Writing, Editing & Creative Media Consulting
Conferences & Events
New Year, New TVGoneJewy Sessions
03 years ago
TVGoneJewy, a program exploring the increase of Jewish content on television, started as an in-person program at various Jewish conferences. When the pandemic hit, the class transitioned to Zoom and entertained hundreds of people virtually at nearly a dozen programs during 2020.
TVGoneJewy is coming to even more Zoom screens in 2021 – see below for finalized dates, times and registration links when available. (All times are Pacific – let me know if you can’t do the math. :))
Want to follow some TVGoneJewy posts? Or want to connect about hosting a TVGoneJewy program for your community? Connect, check out posts and converse at Twitter.com/TVGoneJewy and Facebook.com/TVGoneJewy.
2021
Thursday, January 14, 4:30pm – Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East Lansing, MI (adults)
Sunday, January 17 – Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East Lansing, MI (invite only – teens)
Saturday evening, January 23 – Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills (invite only – Havdalah and program)
Wednesday, March 17, 4pm – University of Connecticut, Jewish Studies Department (public program)
2020
Temple Chizuk Amuno, Baltimore, MD – December 2020
Community Scholars Program of Orange County, CA – December 2020
Special Program for Jewish clergy: Heshbon Heshvan – October 2020
Hebrew Helpers, Los Angeles, CA – September 2020
Congregation Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, NJ – August 2020
Hollis Hills-Bayside Jewish Center, NY – August 2020
Genesis Program @ Brandeis University – July 2020
Limmud eFestival – May 2020
LimmudNY Fest – February 2020
Limmud Seattle – January 2020
March 29: TVGoneJewy at Limmud North America eFestival (digital)
04 years ago
Honored to be presenting “TVGoneJewy: TV’s Jewish Renaissance” in this first ever Limmud North America eFestival, featuring 50 educators, thought-leaders and change-makers teaching about today’s most interesting Jewish ideas!
For more information or to register: https://www.limmudna.org/efestival
January 2020 is in the books; here’s to February!
04 years ago
Speaking at the Z3 conference, Los Angeles, January 26, 2020
Thrilled to have kicked off January with two speaking engagements on subjects near and dear to my heart. (Why are things always near and dear? Because they rhyme they always have to go together?) At Limmud Seattle, I got my TVGoneJewy on, talking about Jewish representation on the big and small screen, and at the Z3 conference, I spoke on behalf of civility on social media, especially in Jewish conversations and surrounding issues relating to Israel.
Presenting #TVGoneJewy at Limmud Seattle, Bellvue College, January 16, 2020
The Bagel Report was back with three new episodes in 2020, tackling pop culture topics like Friends, the West Wing, Batwoman, the Oscars, other awards shows and Star Wars. Check out those episodes and subscribe here.
You can also listen to my “Star Wars and Judaism” Limmudcast below.
As always, publishing in lots of places. Here are some recent highlights:
- Jewish Emojis We Need for Today’s Jewish Identity (The Forward, paywall)
- Daf Yomi Fever: How Daily Talmud Study Is Sweeping the Nation (Jewish Journal)
- The Potential of Alternate Universes (Jewish Journal)
- After ‘The Jewish Women Turned Invisible,’ Voices are Quietly Emerging (EJewishPhilanthropy.com)
- The Logistics, Wins and Losses of Jewish Conference Inclusion (EJewishPhilanthropy.com)
In February, the Limmud tour continues with Limmud NY, President’s Day Weekend (February 14-17)– see below for sessions. You can still register to attend at limmudny.org.)
Now booking gigs for March-December 2020, so be in touch! Thanks for staying connected to the world of EstherK…
Coming in 2020 – to Seattle & Beyond!
04 years ago
Ending 2019 with two bookings for January, at Limmud Seattle and the Z3 conference in Los Angeles…details and links are below.
Plus, more episodes of the Bagel Report podcast, plus articles galore (Articles Galore is my Bond Girl name) at the J and the Jewish Journal, and more!
So stay tuned and have a wonderful new year!
