Episode Transcript
Supermodel Cindy Crawford STANDS UP Against Antisemitism | A Jewish Ally You Didn't Know You Needed!
To say I stand against antisemitism.
That seems very clear and easy.
How aware are you when you're meeting people?
Maybe this person seen me naked.
How small is real?
Is this is what there's been so much fighting over.
What do you think?
It says that you have so many close friends who are Jews.
I would say I'm Jewish adjacent.
How's that?
Yeah.
Hello, hello and a happy 2026 to all of you.
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, maybe some family time, vacation time, some much needed r and r.
I had a lovely vacation in Mexico where I got certified in scuba, which is pretty cool, but wanna do that for a while.
And uh, I spent a ton of time in the water.
No Hamas down there, but they do have Islamic, gd, Islamic, gd.
Hey, what do you call a fish who hates Jews?
Anti sea might.
Why do all the anti-Israel haters in the un love sushi?
Because they like their fish.
Un raw.
Un raw.
Uh, what was the name of Israel's underwater military operation after October 7th?
Operation?
Iron Sword Fish.
Okay, one more.
What is the most beloved fish in Israel?
The blue and white Fin Juah.
Oh, uh, I didn't write a monologue this week, but I did write a bunch of underwater jup punts.
I'm like a regular Judah mackerel bee over here.
Alright, let's get to today's spectacular guest who, without a doubt, every person watching this show will know at a glance.
She has one of the most famous faces in pop culture history.
She rewrote the book on what's possible to achieve in fashion and modeling.
She is a hugely successful businesswoman across multiple verticals, and she stayed grounded, dignified, and highly respected through it.
All this we know, but what you might not know is what an amazing ally she is to the Jewish people.
Whether by raising her kids in an interfaith household, amplifying the stories of Holocaust survivors, or helping save a legendary delicatessen, she has repeatedly used her voice and public persona to stand by the Jewish community with clarity and conviction.
She's not just an icon.
She's a whole dang institution, and I'm delighted to be kicking off the new year with her right now.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the supermodel of all supermodels, miss Cindy Crawford.
Cindy, welcome to the show.
Thank you.
That was quite the introduction.
You know, it's, it's all worth it and, and all true, and I don't have any.
Fish pun, sorry.
No, it's fine.
I think I cover all of them.
I do.
I think you did too.
So, um, when I first started the show, I had my big sort of guest wishlist Uhhuh, and didn't think to put Cindy Crawford on it, first of all, because I didn't know that we'd ever crossed paths.
But second of all, I, I didn't know that you were someone that I should have on that list.
Mm-hmm.
And third of all, once I did realize that I actually reached out to your team, got an immediate no.
Which was not the case when I got to see you in person.
You gave me an immediate Yes.
I I'd love to.
It took two seconds.
Mm-hmm.
And that's actually something that's happened to me.
And I know other Jewish content creators quite a bit, where the, the artist says yes, but the reps say no.
And I'm just curious, you know, what do you think that's about?
I mean, I, who knows, but what one thing?
I mean, I have some ideas I get.
Yeah.
So I was gonna say one thing could just be like, I get a lot of podcast requests, but normally things get passed by me.
I think probably.
I think this is, might be what you're alluding to, is that, you know, for most of my career, which I've been in the spotlight for now, gosh, almost 40 years, um, you know, haven't really gotten involved in politics or divisive issues, and my team probably wants to keep it that way.
And what is like.
Crazy to me.
And even like in your intro saying that I'm such an ally, like I don't really feel like I've done anything special.
Um, but that people in the grocery store coming to me and, you know, they're like, thank you so much for, you know, speaking out.
And I'm like, I'm just speaking out.
Like as a human being, it doesn't, it's so crazy to me that just a very small, like doing a photograph with a Holocaust survivor.
Is a is somehow controversial.
Yeah.
I think about like, how I was raised, you know, in the Midwest, very, I didn't know a single Jewish person growing up.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, you were like, we were the Catholic or Protestant.
