Ashamed to Admit
Are you ashamed to admit you're not across the big issues and events affecting Jews in Australia, Israel and around the Jewish world?
In this new podcast from online publication The Jewish Independent, Your Third Cousin Tami Sussman and TJI's Dashiel Lawrence tackle the week's 'Chewiest and Jewiest' topics.
Ashamed to Admit
Magpies to Missiles: With Aussie Actor Jakey Parry
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Tami and Dash are joined by Aussie actor and influencer Jakey Parry, who now serves in the IDF and has garnered a large following from his funny, insightful and moving videos about being a new immigrant and learning Hebrew in Israel.
Take the TJI Quiz
https://thejewishindependent.com.au/quiz/tji-quiz-55
More from Jakey on TJI
https://thejewishindependent.com.au/i-have-learned-orthodox-actor-is-not-an-oxymoron
Jakey's Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/jakey_parry/
Tami and Dash on Instagram: tami_sussman_bits and dashiel_and_pascoe
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Breaking from the Heavy News Cycle
Speaker 1Do you need a break from the heavy news cycle?
Speaker 2Have you ever tried learning a new language which has its own script with 22 letters, all consonants, no capital letters, and it's written right to left. The verbs change for tense, gender, number and person with completely different forms.
Speaker 1If you answered yes to one or both of those questions, then you've come to the right place.
Speaker 2I'm Dash Lawrence from the Jewish Independent, and in today's episode, your third cousin, tammy Sussman, and I will be chatting with an Aussie actor and influencer living in Israel who has garnered a large following for his videos about Hebrew language learning faux pas.
Speaker 1Who knows if he'll be ashamed to admit anything. It's season three of this Jewish Independent podcast and we seem to be dropping our shame a little bit. Some of us more than others and we seem to be dropping our shame a little bit. Some of us, more than others, come along for the ride as we have a go at cutting through some seriously chewy and dewy topics.
Speaker 2Welcome to this week's episode of A Shame to Admit. Hello everyone, I'm Dash Lawrence, Executive Director here at the Jewish Independent.
Celebrity Quiz and Emmy Nominations
Speaker 1And I'm Tammy celebrity lookalike Amy Winehouse Sussman, Do you see it?
Speaker 2Mmm, not quite.
Speaker 1I think it's pretty strange that two people in one week, who don't know each other, said hey, you look a lot like Amy Winehouse. I told them that they were racist.
Speaker 2You look too healthy to be Amy Winehouse.
Speaker 1I was going to say maybe I look like her when you know she was papped outside of rehab.
Speaker 2Oh no, no, you don't look like Amy Winehouse.
Speaker 1What other celebrity do you think I could pass for?
Speaker 2Alyssa Milano.
Speaker 1That's retro. Maybe, you just threw that name out there Alyssa Milano. Why is Alyssa Milano on your mind?
Speaker 2Well, she's not on my mind, but I'm looking at you right now and I'm trying to conjure up a celebrity and for some reason she came to mind.
Speaker 1I reckon if I'd had the teenage nose job, I could be an Alyssa Milano impersonator. Who do you get told you look like?
Speaker 2I don't know. Fill in the blank bald middle-aged man. No one tells me. Oh jeez, you look like Bruce.
Speaker 1Willis.
Speaker 2No one tells me I look like Bruce Willis.
Speaker 1Who would you choose to play?
Speaker 2Dash Lawrence in a biopic? Ooh, he's got too good of a head of hair, but it's okay. Jesse Eisenberg, I think. I think he could channel me really well.
Speaker 1He is so anxious and neurotic.
Speaker 2He is, but I think he could maybe dial it down a little bit but still chap into some underlying neuroses that I might have.
Speaker 1Okay, they could put a cap on him and make him bald. Who else?
Speaker 2Well, if we're thinking Australian actors, he's too old now, but Ben Mendelsohn I would have quite liked Ben Mendelsohn to have played me.
Speaker 1Well, he could play you in the future because your biopic would have child actor, middle-aged and then future actor. Interesting that you've chosen jewish actors. You identify as a jew. That's cute, by the way. If you can hear my keyboard tapping, it's because I'm doing the most jewish thing ever and that's googling. Is ben mendelsohn jewish? I just assumed he was because of his surname. I know some jews with the surname Mendelsohn Jewish. I just assumed he was because of his surname. I know some Jews with the surname Mendelsohn and because he looks Jewish. But I know that a lot of our listeners are fact checkers, so yeah, I'm not sure that he is.
Speaker 1No, he went on the series who Do you Think you Are? And they traced his paternal grandfather, oscar, to a Jewish family in Prussia. I reckon Eric Banner is your guy.
