan
Even-Esh, grew up in Edison, New
Jersey, with Israeli immigrant parents,
according to his Wikipedia page. After
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Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz
falling into the drug scene and spend-
ing time in jail, he reconnected with the
Judaism of his youth and decided to
make it his rap identity.

In addition to the name, he wears a
big Star of David necklace. It’s true to
his identity, Dillz explains. But it’s also
a way to stand out. When he went on
MTV’s “Wild ‘n Out,” he got to be the
Jewish rapper. Online, it’s a territory he
tries to own whenever and wherever
he can. As Dillz told the Weitzman
audience, his busiest work seasons
are the weeks leading up to Jewish
holidays like Chanukah.

In December 2021, the Israeli rapper
and Nissim Black, another Jewish
rapper, made a “Hanukkah Song
2.0” video, released on YouTube to
more than 286,000 views, remixing
Adam Sandler’s famous “Chanukah
Song.” During Passover this year, Dillz
appeared outside Katz’s Deli in NYC
and rapped while dressed as Moses.

At one point after the rapper’s talk
with Drago, a Jewish woman in the
Jewish influencer Karen Cinnamon
audience raised her hand and asked
if he made a living doing this. Dillz
explained that his income varied each
year, and that he had to use most of
what he made to create more content,
but that yes, his efforts paid the bills.

“Rami is also a Palestinian name,
Lebanese name, Egyptian, so people
didn’t know,” Dillz said of his Jewish
identity. “I was like, ‘Oh, if I get really
big as Kosha Dillz, then I’ll attract all
this Jewishness to me.’”
Cinnamon, a London-based designer,
manifested her identity online when
she was planning her wedding in 2013.

She realized that there was no digital
space for Jews to brainstorm wedding
ideas together, so she created one: a
blog called “Smashing the Glass.” It
grew popular enough to be featured in
The New York Times, BBC World News
and other outlets. Cinnamon used that
success to build a comprehensive
brand labeled “Your Jewish Life,” which
includes a podcast, Instagram account
and weekly newsletter. According to
smashingtheglass.com, the brand has
more than 4 million followers.

At the Weitzman, Cinnamon
explained the core belief that animates
her content, including a few Instagram
videos she showed on the projector
on the stage. You can be Jewish any
way you want to be. If you do not want
to keep kosher or cook a big Shabbat
dinner or even fast on Yom Kippur,
that’s OK. The influencer encouraged
the audience to start a “Jewish Joy
Journal,” a product she sells, including
in the Weitzman store, in which they
record “small wins” each day.

“My brand is actually about being
Jewish,” she said. “What I felt when I
started my Instagram account, origi-
nally Smashing the Glass and now
Your Jewish Life, is that the audience,
they want to be seen.”
Cinnamon is not wrong. One man in
the crowd raised his hand and told her
that her content had helped him.

“I like that it’s extremely positive.

This is all about celebrating life,” said
that man, Addison Davis, a Center City
resident. ■
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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