Going Long with TVGoneJewy at Limmud Bay Area Festival
05 years ago
Getting started at #TVGoneJewy at Limmud Bay Area Festival
I arrived at Sonoma State University for the Limmud Bay Area Festival, excited about presenting three sessions to the attendees. But there was one lurking worry: that my first presentation was too long.
I had 70 minutes to cover “TV Gone Jewy” – the exploration of various scenes from contemporary television that mentions Jewish things or talks extensively about Jewish identity. But I definitely had more than 70 minutes of material. I went through the presentation and trimmed – starting clips when the Jewy things happened instead of at their start to provide context, cutting slides here and there. I had also built in about ten minutes at the end for conversation. I could do it in 70 minutes, I thought.
As we met that Friday afternoon as the Jewish conference/festival, gathering several hundred community learners interested in unfiltered or unaffiliated Jewish learning, began, I looked out at the room, about 40 attendees of all ages, Jewish identities and backgrounds and breathed. Here we go.
I spoke quickly, in tribute to my east coast roots, and before I knew it we were at 60 minutes.
“How are we doing on time?” I asked the crowd. “Have a few more minutes?”
Audience members enjoying #TVGoneJewy at Limmud Bay Area Festival
“Keep going!” the crowd urged.
“OK,” I said, “but if you need to leave to go to another session, or for whatever reason, we can officially end the session and if people want to stay, you’re welcome but not required. I’ll keep going for whoever stays!”
About five people walked out, waving, smiling and saying thank you. The rest of us continued…for another hour. About 25 people stayed to the very end.
That was just the beginning.
Client Profile: Comedy for a Change Conference
09 years ago
From the comedyforachange.com website
Comedy as social change? Only in Jerusalem. 🙂 December 21-22 saw the arrival of a group of comedy change-makers from around the world for the premiere Comedy for a Change conference. Originally signed up as an attendee, I was honored that they subsequently hired me as social media manager for the conference – I created and managed the @JJJComedy Twitter for the three weeks before the conference, during the event itself, and for several weeks after.
The brainchild of comedy writer and exporter of Israeli TV formats Omri Marcus, the conference brought to Israel people who had never been there before, to experience different styles of comedy, examine how comedy informs the social and political perspectives, and to participate in an international writers room.
As the social media manager for the conference, I watched the tweets fly fast and furious throughout the day, documenting the unique proceedings as they transpired. The mayor of Jerusalem was interviewed by a foul mouthed puppet (think Avenue Q, but ruder). Participants were treated to an inside scoop of from the writers of the German, American, and Israeli versions of the hit show, “The Office.” Two Canadian comedians talked about their Yiddish-language comedy series, YidLife Crisis. The head of television programs for the BBC spoke about his network, Israel in the news, and the changing face of anti-Semitism in Europe. Session panelists talked about pushing the envelope, the process of producing video, and how social change messages can be embedded in comedic contexts.
The United States, of course, was well-represented. Other comedy professionals hailed from countries as far away as Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, South Africa and Canada; there were also two Muslim comics (from Denmark and Brooklyn), who were a vital component to the “Non-Diplomatic Peace Talks” session (covered by CNN), an experience pairing them with two Israeli political comedians and moderated by a German. (If you pause at 2:00 in the clip, you can spy me in the audience, smiling demurely and looking down at my notebook.)
Check out a sampling of the Tweets and photos from the conference, as rendered through Storify:
Hashtags & Haystacks – Social Media, “Ranch-Style”
010 years ago
Presenting at the #NCJHub with @see3 (#instagram nrabkin)
What’s “Ranch-Style” Social Media? Good question…well, it has little to do with the creamy dressing that people use to dip hot wings and occasionally vegetables into, and everything to do with the location of my last social media training .
I was honored to have been invited by the folks at See3 Communications to be part of the social media boot camp they were conducting for the Leichtag Foundation, a foundation whose mission it is to honor the legacy of Lee and Toni Leichtag through igniting and inspiring vibrant Jewish life, advancing self-sufficiency and stimulating social entrepreneurship in coastal North San Diego County and Jerusalem. The event was held Monday, September 15, at the Leichtag-run ranch in Encinitas (near San Diego), where a number of social entrepreneurship programs and Jewish organizations also were headquartered under an initiative called the North County Jewish Hub. (You can view tweets, photos & vines from the day at #NCJHub.)