I was Protestant.
I am Protestant.
Um, but e and even being that kind of, um, closed off and, and everyone's similar.
In some ways, I think that when I did move to New York or the city and like literally every, all my friends are Jewish in New York, I was just like open.
I was just like a nice Midwestern girl open.
Like there was no conflict about that.
And even, you know, my husband's Jewish and.
Neither family had a conflict about that.
So the fact that we're like going backwards somehow, it's, it's shocking.
I, I, I, I, I don't understand it.
It's frustrating from, from my point of view where I sit where, as you said, you know, taking a picture with a Holocaust survivor shouldn't be controversial.
It isn't.
Well, we'll get into it.
Okay.
I actually wanna save it, but, you know, that is, that's just sort of.
Human kindness.
Right.
But there's, I think the perception, sadly, that even touching something Jewish, having nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with current events.
Mm-hmm.
Quite the opposite.
Um, is quote unquote controversial.
When I was posting something, I think with Noah tpi, we did something for Hanukkah last year.
Yeah.
And someone was like, you're gonna wanna turn off your comments.
And I was like, I really, I don't think that my.
I don't think that my followers are gonna be hateful and, and honestly, they, they pulled through for me.
Love to hear that.
Yeah.
I mean, I think, again, it depends who your audience is, but I, my audience was totally in alignment with where I am and maybe like some young artist or whatever, maybe they feel like, wow, if I do this, I'm gonna lose my core audience.
I don't feel that, but I'm also at a point in my career where.
I think being authentic to who I am is more important than if someone is not gonna like what I have to say.
Yeah.
You know, and I'm, I certainly am not trying to shove any politics in anyone's face.
I, as I said before, I'm just like, it's like a human Yeah.
Instinct.
It's you were eating a jelly donut, you know?
Yeah, exactly.
If I was really cool, I would know how to say that name.
Like Una or whatever.
Pretty close.
Okay.
S okay.
See, there's no way I would get that, but yes.
Yeah, it's you guys.
You were halfway there.
All I got the first part.
You definitely get credit.
Okay.
Okay, so let's talk a little bit about your kind of Jewish journey that you've been on, which, you know, I'll take us back to 1998 when you, as, as you mentioned, your husband is Jewish, Randy Gerber.
Mm-hmm.
How, how much exposure.
Did you have to the Jewish community, like inside the community before that marriage?
Oh, a lot.
A lot, yeah.
Through Through your friend circle.
I think even, you know, starting at one of my really good friends at Northwestern, her mother is a Holocaust survivor.
Her mother was raised in Israel.
She currently lives in Jerusalem.
Her name is Ruti.
Well, Ruthie, but Ruthie, shout out to Ruthie and yes, and she'll.
Like I, like whenever I was having to do like my first Seder plate or whatever, I would always call her and we would jokingly call her Jo Dial a Jew.
Nice.
Because like she would tell me like what I needed on the plate.
'cause this was before the internet and like now I could just like go on YouTube and make it perfect.
Right.
Hey, Google, what goes on the Seder plate?
Yeah.
So through her and then when I moved to New York, um.
Well, one of my CLO best friends who was raised in Minnesota, she's Jewish, she's a makeup artist.
Sonya, one of my first girlfriends I met in New York, Karen, um, she's Jewish and so like I went to their nephew's bar mitzvahs and I would do Passover with them.
Or my favorite one is Rosh Hashanah.
Nice.
That's one of my favorites too, for sure.
Okay.
Why is that your favorite?
It's just a more of a celebration and I love, it's just like I love Thanksgiving the most of.
Yeah.
Of like American holidays because there's not the pressure of gift giving or, and it's not a heavy right.
Holiday, it's just an excuse to get people together Totally.
And have, have tradition and, and, and I think Jewish culture is so full of that.
Um, and that is.