Speaker 2Far too handsome to be me.
Speaker 1Oh, don't say that, dash, we've had plenty of guests. And my mum say that you have a cute face.
Speaker 2I don't have part German, part Croatian, outer suburban Melbourne masculinity that you know, sort of strong, strong features.
Speaker 1How do you know so much about Eric Banner's ancestry? That's what I want to know.
Speaker 2The things I keep stored away. They're back, the recesses of my mind.
Speaker 1Caught you out, like I can totally see you. I don't know, maybe you had the flu and you're like. Oh, you just like ended up in this rabbit hole of Eric Banner's ancestry. That's cute, dash. I love what we're doing here. We very rarely get a chance to just chew the fat about like celebs and pop culture, but I thought we could start off this week's episode with a bit of that, just to boost morale. The news cycle is heavy. The stuff out there on social media is bad. It's pretty bleak. I know that you've deleted Instagram from your phone. Good decision, one that I should consider. So I thought we'd start off today's episode with a bit of a pop culture quiz, because the list of nominees for the Emmys have come out and the Emmys are in September.
Speaker 2Yep.
Speaker 1And so what that means for Jewish news outlets is that they've done what they do every year, and they compile a list of Jews who are nominated.
Speaker 2Yep.
Speaker 1Jews don't like being on a list, unless it's a list of nominations for prestigious awards in arts. This is a multiple choice quiz. I'm the quizzer, you're the quizzie. Okay, I know that TJI has a weekly quiz, so we'll leave a link to that in the show notes, but there's a really narrow focus for this quiz. It's a pop culture quiz. In each of these multiple choice questions, there's going to be one celeb who has been nominated for an Emmy.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 1Which of the following Jennys have been nominated for an Emmy? Is it A Jenny Slate, b Jenny Schechter, c Jenny from the block or D Jenny Coat?
Speaker 2Jenny Schechter.
Speaker 1Do you know who Jenny Schechter is?
Speaker 2Not really.
Speaker 1She's a.
Speaker 2Jewish actor.
Speaker 1No, she's actually a character from the original L Word. She was a controversial character, so she's not even a real person.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 1You didn't think it was Jenny from the block.
Speaker 2No, who's that?
Speaker 1Jenny from the block J-Lo.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Do you know who Jenny Coate is?
Speaker 2No.
Speaker 1She writes books based on Bible stories. It's Jenny Slate. Jenny Slate is a comedian, a writer and an actor. Do you want to know what I love about her?
Speaker 2What do you love about her?
Speaker 1I love that she's talented, but I also love that she still has her original nose and it's a big one and it's sexy.
Speaker 2She is nominated for her role in Dying for Sex. Outstanding Supporting Actress in Unlimited Series or Movie.
Speaker 1Okay. Which of the following Bens has been nominated for an Emmy and extra points if you can tell me. Which ones are Jewish? Okay, which ones are Jewish? Okay. Is it A Ben Stiller, b Ben Affleck, c Ben Kingsley or D Ben Franklin?
Speaker 2I think Ben Kingsley and Ben Stiller are Jewish, but I don't think they've been nominated for an Emmy Ben Franklin at the end.
Speaker 1Do you know who Ben Franklin is?
Speaker 2No, benjamin Franklin. Thank you for clarifying that. Maybe it was Ben Stiller.
Speaker 1It is, and he's been nominated for Outstanding Director. Do you know that he directed Severance?
Speaker 2No.
Speaker 1It's very good, ben Kingsley.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1You identified him as a Jew. Why did you do that?
Speaker 2I think he is, isn't he?
Speaker 1He does have some Jewish ancestry.
Speaker 2Yeah, he's certainly played Jewish characters in the past. He played one of the I can't remember his name from Schindler's List.
Speaker 1It's Huckstern, it's Huckstern, it's Huckstern.
Speaker 2He's the one that has his golden tooth melted down and turned into a ring as a gift for Oscar Schindler.
Speaker 1Do you know that he was born Krishna Pandit Bungie?
Speaker 2Oh, yes, that's right, I did know that.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1He is.
Speaker 2He's Indian. Yeah, yeah, he is.
Speaker 1He's Indian, yeah, born to an English mother and an Indian, gujarati father.
Speaker 2Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1So he copped a lot of slack for playing Gandhi. People didn't realise he actually is.
Speaker 2Indian.
Speaker 1Indian.
Speaker 2Ben Affleck's not Jewish, is he no?
Speaker 1In 1994, Kingsley stated I'm not Jewish, and though there might be some Russian Jewish heritage way back on my mother's side, the thread is so fine. There's no real evidence that will not stop the Jews from claiming him as their own. All right, we're moving through this list. Which of the following Jewish Zoes has been nominated for an Emmy Zoe Deschanel, Zoe Saldana, Zoe Kumsma or Zoe Kravitz?
