Israeli actress and activist Noa Tishby is continuing her series in which she lights Hanukkah candles with a different celebrity each night.
For the sixth candle of Hanukkah, Tishby traveled to Paris, where she lit the candles with Italian-French singer, songwriter and fashion model Carla Bruni, wife of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Talking about her Jewish heritage, Bruni noted that her name is Bruni Tedeschi, and the Tedeschi is the Jewish side of the family.
“On my passport, I still have Tedeschi. My grandfather on my father's side was [from the] Jewish-Italian community,” recalled Bruni, who said that her grandfather went to study in Germany between the First World War and the Second World War. It was during this time that he felt the rise of antisemitism and ended up converting to Christianity in order to completely erase his Jewish identity.
On what is happening vis-à-vis antisemitism today, Bruni said, “I really feel terrible. I thought it was over. I thought we learned something from the past, but obviously someone is sort of canceling the past. Also, the historical past. People don't know what happened anymore, as if we forgot what happened. All my friends that are Jewish don't feel safe anymore. People are changing their name when they're ordering Uber or when they're ordering a pizza. I would never think that this would happen, never, and they're basically all leaving France.”
Asked by Tishby what she thinks the Jewish community should do in times like this, Bruni replied that they should “resist” through education and talking.
On what she likes about Hanukkah, Bruni said, “I like to light the candles. I like the prayers, even though I don't know them so well. I like to participate [in] that moment that should be shared. It's a beautiful, moving moment.
On Thursday, Tishby lit the fifth candle of Hanukkah with actress Julie Bowen, who is not Jewish but described herself as being “totally fascinated” with Jewish culture, stemming from the fact that her father’s business partner was Jewish.
Tishby lit the fourth candle of Hanukkah with host, producer, and writer Andy Cohen. She lit the third candle of Hanukkah with writer, actress and producer Erin Foster, who converted to Judaism in 2019.
Tishby lit the second candle of Hanukkah with Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher. On the first night of Hanukkah, she lit candles with American singer and songwriter P!nk.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)