Even like my friend Ruti, like she is Orthodox, so she does Shabbat and like I can't talk to her from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
And just like her explaining to me she was raised that way and she has raised her own children that way, like how much benefit that she personally.
Gets from having that unplugged time with her family.
Yeah.
You know, it's not something I do, but I am interested.
I'm interested, I'm, I'm a lifelong student, so like learning about Judaism or the cultures of Judaism, that's interesting for me.
Even when, for instance, when my son was born, I have my kids at home.
Mm-hmm.
So you don't like when you have your kids at home, they don't just automatically do a circumcision.
And I wouldn't probably have gotten my son circumcised because you're like this perfect little baby.
I know, I know.
My husband's like, we're getting him circumcised.
Like that was a non-negotiable.
But I said, if we're gonna do it, I want it to mean something.
Then like, so we did do a Bris.
I had never been to a Bris before.
Wow.
By the way, I think I almost passed out.
The moms do not like the Briss.
Oh my God.
I mean that's, that's, that's, you know, across the board.
Yeah.
I loved.
If you, you know, the symbolism, the ritual, the, the idea that it means something.
Yeah.
Um, so yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
I love that.
Um, something else you did back in the day, in 1992, you visited Israel for a ezio shoot.
Mm-hmm.
Um.
A bunch of amazing photos of you there.
Mm-hmm.
What do you remember about what it felt like to be there back in 92?
Few things I remember is we were there on Shabbat and then I remember like the elevator had, like all the buttons were already pressed already, right.
Or something.
'cause you couldn't press.
You have the Shabbat elevator situation.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
I remember that.
And then, I mean, I remember shooting, but really what I remember more is I stayed a few extra days and my friend Ruthie, like, she took me around and we did Masada and we did the, you know, the, the bath, the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea where you cover yourself with mud.
Um, and just went to some more local places too.
I always loved seeing any.
Country through someone who lives there.
Of course.
Um, so I think I remember those things as much as the photo shoot.
The photo shoot was kind of the excuse to get me there.
Yeah.
And then I, I think the one thing that I was really shocked by, and this just says a lot about maybe how American education, we don't do a great job on educating about things outside of America, I think, but how small is real is Yeah.
That you can like drive the whole country in a day.
You're like, wait, this is what.
We've like, there's been so much fighting over and it's, you know, it's just such a, not isn't, you know, it's not even close little piece to the size of California.
Right.
It's like tiny.
How did that, uh, impact the way you felt about the people, the culture, you know, the place when you get to go to any, uh, place like.
On a photo shoot, like you kind of come in, ev the red carpets ruled out for you.
I'm like, in full glam.
So of course, like the young soldiers, they were happy to see me.
There was, it was like, can't imagine, you know, it's a dream come true, right?
25-year-old Cindy Crawford, you know?
And so, um, but every, everywhere we went, even like we, when we went with the Bedouins and we went, you know, more in the desert, like everyone.
First of all, it was beautiful.
Yeah.
It's a beautiful country.
And, um, everywhere we went, like they were happy to have us there and be in the photographs with me.
And, um, yeah, it was like, it was a great trip.
And, and I think that, you know, especially meeting the soldiers and knowing that everyone in that country.
My friend, and this is gonna be all about Ruth a Yeah, because she has three sons now.
She's American.
She could come back and after October 7th, I was like, like, are you thinking about moving back?
Because she knows like her kids are, I want to, they're gonna have to turn 18, 1 16, 1 14, but they don't want to, like, they all wanna be there.
And you really got that, um, that sense of pride and that sense of service, I think.
And community.
I think probably that everyone has to be in the army.
It really probably leads to a co, like everyone is marching toward the same goal or everyone has this common it.
Belief like this.
We, I mean, and I know that the, uh, Supreme Court there and people marching Oh, sure.
And you know, I mean, it's like any country, like any country, they got issues.
But, but I do feel like, you know, the United States is so big and so spread out and, and, and maybe not.
We don't feel as aligned as maybe people in a smaller country who've all served in the military.