Speaker 2Oof, I think it was Zoe Deschanel.
Speaker 1Zoe Deschanel, she's not Jewish.
Speaker 2Yes, she is.
Speaker 1No, she's not. Yeah, her paternal grandmother comes from a Quaker family.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 1Quaker, which, I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't know was a religious society until quite late in life. I did think it was just a brand of oats.
Speaker 2Tammy. Yeah, zoe Deschanel converted to Judaism when In 2018.
Speaker 1Why.
Speaker 2Her husband is Jewish. Ah, that's right Told you.
Speaker 1Well, there you go.
Speaker 2Her former husband Jacob Peshanik.
Speaker 1All right. So I reckon her and Isla Fisher have a WhatsApp group where they shit talk their ex-Jewish husbands and they're like complaining about you know what I did for him? Do you know how hard it was to convert for him and what do I get in return? Great, this conversation is so Jewish. It's peak Shabbat dinner.
Speaker 2So okay. So if it's not her, then Zoe Kravitz.
Speaker 1Yeah, it is, it's Zoe Kravitz.
Speaker 2Lenny's daughter.
Speaker 1Lenny's daughter. She's been nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actress Dinner Comedy Series. Okay, final question which one of these Jewish Seths has been nominated for an Emmy? Is it Seth Rogen, seth Green, seth MacFarlane, seth Meyers or Seth Cohen?
Speaker 2Seth Rogen.
Speaker 1You're right, seth Meyers. Do you know who Seth Meyers is?
Speaker 3Seth Meyers. Do you know who Seth?
Speaker 1Meyers is Former Saturday Night Live cast member, has his own talk show. Good friends with. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. He often jokes that like it's confusing to everyone that he's not Jewish.
Speaker 2Oh, he's not Jewish. No, wow, he's got such a Jewish name.
Speaker 1He's got such a Jewish name and all of his friends are Jewish, but he's not Jewish. No, wow, he's got such a Jewish name. He's got such a Jewish name and all of his friends are Jewish, but he's not.
Speaker 2And his wife is Jewish. That's confusing.
Speaker 1That's how a lot of people feel about you, Dash.
Speaker 2I'm just confirming that Not sure she's.
Speaker 1Do you know what?
Speaker 2What.
Speaker 1I guarantee you that one of our listeners now is looking it up for us.
Speaker 2Yeah, can't confirm.
Speaker 1I love our listeners. I love the fact that they're there to correct our pronunciation and to let us know when we've given incorrect information about a celebrity's Jewish ancestry. I also love our listeners who send us content or ideas for episodes. Now one of our listeners who listens from Madrid, I should add who sent us a video that a young man, an Aussie Jewish man who is doing his military service in Israel, made about his experience there.
Speaker 1And I watched this content creator's opus and I thought he is hilarious and we need to interview him on this show. And what we discovered Dash is not only is he hilarious, but he's also quite thoughtful and empathetic and has so much to say, so much insight to provide about his experience doing army service and learning Hebrew and just living in a completely new Jewish community. And this person is Jakey Parry. Jakey Parry is an actor, content creator and Hebrew teacher, despite not speaking Hebrew fluently. He moved to Israel a few months before October 7th and decided to stay and draft to the army. He currently serves in the RDF spokesperson unit while side hustling a social media following of over 35,000 people himself.
Speaker 2And just to timestamp this one, Tammy and I recorded this interview shortly after Israel's war with Iran was called to a halt.
Speaker 1And it's important that you mention that Dash, because at some point in the interview we do have to pause and there was concern that there was a siren or that he was called into work. So that's just a little bit of context to, I guess, the energy or the atmosphere that was kind of the backdrop of this interview. We know that you are going to love our conversation with Jakey Jakey Parry. Thank you so much for joining us in the Ashamed to Admit studio.
Speaker 3Thank you so much for having me for my podcast debut. It's very exciting.
Speaker 1Wow, what an honour. So I came across you and your stuff when a loyal listener of this show, he sent me your magpie video where you tell viewers that lethal, swooping Australian magpies prepared you for the rocket and missiles fired from Iran. We'll get to that video soon, but let's start at the beginning. Jakey, tell us about your birth.
Speaker 3Okay, so I was actually born in. I'm joking. Okay, I was happily to tell you that.
Speaker 1No, your origin story, yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 3For sure, for sure.
Speaker 2And can we just call out the fact, before you do that, jakey, that you are our first ever guest who can lay claim to the Perth Jewish community being their home, first Perth Jew represent. So give us some insight into your little community as well, because I'm actually a Sydney boy.
