Over the eight nights of Hanukkah, author and activist Noa Tishby may have just set a record for most-viewed menorah lightings of all time. On each night — Dec. 25, 2024 through Jan. 1, 2025 — Tishby posted a new video of her lighting a menorah with a different celebrity friend. As of January 3, the total number of views of each video across Tishby’s and her guests’ platforms is over 20.4 million.
It was part of a project produced by Eighteen, Tishby’s nonprofit that she started in 2024. Eighteen’s mission is to use “media, social media, culture, events and education” to exemplify “what it means to be a loud and proud Jew and Zionist [by] promoting Jewish pride and displaying Jewish and Israeli customs and traditions to audiences around the world.”
Tishby asked her eight celebrity guests to join her in short videos celebrating one of the most joyous Jewish customs of the year. Their total combined social media followers is over 150 million across Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and TikTok. With Christmas overlapping with Hanukkah for the first time since 2005, Tishby used this as an opportunity to lead by example with Eighteen’s mission.
“Bringing light to the Jewish community and sharing our joy with the world was so needed after such a challenging year, and I am honored to have celebrated Hanukkah alongside such incredible entertainers,” Tishby told the Journal. “With each candle of Hanukkah, we expelled the darkness and any hate we received was quickly cast into the shadows as each video went viral.”
The 49-year-old Tishby — an actress, activist and television producer, came to the U.S. when she was 23. After years of being the go-to person for her friends’ questions about Israel, Tishby published her first book, “Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth” in 2021, a new York Times bestseller. In November 2022, Tishby was tapped by then-Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to be the Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and the Delegitimization of Israel. She was dismissed in April 2023, four months after Benjamin Netanyahu assumed office.
After the biggest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust on Oct. 7, 2023, Tishby became one of the most vocal and well-known voices fighting the social media war being waged against Israel and the Jewish people. She has put an emphasis on bridging divides between the Jewish community and others, as well between fellow Jews. Audiences have been responding to her message. This past spring, Tishby co-authored “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew” with Fox Sports anchor Emmanuel Acho, which also became a New York Times bestseller.
“Jews are such a small percentage of the world’s population and often falsehoods and biases are easily spread about us because of this,” Tishby said. “These [Hanukkah] guests are some of the best of their industries – acting, modeling, comedy, news and pop culture – and they have amassed massive followers, so I’m incredibly grateful for their willingness to open up about their Hanukkah stories and traditions. Together, we showed the world outside of our echo chamber how fun and cool this Jewish holiday really is.”
While the most viewed “menorah lighting” YouTube video is of The Maccabeats singing “Candlelight,” its 17 million views have been amassed over fourteen years. The millions of views Tishby and her guests have received over the eight nights of Hanukkah are only going to grow and reach audiences far outside the Jewish community.
On night one, Tishby lit the menorah with Academy Award-winning actress and Goop owner Gwyneth Paltrow. She told Tishby that her last name was shortened from Paltrowicz and that she comes from 17 generations of rabbis.
“We always light the menorah,” Paltrow told Tishby about Hanukkah at her home these days.
Actress Mila Kunis, whose family immigrated from the Soviet Union (present-day Ukraine) where they had to hide their religion, lit the menorah with Tishby on night two.
“The thing about being Jewish is it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure … there is no right or wrong way to be Jewish. My kids very much identify with the religion aspect of it, I’m like, ‘okay, guess we’ll do Shabbos and we’ll do the candles.’ There is so much beautiful tradition in it.”
Mayim Bialik was Tishby’s guest on night three, and the former “Jeopardy!” host gifted with a blue “ugly Hanukkah sweater” depicting two dreidels and the words, “This Is How We Roll.” Tishby arrived sporting a black sweater reading, “This Is My Hanukkah Shirt.”
She told Tishby that there are “so many incredible things about being Jewish, there’s so many joyful things, there’s so many things worth celebrating that are part of our birthright. It’s a sense of belonging, even if you don’t know where you belong.”
On night four, Tishby and comedian Iliza Shlesinger lit the candles. Shlesinger opened the video by saying that she has a little bit of a beef with Hanukkah.
“Hanukkah — and I’m here to die on this hill — is actually the most American holiday,” Shlesinger said. “The fact that we have failed to capitalize on this just shows that we clearly don’t run the media, otherwise, everything would be about Hanukkah and Mensch on a Bench would’ve been before Elf on a Shelf.”
It is a story of triumph over evil, triumph after desecration, of rebuilding, of resistance. It’s basically the American Revolution, but with food that’s more fun. We are the ones who should be putting up the Christmas lights.”
Journalist Van Jones joined Tishby on night five — his first time ever lighting a Hanukkah menorah. They spoke at length about relations between the Black and Jewish communities.
“The cultural DNA of the Jewish community is about repairing the world, the cultural DNA of the Black community is justice for all — not justice for some, justice for all,” Jones said. Throughout that whole last century, it was disproportionately Black folks and Jewish folks on the front lines deepening democracy, defending democracy. We need each other. And the world needs us to be together.”
Supermodel Cindy Crawford hosted Tishby on night six, lighting the menorah and eating sufganiyot. “For a shiksa,” Crawford said at the start of her video, “I have a lot of menorahs.” Crawford’s husband Rande Gerber is Jewish, and she spoke about how the massacre at the Nova Festival on Oct. 7 could have happened at Burning Man or Coachella — festivals her children attend.
On night seven, Tishby lit candles with actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish at Stephen Wise Temple. Haddish discussed the discovery of her own Jewish roots and how she celebrates Hanukkah with different friends each night.
“And every time we would get to the prayer, every time there would be a certain song, my whole heart would fill up,” Haddish said. “And I felt like my soul felt happy, feel joy, feel like a hug around me on the inside, like I’m where I’m supposed to be… It’s what brings me joy, it’s what makes me happy. So why wouldn’t I share it or say that’s who I am?”
For the eighth and final night of Hanukkah (and New Years Day), “Wonder Woman” actress Gal Gadot came to Tishby’s home to light candles and reflect on the lessons of the Festival of Lights.
“I think that it’s very symbolic, especially nowadays where the entire world is going through different turbulence,” Gadot said. “I think that there’s something beautiful about families getting together and lighting candles, bringing light and hope. It’s fun. It’s important.”
While there were thousands of positive reactions from viewers across Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook and TikTok, not even the goodwill of the holiday season could keep the trolls away from the discussions. Tishby addressed the hate by saying, “While the vitriol spewed in the comment section was few and far between, it proves that the hate that is claimed to only be towards Israel is really geared at all Jews and anyone who stands with us. Hanukkah reminds us that we will survive and thrive once again and that we must continue to have strong Jewish pride.”
Looking back at the week and the year ahead, Tishby expressed gratitude for each of the eight people who not only shared a night of Hanukkah with her, but set an example for their millions of fans.
“We proved to the world that there’s not one right way to be Jewish and that everyone is welcome. That was my goal with this project – to spread love and light and I know we accomplished that.” – Noa Tishby
“I am so grateful to my eight special guests who all readily accepted the invitation knowing that they may be opening themselves up to hate,” Tishby said. “The family traditions and personal stories that were shared further bonded us as we discovered our similarities and learned about our differences. We proved to the world that there’s not one right way to be Jewish and that everyone is welcome. That was my goal with this project – to spread love and light and I know we accomplished that.”