Totally.
And I, you know, I think it's not even just specific to Israel, but to all countries, you know, Finland has, you know, mandatory service and uh, any place where you're part of that and you're part of this bigger whole, I think is amazing and you see it, and it mm-hmm.
It sort of really affects the whole vibe there and the way people.
Realize they're a part of something more is like a beautiful thing.
Right.
I wish we had some kind of mandatory service in this service.
Country service.
Yeah.
Just service.
I mean, it's not, it doesn't have to be military service.
Yeah.
Doesn't, and it doesn't have to be there either.
There are other ways that you mm-hmm.
Do service for the country.
Right.
But just by being a part of that, you realize you're part of this community, this whole Yes.
And it's not every man for himself all the time.
Yes.
You know, it's a good thing.
Yes.
Um, I also read while you were there, you attended a random bar mitzvah.
Is that true?
I think what it might be is there was a Bar mitzvah in the hotel going on while you were there and like someone was like, Hey, go say hi to the Bar mitzvah boy.
And I just probably came in and, you know, made his night.
Yeah.
That's amazing.
So let's go back to your marriage.
Okay.
You've been married almost 30 years.
Yes.
How did the, you know, the Jewish aspect of your relationship start showing up in your life?
I mean, it's you, you married a Jewish guy, but you know, what does that look like?
Right.
Well, my husband is.
Not very religious, I guess.
Like not super observant.
Not, no, I put it this way.
I know way more about Jewish like tradition than he does.
Why do you think that is?
Uh, again, I know for you, I mean, oh, because I don't like empty ceremony, right?
Mm-hmm.
So if I'm, if I am hosting Passover, I wanna, you're not just doing it 'cause we do it.
You wanna get to me Well, and I wanna understand it and then, you know, like.
You know, I kind of did my abbreviated HA or whatever, you know, like Yeah.
What the parts that I think are meaningful too, because like there was no way my family was sitting through three hours of that.
I get it.
Even though we had the folders one too that everyone else has, like I have the Blue Folders Coffee one that my mother-in-law gave me.
Oh, amazing.
Religion truly never came up until right before we got married and we met with a pre-marriage counselor who kind of.
She has.
You talk about the things that she thinks people, couples don't talk about before they get married.
That's gonna come up later.
Yes.
And because of conflict, if you don't talk about it Yes.
At the time, and one of them was religion and not even just like how it affects the two of you, but if you have children.
Sure.
So that was the first time that we really talked about it and we came to an understanding, 'cause I actually was raised like congregationalist, which is like a.
A kind of Protestant.
Okay.
And went to church every Sunday and I think probably had more connection to my faith than, than, than Randy.
I don't know if that's true now, but let's say then.
Mm-hmm.
So we just decided like we would do exposure to both.
Like I had no problem.
Having both, like to me it was just more holidays, more things to celebrate, more reasons to get the family together.
Um, and I was like, yeah, if our kids wanna get bar mitz, bar mitzvah.
Great.
The thing I love about Bar Mitzvah, and this goes back to what I love about the traditions, is that, and I just was out of Bar Mitzvah, is that it's the one time in your life where you're recognized just.
For being you, not because you graduated, not because you got, uh, married.
It's just like you, it's like recognizing you as an individual human being.
And I, I love that.
So, and even my son still, he says he wants to go to Israel to get mitzvah.
So, um, who knows, maybe one day he will.
This is one of the sort of big topics within the Jewish world in 2026 that we talk about, which is, you know, how to be more inclusive or if you're.
Extra religious.
It's like there's too much exclusivity and they're not, you know, they feel like they need to keep the gate down and, uh, I think it's so important to keep the gate as open as possible.
Yeah.
I've never felt any of my friends, I feel like they're just very welcoming and they want, like, especially like with like Friday night dinner or whatever, it's like the more the merrier.
Totally.
You know, and it doesn't have to be.
It can be many.