Speaker 3I was born in Sydney, sydney baby. I left when I was nine months old. A lot of my family is still from Sydney. Perth's an awesome, awesome place. It's like we've got a very small, huge Jewish community. I think there's some like debates whether it's like us or Brisbane who are number three, but we're definitely number three in terms of like population, and we have one Jewish school. It's a really, really cute Jewish school. It's like because there's one Jewish school, it's like religious, not religious. Everyone's together. It's like this like really cute, tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone. If there's drama, everyone hears about it. If there's it's a schedule, it's it's a schedule. Yeah, that's.
Speaker 2That's a very good way of putting a dash can we just also let tammy in on some bit of trivia? Tammy, amazingly, perth has a suburb named after its Jewish community. There is a very small suburb called Menorah. Really, I believe, in celebration of the Jews of Perth.
Speaker 1Okay, we've lost Jakey and I'm wondering if maybe there's been an alert and he has to go into a bomb shelter.
Speaker 3Guys, I'm back with you. Can you guys hear me? Yes, cool, cool, cool. It was crazy a week ago and like suddenly everything is totally normal.
Speaker 1Dash just informed me that there is a suburb called Menorah in Perth. Can you verify that? Yeah?
Speaker 3it's a bit of a wild fact. As Dash said, we're really really in a shadow, to the point where, like, there's streets called Menorah it's a bit wild. There's like a proper radius of Jews and I'm curious what other people think when they walk through our area on a Shabbat, like why are all these random Australian people wearing these button shirts in the 40 degree heat? It's a really funny, funny little community. But yeah, I loved it.
Speaker 3I loved growing up in Perth because it's such a small community. You really have the ability to like get your name out there. Everyone's willing to listen to you, almost like a small town kind of vibe. But we're all really close. We all have, like this Perth pride, like to the point where, like now that I'm in Israel, like we have a group chat with all the people who moved from Perth to Israel and we often like do reunions and things together. We all obviously think we're better than Melbourne and Sydney, even though we know we're not. And yeah, I wouldn't change it for the world. Yeah, shout out, shout out. Carmel School where I went to school the only Jewish school in Perth and yeah, it was so much fun.
Speaker 1I'm sure they're very proud of you now. So you grew up in Perth in quite an observant or orthodox family. How would you describe?
From Theatre Kid to IDF Soldier
Speaker 3Because we're so small. There was only two real youth movements or directions to go. There was Bina Kiva and there was Habo Dror. I went to Bina. It's modern orthodox, so religious, but also not crazy religious like at all. Very understanding.
Speaker 1And you were also a theatre kid. Was that at school?
Speaker 3Big, big theatre kid. I was a few different leads throughout high school I was a cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz and Uncle Fester in the Addams Family A lot of fun roles. Like I said, it was like the whole community came to these musicals and they're growing and growing and growing and I'm so jealous when I see videos online of what they're doing. It's funny that I'm the first person from Perth you guys are having, because I'm definitely not the first famous Jew in Perth. I've got a fair few. The first Jewish celebrity story that I can tell you is obviously Troye Sivan was a Perth boy who came to our school it was in my sister's year Never met him, definitely has no idea who I am, but that's one thing.
Speaker 3And also a few years ago I think he might Maybe, maybe We'll shoot him a message. The other thing was a few years ago. For Rosh Hashanah in our small Jewish community we had Sasha Baron Cohen was married. Unfortunately, I don't think they're still married, but was married to a Perth girl they're not Isla Fisher.
Speaker 3Um, that's unfortunate. So he will not be returning to my community, unfortunately, but he did at some point. And there was this whole because I told you, like a small community where like rumors flow, and like it's, our principal sent the most ambiguous, suspicious message to the whole, like like kids, and like hey, there are some rumors going around that a certain celebrity is coming for a certain event. We just want everyone to know that everyone needs to stay calm, not to to. I was like that is not the right thing to do when a celebrity is coming to our small community. In short, his kids went to our school for a few weeks.
Speaker 3He was with at michael and dianella shout out for russia, shana, um. And it was the most absurd thing. It was like you were just because you're just praying, and there's sasha baron cohen, and it's not only that, he's got like this, he's a celebrity. He has this domineering figure and this presence and this voice as well. Like when he did kaddish, it was like, oh my God. The other thing I'll say about that is I am a Levite, he is a Kohen. So part of that during Chagim is like the Levites will wash the Kohanim's hands, and I was about to wash his hands when, I kid you not, a fellow Levite who was older than me pushed in front to wash Sacha Baron Cohen's hands. So, yeah, I was stripped of that.