My presentation on Twitter provided some best practices, as well as some examples of what constitutes good engagement (like the @midnight #HashtagWars) and what constitutes a Twitter #fail (for instance, the recent DiGiorno’s #WhyIStayed snafu).
The media session provided lots of hints about how to approach – and most importantly, develop ongoing relationships with – members of the media, to maximize your chances of getting coverage for an event or organization.
Stay tuned for more content in the weeks ahead…
Kicking off January With “Jewish Geography Goes Digital”
010 years ago
Presenting at "Moving the Needle 2014" - the RAVSAK & PARDES Jewish educators' conference
Mid-January arrived, and with it, the RAVSAK/PARDES Jewish educators’ conference – titled “Moving the Needle,” the content contained inspiring speakers, informative panels, deep dives into practical subject matters and workshops designed to give educators a skills upgrade. I was honored to present “Jewish Geography Goes Digital” to an involved and inquisitive group of Jewish educators from across the country – the interactive skills session featured extensive dialogue with those in the room, facilitated sharing of experience using social media in an educational context, and the introduction of new tools and awareness of social media culture as a way to deepen relationships with constituents.
You can check out my presentation below (and additional presentations are available here). And remember, if you’re interested in a consultation on social media culture or tools, creative content strategy, or communications methods for the digital age, please be in touch and we can discuss the possibilities.
Video Workshop: “Leadership in the Digital Age”
011 years ago
In May, I was invited to London to speak as part of the Jewish Leadership Council’s Lead Division’s newest initiative, Leading In which was created in response to the desire and need for more leadership skills training, expressed by alumni of Lead’s programmes as well as employers within the community. The JLC, in a blog post about the program, explained:
We believe that Jewish communal leaders need both a deep understanding and knowledge of the UK Jewish Community as well as a core range of leadership skills. Leading In consists of regular bi-monthly evening sessions, open to all who are in a leadership position in the community, both lay and professional. Each session will include a leadership skills based session (a choice of three with the option to participate in a fundraising series over several sessions), an opportunity to network and a masterclass with an inspirational, visionary leader.
The event, held at the London Jewish Museum, was attended by 60 lay and professional leaders from more than 30 Jewish communal organizations. Debbie Klein, chair of JW3 (the about-to-launch Jewish Community Centre), gave the opening keynote discussing leadership tips, and participants chose from workshops like, “Inside the mind of a leader” with Jeff Wolfin, “Fundraising” with Jeff Shear (the second in the series), and my session, “Leadership in the Digital Age: Conversing, Commenting and Creating Meaningful Relationships” (available in its entirety – 1 hour, 22 minutes – below.
“Leadership in the Digital Age” – Esther Kustanowitz, May 2013
Speaking at TribeFest (Las Vegas) – March 26
012 years ago
What happens in Vegas…is that I’ve been asked to be part of a session panel at TribeFest, the conference/gathering for young (and youngish) Jews that JFNA is organizing at the end of March:
Pitchfest! Jewish Stories Go Hollywood!
Join G-dcast’s Producer, Screenwriter, and a panel of celebrity judges in an interactive Hollywood style pitchfest. Each team gets a (very) colorful Jewish story that we promise you’ve never heard before and develops its own red carpet, scene-stealing pitch. (We’ll coach you on how the experts do it.) Then send your best rep up on stage to dazzle the executives and convince us why YOUR story should be turned into an animated film. Big sunglasses provided. (Session produced by Sarah Lefton, with supporting cast turns by Sean Mandell, Josh Walters, and Esther Kustanowitz)
Since I’m the “celebrity judge” who lives and works closest to Hollywood (geographically, Beverly Hills ain’t far), bringing the celebrity glamour will be my responsibility. You can check out my new TribeFest speaker’s bio here.