It can look very different.
Yes.
For different people.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
That's interesting that that is a topic of conversation because you know, like Forge, I was lucky because my husband didn't even ask me to convert.
He didn't, his mother didn't like, I think a lot of times it's not even the spouse.
Yeah.
That wants you to convert.
It's like the in-laws.
Yeah.
Well, so when my, I actually, I told my wife we had a, a unique origin story where we were basically like in love before we even went on a date.
Okay.
And on our first date, I said, I feel like.
We're gonna get married if we get there.
Would you be open to talking about converting?
Mm-hmm.
Did may make a TV show about this?
I'm just kidding.
Is right?
Seriously.
It's like, you know, I'm thinking I've got some ideas.
Mm-hmm.
But um, she said yes, but I have to see that this is you talking and not your parents.
Mm-hmm.
And that this is important in your life and not just 'cause your family said you gotta marry a Jewish girl.
Right.
Yeah.
Right.
So I get that interesting.
Mm-hmm.
Weekly, shout out to Courtney.
Why was it important to you that your wife converted?
A couple reasons.
I would say, you know, it is so much a part of my day to day life and even be like, do you keep kosher or kitchen?
I do not keep kosher.
Okay.
So for me it's less about the, you know, the laws.
Mm-hmm.
And how many of them I follow.
Mm-hmm.
And more about the values.
Mm-hmm.
And the.
You know, the lineage, like being a part of this tribe that has mm-hmm.
Continued to exist for all these thousands of years.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, it's a little bit, you know, I think of things like dances with wolves or avatar.
Mm-hmm.
You know, it's like you kind of want the, I wanted her to like be in the tribe.
Right.
You know?
Right.
And, and just so that we would really be.
On the same page, on everything as we raised a family.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, I, I know it's different for different people.
Some people it's like, as long as the kids are being raised a certain way mm-hmm.
What the individual does doesn't matter.
But for me, I just, I knew it was so much a part of who I and my family are, that it would just, that it would be like, I just wanted her to speak the same language all the time and, you know, be thinking the same things and feeling the same things.
Yeah.
I think you told me she was raised Catholic.
Yeah.
So like, I guess like it would've been interesting if my husband did ask me to convert because I don't know, because I have a strong faith of my own.
Mm-hmm.
Like, I don't, I wouldn't know like how to, how to navigate them, navigate that.
So she was on this podcast, you can watch the whole, okay.
It's, we talk all about this.
Okay.
But really for her, and it's, you know, it's unique to the individual.
Yeah, of course.
But for her.
Like what she connected to most was with her religion, was faith in God.
Mm-hmm.
Which is the same Yes.
And tradition and family and holidays.
Mm-hmm.
And like all of that stuff.
Mm-hmm.
So it wasn't like very strongly based in, in a belief in Jesus as a savior.
Mm-hmm.
Or something that was sort of, you know, immutable with, with the Jewish side of things theologically.
Right.
Um, and part of the deal was she was like, I'm open to talking about converting, but we celebrate Christmas with my parents every single year.
Yeah.
Which we do Uhhuh and my house has gotten more and more festive for like the winter holidays.
Right, right.
I still have like lines that I draw, but you know, we have the most decorative like winter wonderland.
Right.
We have all the Hanukkah ornaments.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like so she gets to sort of scratch the same itch.
Yes.
It's funny because when we got married we were just gonna get like a justice of the piece or something and I was like, ah, that's.
Doesn't feel right to me.
And I at the time was going to a church in Malibu, Malibu, Presbyterian, and I loved the minister there.
Hmm.
And um, I was like, oh, I really want.
Dave worth to do this, to marry us.
And my husband was like, well, if you have your minister, I want my rabbi.
I'm like, fine.
Who's your rabbi?
I have you have not gone to temple once.
I like, and he was like, well, no, I don't have a rabbi.
You're right.
And, and he is like, he was fine with it, which I really appreciated it.