Speaker 1He cut your lunch.
Speaker 3He cut the lunch in half. Oh my God. But yeah, it was a wild time. It was so such like, it was just wild. It was like, yeah, like going to shake hugs my mouth with sasha baron, um.
Speaker 2So what I'm trying to say is perth does have its history of um celebrities jakey, what you're describing is such a like comfortable, secure, idyllic community, a place where there were a sufficient number of jews around you to feel like you had a community, you had peers, you had shuls, you had a network, but small enough to really feel very, very comfortable. So why, then, the call to make Aliyah to Israel?
Speaker 3I think, like all Jewish communities, especially in Australia, we all have that comfort. We all have that Like I was so comfortable in my community. But I think, like all things, change is important and I think like, when I say like small, I think like I knew every single Jewish girl who was around my age, to the point where, like I knew which is a weird thing to say at like 18 years old, but like I knew I'm not going to marry any of these girls in in five, six, seven, eight years time, which is wild. But that's part of growing up in a small Jewish community. Um, like, I loved everyone, but I knew that this isn't where my future was.
Speaker 3I was originally like, because of the acting world, like I was originally looking at like different options.
Speaker 3I'd gotten into a really like good acting school in Perth and I thought I was going to continue with that and there was really a way for my life to just move to that direction.
Speaker 3But at the end of the day, like I'm a Zionist, I like grew up with Zionist Israel education and I knew like as also a religious Jew. It's a small thing, but it's like I go to I don't know what's an Australian supermarket at Coles and I'm wearing my kippah and like it's not that I like I'm so scared to wear my kippah, it's just like I feel a bit different and I think I was just ready to not feel so different and ready to be with I don't know everyone. Like that exciting, like change was really appealing to me and it also helped that I have three older sisters who made Aliyah similar path to me and I also knew that my parents were towards retirement age and their plan was also headed towards Israel. Yeah, it wasn't easy. I really could have taken a more comfortable path here in Perth. But yeah, I really do believe everything happens for a reason and there's a reason I'm here and there's a reason why I said no to university and said yes to drafting into a military.
Speaker 1That was going to be my next question, because when most young people think about their gap year, they think about maybe some Contiki tours or just getting really drunk or high in Europe. They're not really thinking about army service. So do you want to talk us through that?
Speaker 3For sure, for sure. The former thing that you said definitely appeals to me more than army service. That was not what I was thinking about at all. I was also like a really fun year. That was not what I was thinking about at all. I was also like a really fun year.
Speaker 3I did go to yeshiva, so like that was. That was the difference, but more like liberal fun, like yeshiva as opposed to to the other, like strict ones, and I really had the best year like living in Jerusalem, made a lot of mates, but I think I just, like so many people, I really did just fall in love with the country and I realized that this is where I want to be. And then, after I decided this is where I want to be, like I was like, what is the next step? The army wasn't even an option, because I just associated army with like shooting a gun and going into battle and that is so, so far from me. I think I am the first person in basic training to not hit one target, so there is a reason why I'm not on the battlefields.
Speaker 3But when I found out that there are other options in the army and you don't just have to be a fighter and there are what I'm in, which I'll tell you guys about later is a really niche, creative, awesome job in the army. Once I learned about that I was like, okay, maybe there is a future here and because I was coming in as a 20 year old, there's no real other alternative. Because, like, it's mandatory, you can get around the system, but it's also a bit hard because you're not going to officially make Aliyah, you're not officially going to get your citizenship here. Like I told you, I have three older sisters who had done a similar process to me and they kind of were like, if you really want to feel Israeli, if you really want to integrate, you should do the army. Yeah, so that's kind of why.
Speaker 1I imagine there's maybe taboo around people not serving in the army as well, or it's frowned upon. Am I right to assume that?
Speaker 3No, definitely to the point where, like it, even like nowadays, it's like political discussions and there's protests of people who don't want to serve and want to serve. For me, that wasn't even part of it. It was more just like a personal thing about integrating, feeling Israeli, I'm a proud Zionist and I want to contribute the best way I can. Thank God, I think finally I found a way to do that.
Speaker 2But you're also a thespian, jakey. But you're also a thespian, jakey, and for those who haven't seen your TikTok or Instagram videos and reels, check them out. You'll get a real flavour for the brilliance of your theatrical style. Jake, you're only 21, but you have already cultivated a very distinctive voice. Your performances through social media are terrific, very funny, very entertaining. You mentioned before that you had to forego that opportunity of doing theatre in Australia and starting to become an actor. You moved to Israel, as you're saying, moved into the IDF, so I'm fascinated to learn about this particular niche area of the IDF. Is there like an entertaining unit? Is that what we're talking about?
