Benji Lovitt
Headshot of Benji Lovitt
Birth nameBenjamin Nathan Lovitt
BornSeptember 27, 1974
Dallas, Texas
EducationUniversity of Texas
GenresIsraeli comedy, Jewish comedy, observational comedy
Subject(s)Israel, Jewish culture, Middle East, current events
Websitewww.benjilovitt.com

Benji Lovitt, (Hebrew: בנג'י לוויט) is an Israeli-American comedian, educator and writer.

Biography

Benjamin (Benji) Lovitt was born in Dallas, Texas,[1] attended J.J. Pearce High School,[2] and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree from The University of Texas at Austin.[3]

Lovitt visited Israel for the first time when he was 15 years old as part of a Young Judaea trip, and he returned a few years later to spend a gap year before college as a participant on Young Judaea's Year Course program.[1] He made aliyah in 2006, in the midst of the Second Lebanon War, and began writing about his experiences in a blog called "What War Zone???" He currently lives in Tel Aviv.

In 2023, Benji marked Israel's 75th anniversary by co-authoring the book “Israel 201, Your Next-Level Guide to the Magic, Mystery and Chaos! of Life in the Holy Land" with Joel Chasanoff. The book examines the daily life of Israelis and tries to give its readers insight into some unique aspects of Israeli culture.

Stand-up career

Lovitt first appeared at an open-mic night in Houston, Texas in 1997. After making aliyah in 2006, Lovitt began performing professionally and has appeared in North America for synagogues, Hillel International, Jewish Community Centers, Israel Bonds, and the Jewish Federations of North America, and in Israel for Nefesh B'Nefesh, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Birthright Israel, Masa Israel Journey, the Israel Scouts, and community missions.

During Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, Lovitt performed together with other comedians for Israeli civilians confined to bomb shelters or otherwise impacted by rockets launched by terrorists and for Israeli soldiers. While many of the shows were free, the proceeds from those with an admission charge were donated to the Friends of the IDF's Lone Soldier Program .[4][5]

Lovitt also produced humorous videos on Jewish holidays, aliyah and other topics.[6] He has been interviewed on the Israeli television show Hayom l'Machar[7] and appeared as a featured bachelor on the Israeli reality dating show Singles.[8]

Journalism career

Lovitt has been widely published in Israeli and American media. He is a regular blogger for the Times of Israel and previously provided guest columns for The Jerusalem Post. Articles by Lovitt can also be found at eJewish Philanthropy, the Jewish Daily Forward, Ynet, Israel21c, PresenTense Magazine,[9] Jewish Boston and other online publications.[10]

Lovitt's annual column "Things I love about Israel" Yom Ha'atzmaut highlight the unique aspects of Israeli society from the perspective of an oleh.[11]

Lovitt's January 2014 article in eJewish Philanthropy about bringing short-term Israel program participants to Tel Aviv[12] was one of the site's most widely read and discussed pieces and is often credited with inspiring Birthright Israel to launch the Tel Aviv Urban Experience in 2015.[13][14][15]

References

  1. 1 2 Levitt, Meredith Price (25 September 2008). "CafeTalk: Arrivals: Benji Lovitt". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Classmates.com". Classmates.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Degrees and Dates of Attendance". Degrees and Dates of Attendance. Office of the Registrar of UT-Austin. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Oster, Marcy. "Amid Gaza-Israel conflict, some tales to warm the heart". Times of Israel. Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Dreyfus, Hannah. "Comic Shelter From The Storm". The Jewish Week. The Jewish Week. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Benji Lovitt Videos". BenjiLovitt.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Benji Lovitt on Israel's Hayom l'Machar". Daily Motion. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "My Day on a Reality TV Show". BenjiLovitt.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Lovitt, Benji. "Would You Like Some Chumus with that Poke? Facebook Invades the Holy Land". Presentense Magazine. Presentense Group. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Writing". BenjiLovitt.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Freedman, Allie (29 October 2014). "Why We Love Israel". Jewish Times. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  12. ↑ Lovitt, Benji. "Israel Programs: The Case for Tel Aviv". eJewishPhilanthropy.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Birthright Israel Launches Tel Aviv Urban Experience; hmmmmm". eJewishPhilanthropy.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Ghert-Zand, Renee. "As it turns 15, Birthright Israel takes a closer look at Tel Aviv". Times of Israel. Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  15. ↑ Steinberg-Zand, Jessica. "Is Birthright in decline for neglecting 'cool' Tel Aviv-style Israel?". Times of Israel. Times of Israel. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
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