But he was like, just can't mention Jesus.
Right.
Yeah.
So like, you have these negotiations.
Totally.
And I'm like, no problem.
And my minister was like, I'll wear a yamaka if you want.
Like he, he was like.
He wanted us both to feel good and honored, but at the very end, he was like in the name of the father, the son.
And with that, I swear, like my husband looked at me and I was like, he didn't say Jesus.
He just said the Son could have been anybody.
You have to give each other grace in those moments too.
Sure.
Because you do come from d.
Ideas about, and I think like in my, in my house, um, especially with my mother, my mother was very, I wouldn't say religious, but had a very strong faith.
And, um, she was raised Baptist and then she started going to my dad's church when they got married.
And then I lost a brother.
He was two when he got diagnosed on almost four when he died.
But like.
During that time without having a church community and without having a strong faith, like I don't know how, how my mother would've survived that.
And so we were very familiar with people coming and laying on of hands and praying on my brother.
And like after my brother passed, like how the church community just like put their arms around us and took care of everything.
Um, so that's kind of how, where I was coming from and, and.
That's very meaningful to me.
So, you know, trying to, trying to just honor each other, it's navigating that thing and I feel blessed that.
We both had family that was like not judgy or, you know, they were very welcoming.
That's huge.
Yeah.
We mentioned, you know, thinking about the kids mm-hmm.
And how you're gonna raise your kids.
Mm-hmm.
You have two kids.
Mm-hmm.
Presley and Kaya.
Mm-hmm.
Um, what did being a parent like add Jewishly to, to your life as you guys are doing this interfaith thing together?
Well, I think it's more in our understanding of the world and especially I think.
That comes up like when someone dies, like when Randy's father died.
It's like, how do you talk about that to chil?
I mean, our kids were younger, much younger than, or we had a friend who passed away, and how, how we would navigate it is like, well, this is what I believe and this is what dad believes.
What's the difference in, in afterlife belief?
I think because my brother died when I was very young.
I had to think about it very young.
Mm.
And I, and I'm very lucky that the way my mom explained it to us, it helped me, which she, what she said is like, you know what?
We're all here to do something.
And I guess Jeff, that was my brother's name.
Yeah, I guess Jeff just, he did it already and now he gets to go be with Jesus.
And when you do what?
What you're here to do when that's done, then you get to go be with Jesus.
Hmm.
So that was very helpful to the 10-year-old me.
Um, I don't think that Randy experienced that kind of loss when he was a child.
So he never had like a simplistic view of, well, let me, what is, what happens?
And then his dad died like 15 years ago and I think that was like the first time he really had to figure that out and.
I think that he feels, I don't know, but I feel like he feels like there's something else.
Mm-hmm.
But doesn't really have a name, like a name for it.
In, in Judaism we call it Al Haba, which is just the world to come.
Mm-hmm.
It's not like a, this is a heaven and this is a, it's just.
The other side kind of vibe.
Right, right.
The next thing, the next, like I always say like this body is, it's like a car that we're driving around, right.
For our earthly experience.
And then at a certain point, like the car poops out.
Mm-hmm.
And like whatever, let's say where the engine, we get that engine goes somewhere else, you know?
Mm-hmm.
As a Christian, I believe, you know.
It is more in the realm of like, there's, you know, if you have faith, you have a certain thing, but I, I don't know.
But that's, but that's my faith.
Right.
That's what faith's all about.
Not knowing.
Yes, exactly.
Um, what are some of your favorite Jewish traditions with your family that you've discovered along the way?
We got these finger puppets when the kids were little of the plagues.
Uhhuh.
Have you seen those?
They're hilarious.
Like there's so many little tchotchkes Yes.
Related to the plagues.
Yeah.
And so like when we do that for Passover, like.
Um, I still have them.
They're, they're so funny.
I like breaking the glass at weddings.
I like the chair at weddings.
Yeah.
It time we did that at our wedding.
Yeah.
Oh, nice.