Hebrew Mistakes and Content Creation
Speaker 3that's not specifically what I'm doing. There is an army theater which is wild and I'd love to know what they do day to day. My social media I'd like to say I'm known as a micro influencer because I have a niche and it's a really niche and people do love it, but it's really I guess it comes from my, my birth in me like to find these niche, small little groups. But yeah, so my social media is. I kind of started it at the start of my army service, actually when I didn't quite get into the unit that I wanted to and I wasn't having the best time, and the unit that I did want to was the social media unit, the spokesperson digital unit. So my social media actually started as like, kind of like a response, like almost like an F? You for not taking me, look what I can do online. And it was kind of like my external way to like project my frustrations with the country, funny things I noticed in this country, and then also a platform to like, which eventually became my niche, to start teaching slash, learning Hebrew as I'm learning it throughout.
Speaker 3And yeah, it comes from my theatrical side, like I realized, if I'm going to have to stop theater for a few years, which ironically didn't happen, because I'm still doing theater in the middle of the army, which is also a bit strange. Why is it strange? It's not strange, it's more just like I'm grateful, grateful, like a lot of people in the army don't have the luxuries that I have, like a day job where they're able to do things on the side and, thank god, I have lovely commanders. I'm going from base to rehearsals, which is it's a wild. I I honestly don't know how many soldiers in israel can say they do that. Um, in fact, I might be the only one I'd like to say I'm kind of like the Israeli version of Troy Bolton, like when he goes from basketball training to theater, but instead of basketball training I'm going to the army.
Speaker 1But let's go back to your videos, because some of our listeners may not be familiar with them. Your most popular videos, or the ones that you describe as the most niche, are you poking fun at your mistakes? Basically, that you're making as you're learning Hebrew.
Speaker 3Yeah, a hundred percent. So I kind of realized that there is not a voice for the Olim Karashim, for the new immigrants who were trying to speak Hebrew. But unfortunately, there are a lot of what in Hebrew are called fedichot, like embarrassing moments that happen, because there's unfortunately there's like a lot of when we're trying to speak our English, literally in Hebrew, it sounds really bad, can give you a lot of examples, but also you can find a lot of them in my Instagram and it's like it's really bad, can give you a lot of examples, but also you can find a lot of them in my Instagram and it's like it's a voice to that Oleh Hadash, because, honestly, that voice isn't represented. No one really says it because they're too embarrassed to say the embarrassing moments they had. So I guess I'm that voice. I'm like full openness.
Speaker 3And then what's really amazing is once I got my first video out about the first Hebrew mistake I made, um, which I think was when, literally just talking about the literal English translations, I asked a friend what they thought about my pin, like as in a badge on my army uniform, but in Hebrew pin is a penis, so that was really awkward. Um, yeah, so I guess I am that voice for embarrassing Hebrew moments. And then the the comments I had was all like this, like relatability and like, oh my god, I did this, I did this, which was even worse than what you did, and and yeah, like from then, like we just kept on doing more.
Speaker 1It is very relatable and your videos are being enjoyed by not just English speakers learning Hebrew, but native speakers as well.
Speaker 3For sure, like even lately. Like it's like random Israeli people coming up to me on the streets and saying, ah, you're a geeky from TikTok, and I'm like, yeah, it's a bit wild.
Speaker 2And even some Arab citizens of Israel as well.
Speaker 3Yes, that that was really, really, really cool. It was like right by my place here in Jaffa and it's it's wild. It's wild Like how your voice can connect to so many people and that's, I think, things that I'm starting to learn now that I have, like, my audience is growing, the power of an audience and the power of a voice, and I think eventually I'd love to not necessarily just like do funny videos. I'm also like I feel like I'd love to be a storyteller, and also my army unit at the moment, which I can tell you guys about a bit later, it's like being in the spokesperson unit. I can get to it.
Speaker 1I was gonna say why don't you just tell us now?
Speaker 3so, like I said, I started off my social media as like a response for not getting into my dream unit and as a culmination of a lot of things a lot of me fighting, a lot of my videos, a lot of people helping me I eventually got into that unit, the social media digital unit. I'm in the spokesperson unit and it's been so lovely. It's been so much, so much fun. I love like the creative attribute of it and putting it together with, like my values of Zionism, of Jewish pride, and it all just kind of culminates into a job that I love going to every single day and I'm super grateful and, like I said, I really do believe everything happens for a reason. There was a reason why I was in the old job and from that it kind of leapfrogged my social media, which got me eventually here and made me make all these amazing friends, and I moved to Tel Aviv and it's all baruch Hashem falling into place there's one video that I'd like to direct our listeners to, and that is not one of your, your funny ones.
