Jewish-American actor and comedian Michael Rapaport spoke with Arutz Sheva – Israel National News during his recent visit to Israel on his need to speak out to the world on behalf of the Jewish People.

Rapaport has felt very angry over the past few months and has not hidden how angry, frustrated, and disappointed he has been with his colleagues in show business.

“I'm mostly angry about what happened. I'm mostly angry about what's still going on. It's still happening. The show business part of it is not as important, it's hurtful and it's disappointing, but it's nowhere near as important as what is going on with the hostages, the hostages' families, the survivors, the survivors' families, the IDF, the IDF families, and the trauma that so many people have experienced and haven't been able to even start mourning, because we're still in this 178 days later.”

"I was first part of a mission when I spoke at the rally in Washington DC. I wasn’t speaking for myself. I felt that I was getting out there to people. Whatever I’m saying, in whatever shape or form, for a tiny bit of time makes people feel good or proud, or laugh or heard or supported,” said Rapaport.

On the changes that have occurred in the world and in himself, he says, “The only thing that's changed for me is that I've felt more connected to my Judaism than ever before. I certainly feel more connected to Israel than ever before, in any way, and I'm unfortunately more aware of anti-Jewishness than I ever thought I would see during my life. I didn't realize how relevant and how just close it was to the surface, because it came out like that and it's continuing to come.”

In recent weeks the world has seen how the US support has changed, putting more pressure and less of a 100% hug.

Rapaport admits that “I haven't figured out if what the US government is publicly doing is theatrics or is genuine. I'm not sure about that, because, at the end of the day, actions do speak louder than words, although the words are hurtful, so I haven't figured out how much is ‘show for votes’ and how much is abandoning Israel. That's important. Although you'd want both, we are dealing with politicians in an election year and we are dealing with the biggest politicians in the world from both Israel and the US, especially during an election year in the US. I am extremely disappointed that in New York City, where I'm from, where I was born and raised, it has become acceptable to scream and yell, taunt, harass, and openly be anti-Jewish. That I'm very disappointed about.”

Rapaport adds, “I don't speak with the idea that I'm going to make a change [in preventing antisemitism], I just try to combat it as much as I can. I try to bully the bullies. I think there's a lot of online social media bullying. I think there's a lot of bullying towards Zionists, Jewish people and Israeli people. I just try to hit them the same way they try to hit us.”

In the past few months, Rapaport has visited Israel three times for a total of six weeks and states that he is “optimistic in the unbreakable unique resilience of Jewish people, of Israeli Jewish people. There is a special quiet toughness that I have so much respect for and I'm starting to understand, the more and more that I spend time here.”

Rapaport was honored at “Am Yisrael Chai,” an event held at the International Convention Center (ICC) in Jerusalem by the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism to show appreciation for diaspora Jewry as part of the Jewish Diaspora Week.

Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News about the special appreciation for Rapaport's work: "As we saw recently at the Oscars, it's not obvious that someone from the film industry would take such a bold step to use his accounts to fight against antisemitism and Hamas and to stand with the state of Israel. We really appreciate the efforts of Michael, and his courage to stand, sometimes against most of his colleagues, and to speak the truth and to speak for his people."