Um, we broke the glass too, even though we got married on the beach.
So it was very hard for my husband to break the glass.
Um.
I feel the chair, is that symbolize again, the, the, the glass is is that like, what do you think?
Well, at one point I thought it was like kids or something.
No, it's uh, not as joyful as that.
Okay.
The chair thing, I feel like everyone who has the opportunity to opt into the chair.
Opt into the chair.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's fun.
It's a little terrifying, I have to say.
Yeah.
Especially if like, my family didn't.
Grow up doing that.
I don't necessarily trust those men to make sure that I didn't fall.
Yeah.
They don't know what they're doing.
Yeah.
They have nonce.
You need, you need experienced.
That's right.
Chair lifters.
Right.
You need the, the, the best is when you've got, you know, a, a nice, like a college age kind of, or post college mayor.
You've got all the young 20-year-old guys.
Yeah.
And they're just like, yeah.
Getting up there, they're ready to go.
Yeah.
They're, I don't know if this has come up for you guys in, in this sort of post October 7th world.
Mm-hmm.
That's been so hostile to Jews.
Do you have.
Conversations about that with your adult children, about, you know, navigating that.
I think for my son, it's definitely made him like lean more into feeling, feeling Jewish.
Mm-hmm.
I think for my daughter, it, it was like, wait, other people my age think differently about this?
It was like that.
I think that was like, that was like the first time where.
Maybe some of her friends, and I don't even wanna say it's a political issue, but Right.
It like, wait, some of my friends are thinking this way about it and I think this way about it.
And I, because I think before that she mostly was having the same feelings about, you know, pro-choice or whatever things that all of her friends were having.
And then all of a sudden this was a little bit divided.
Um, I mean, I think everyone talked about it and yeah.
And I think each one of us has kind of.
Handled it or shown up or done what we feel resonates with us.
I had read Noah TPEs book on Israel.
Mm-hmm.
Just as a, like, what the heck is going like, just as like a, it's, I recommend it all the time on the show.
It's such a great sort of primer that anybody can read and understand exactly.
Like what the heck's going on here.
Yes.
And I mean obviously it's pro-Israel, it's pretty fair handed in how he deals with it.
Yes.
That's I'm saying, but is like, if someone else wrote it, it might not have that.
Uh, be considered as pro-ISIS Israel, but 'cause Noah right.
It like, you know, it's like automatically it's pro-Israel because Noah wrote it.
But I really liked it and um, I think that's when I started following her and then October 7th happened and obviously she was doing so much reporting on that.
Mm-hmm.
Shout out to Noah, by the way.
Yeah.
Been on this show before we love, I'm sure.
Yeah.
She's amazing.
And.
Then, you know, we kind of, I think became like, you know, Instagram friends or whatever.
Mm-hmm.
And then someone reached out to me about doing that project, the borrowed Spotlight.
Yes.
Project.
And that felt like something tangible that I could do because the whole idea of it was like stopping hate.
You know, like who can argue with that?
If you argue with that, then like, I, we we're not, we're not gonna have a productive conversation.
Right.
So, all right.
So we'll get into more borrowed spotlight.
Okay.
But before we get there, okay.
Um.
Let's talk about New Year New Voices, which was a video you did on Instagram in 2024, even before you did borrowed Spotlight.
Oh yeah, that's right.
Forgot you remember.
I forgot, I, I forgot about that.
We didn't forget, Cindy.
Oh.
Um, it's important, you know, for us, like all of those moments matter so much like you said, and I hear this from a lot of allies.
You know, we had this guy on here, Chris Campbell, who.
Is like a food content creator.
Mm-hmm.
And he ate babka and was like, this is great.
And now, now he's like the king, the king of the Jewish community.
Right.
And he's like, all these people are loving, just, I just ate the food, dude.
Right.
But like, it's so, I isolating and hostile out there that when anybody shows just any sort of recognition and humanity and kindness, it's so appreciated.