Speaker 2It's a very thoughtful, very considered video where you start by sharing your childhood love of stickers and your sticker collection and then you superimpose those memories and those early videos of you with your stickers over you today and your response to the sort of sea of stickers of what I can only assume are dead Israeli IDF soldiers. And that's something that you encounter day to day, and obviously that experience has taken you back to your earlier life collecting stickers. So listeners really should watch it themselves. But can you just give us some idea of where that video came from?
Speaker 3should watch it themselves, but can you just give us some idea of where that video came from? Yeah, so that's definitely one of the videos I'm most proud about. Thank you so much for mentioning it. So I think it comes back from, like I was saying, even though the funny Hebrew experiences I have from the point of view of the Oleh Hadash that's just another example of a video from the point of view of the Oleh Hadash, the new immigrant.
Speaker 3It's something that Israelis don't think about because their nature is like war. Okay, it's sad, let's move it on. And that comes from the concept when a soldier falls, like, their family often makes a sticker. And if you guys ever come to Israel and come to our train stations, the train stations are full with like hundreds, thousands of stickers of fallen soldiers and for an Israeli, that's what is part of their day-to-day life.
Absurdity of Life in Israel
Speaker 3And as an Oleh Hadash, as a new immigrant, I was genuinely like what the F? Like? How is this just normal? How do we walk through this? Every single day? We see these thousands of stickers and no one, no one, takes a step back. So I think part of and this is eventually what I want to use my voice for part of being a new immigrant or having a different perspective is stepping back, and that's what that video came from and, I think, being this micro influencer like so many people when when I posted that video, were like, oh my God, I never thought about it like that and I really appreciate your perspective that's really one of my most proud videos and it's genuinely something that I want to keep doing. I love the fact that I can use my social media for positivity and spread laughs and stuff like that, but I'd also yeah, I think there's so many things that Israelis don't think about that we do think about as Jews from Hul that we can really do some lovely discussions of learning something from each other.
Speaker 1Yeah, and what you're really touching on is the absurdity of life in Israel at the moment, and I think that's why so many Australians in particular would have resonated with your magpie video, which I referred to earlier in this episode. So in this episode bit that you created and you said it was an idea that your sisters brought to you because, as content creators, we just love it when people bring their ideas to us, and one in 20 ideas are actually good.
Speaker 3So talk us through this one that your sisters gifted you yeah, so it was friday night dinner, all of us together, like we're having a friday night dinner. It was like the first time we're all together since the start of Iran attacks. I was in the army for the past two weeks so it was like all very intense and, yeah, I guess just our Australian-ness kind of came together and we were like, wow, iran attacks are bad, but we survived. Magpies, like what, really can beat us, like there was nothing. I don't know how it is in Melbourne and Sydney, but it is genuinely enough to kill, to make a grown man cry when you walk through.
Speaker 3For us it was Breckler or Yokine Park on a Shabbat afternoon. It's genuine, like you, like I remember, like I would take, before I entered the park, I would like take a breath, even say a word to Hashem upstairs and like, just like, genuinely like hope that I wouldn't die. Like they were wild, they are lethal, beyond lethal. Like it's like you go, you're in your car and you see like this silhouette of just a grown man running away from a magpie. It's genuinely absurd. So, yeah, like I think only Australians can relate to that and I was like you know what? Let's really test my micro-influencedness, let's just. Let's just post it. And what I saw in that video was it has a lot of shares. I think it has like over 500 shares, so it's like that is 500 Australians who are sharing it to each other.
Speaker 1And that's brilliant. That's why I'm doing it. Were you concerned about tone? Was there a discussion about like is this too soon to be posting something like that? This stuff always fascinates me because this is a conversation I have in my head every day.
Speaker 3For sure. I was very, very careful to like do it in a way that's like funny without being too hard. Really, I think I posted it right in the middle of what was going on. So I did it with a sense of balance. I think I had to do a bit of editing because I think I went a bit too far for a second, and then power of editing.
Speaker 1I'm always a big believer that it's never too soon this comes up time and time again with our creative interviewees that we use humour as a coping mechanism, so I'm sure a lot of Australians were in their safe rooms. What's the Hebrew word for a safe room?
Speaker 3So a safe room is a mamad and the bigger ones, which is wild. That we have two different words for a safe room is like if you have the underground ones, which are more safe, that's a miklat.
Speaker 1Yeah, Miklat.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 1Well, I'm sure there were many Australians in there. Mama Dim, Mama Dot, what's the plural?
Speaker 3I assume Mama Dim, but I could also be totally wrong.
Speaker 1I'm sure that there were many Australians in there having a giggle, a well-deserved giggle, some resp from, I hope so, the horrors of war for sure.
Speaker 3I'll just say, like, I think like, if anything, that's like one thing that I really want to give to everyone, like, and that that was the purpose of that video, like spread a laugh, spread some joy, because it really it is. Like you said the word it's, it's absurd times we're living through and the classic israeli response is to like, as we say, alhamshif ala, to continue forward. But, yeah, sometimes it's worth taking a step back and to laugh about the absurdities of things, or even to cry about the absurdities of things, because we're literally living through history and it's like, even in the past two weeks, to be in the army during this iranian conflict. It's an honor to be here through history and that's, I guess, why, like my obsession with taking videos and like I was also like this throughout school, like I studied media and analysis and I was the one who was always taking photos and recording moments, I'm a big believer in that taking a step back, taking a breath and living in the moment.
Speaker 2So a lot of people have misconceptions about Israel. Even Australian Jewish people have misconceptions about what Israel is actually like to live in and, ditto, about the IDF as well. They have a very narrow lens about what they think the IDF is like and what it might be like to live in Israel. What's something surprising that you've learned since you've been drafted in the army that you think people outside of Israel may not realize and appreciate about it?
Surprising Truths About the IDF
Speaker 3The first thing that I didn't realize. I really thought that the army was all about combat and, like every system, there is so much to make the system what it is and there's all these different like there's a job out there for every single person who wants to draft then again it also is an army at the end of the day. So some of the funnier, absurd things that for Israelis are normal, that I find absurd, like even the fact that we need to like salute and like what we call Tekasim and like where, like, they put on the really cringy military music and I'm like what the hell is going on? Why is no one laughing except me? And I think for me, I don't know, I've always been a bit of a, even in Australia, during all those like army related ceremonies.
Speaker 3My secret shame is I find the minute of silence really hard not to laugh at and times that in a military, like when you're actually in the military, it's like times a hundred, it's like everything is so formal, like we put on the funniest little clothes. So at the end of the day, it is a military and it is an army and I feel like that's something that people forget. So that's something that people forget, so that's something that I didn't really expect.
Speaker 1That's because you're a satirist and funny satirical, ironic People find it hard to be sincere and earnest.
Speaker 3Those were all the words I was looking for, by the way. Thank you, they escaped my mouth.
Speaker 2My pleasure.
Speaker 3And the final thing I'll say about the army is kind of what I was alluding to Like before. We're all just lovely, sweet people and we all have a core value of Zionism and we love Israel and it doesn't matter where you come from, if you're Australian, if you're Israeli, if you're a new recruit. We all have this common goal together. It doesn't matter if you're in a combat, non-combat, if you're like me making videos for the IDF Instagram. We all have a common value of Zionism, pride and Judaism.
Speaker 1So what does the future look like for you, Jakey? If you have a magic wand, what would your day to day look like?
Speaker 3Wow, that is wild to think about.
Speaker 1You didn't know you were going to be in for a bit of career counselling.
Speaker 3For now, I definitely see my Bizarra Hashem in the entertainment industry in one way or another, whether it's acting or filmmaking or something like that. Like that hasn't changed since I was 17. The network and environment may have changed, given that I'm not in Australia, but I think I want to keep on using, like I was saying before, like it's wild how one can use their platform and I've used my platform nine out of 10 times for spreading light and positivity, but there's also that one out of 10 chance that I can also use it to send deeper messages, to tell stories, and that's what I'd love to do in the future.
Speaker 1Thank you so much for joining us today on Ashamed to Admit. We would usually ask our guests to share something they're ashamed to admit, but you already did.
Speaker 3If you guys want to see what I'm ashamed to admit, just check out my Instagram. That's a lot of shameful to admit moments. Thank you guys so much for having me. It was so much fun.
Speaker 1Our pleasure.
Speaker 2Shabbat shalom, jakey. Take care, shabbat shalom guys. That was Jakey Parry and you can find him on Instagram at Jakey J-A-K-E-Y, underscore Parry P-A-R-R-Y. We'll leave that link in today's show notes.
Speaker 1You've been listening to. A Shame to Admit with me, Tammy Sussman.
Speaker 2And me, Dash Lawrence.
Speaker 1This episode was mixed and edited by Nick King, with theme music by Donovan Jenks.
Speaker 2If you like the podcast, forward it to a mate. Tell them it's even more enjoyable.
Speaker 1Tell them it's even more enjoyable than a deep dive into Eric Banner when you're snuggling under your doona and you've got a little man cold.
Speaker 2As always. Thanks for your support and look out for Tammy. Next week I'm heading off to Bali. See you soon.
Speaker 1No need to rub it in.