So you, you were in this video with a bunch of other celebs mm-hmm.
Just saying.
I'm against antisemitism and, and that that's it.
It's like, you know, 10, five seconds.
I, I know.
And how like o obviously I forgot about it.
Like that's how simple that Right.
Seemed to me.
Um, but you know, I think because of like my friends that I was talking about, I live in New York, like Sonia and Karen and other friends, like they've told me stories that their kids don't have their Jewish stars out or they change their last names on their Uber.
Yeah.
So that they don't sound Jewish.
You know, my kids are half Jewish, so I'm like, wait, how are we in a world, like, how is that happening?
He, I mean, in the United States?
Yeah.
Like in New York City.
Yeah.
I, I, I just like, I, I'm just so, like, I'm, I think I'm like, I shock and I.
In a way, I don't wanna think it's real, but then you see real things happening on the news, so you have to let it in, even though you don't want to.
Obviously like it's mind baffling to me that, that this is a reality that we're living in today.
Yeah, and I have to say, social media is just poison totally.
For this issue.
It's so easy to spew hate.
Behind a keyboard.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I mean, if you, because I, there are people that would be that hateful across a table, but not near as many as are that hateful online.
Totally.
And I think when I started seeing it in my feed, it was like, wow, this is, there's a, there's a shift here.
There's something, it's really scary happening.
In some ways, like, what I wanna say is, I'm glad you're seeing that in your feet.
Mm-hmm.
Because some people, they, you know, they're living in a completely alternate universe.
Mm-hmm.
So at least you're getting enough of the real world mm-hmm.
To know sort of what's real and what isn't.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
A lot of people don't, and they, they very literally have a, you know, think the world is one way when it's another.
Mm.
Which is scary.
I was aware of the term antisemitism, but I never.
Experienced anyone being antisemitic.
Mm.
Somehow maybe people had.
These thoughts inside and now they think it's okay to say.
I think all of that's true.
Yeah.
There's no real consequence for doing it.
In fact, a lot of the time there's a reward for doing it.
Yeah.
So if, if you're not disincentivizing people, there's no reason.
Yeah.
They're gonna stop.
Right.
So we got our work cut out for us over here, Cindy.
Mm-hmm.
Let's get into borrowed spotlights.
Mm-hmm.
Um, give me the, the what, the how, the why, what is it?
How'd you get involved and why did you do it?
Yeah.
I think that's.
The photographer, Bryce reached out to me again, I think on Instagram, and it wasn't to focus on October 7th, but it was just like to try to do anything we can to like come together and stop hate.
And so he said he's doing a book project where he is photographing Holocaust survivors, which you know.
They're getting up there.
Like Ella, the woman that I was photographed with, she just had her 99th birthday.
Yeah.
Amazing.
Um, yeah, I went, it was amazing.
Oh, that's so great.
She had 120 people there.
I was like, Ella, popular woman.
Yeah.
She's, she is.
And she's still totally like with it.
Unbelievable.
He said, would you be interested in like being photographed with her?
And then also they filmed us meeting and her sharing her story with me and he was just kind of snapping and videotaping during that.
And then he did a big, he did a book and then he did big.
Blown up photographs for an exhibition, I think in New York.
The cool thing was they filmed us meeting, like we didn't say hello beforehand, like I was already on set when they brought her or she was on set when they brought me, like they captured us meeting on camera.
I mean, she had no idea who I was and I think I said this, come on that, no, she was like, I mean she's, you know, she's 98.
She's not, so you didn't show up yesterday.
I, anyway, she didn't, that's that's impressive.
And I loved it.
And so.
We were talking and she was sharing her story, and like at first I was, I was like, oh, my husband's Jewish.
And I said, I make a great shiksa brisket.
And she's like, don't say shiksa, because I, I always thought Shiksa was funny, but I think to maybe an older generation, right?
It's not a very nice term.
I think that's right.
I think it was, it, it used like a loose, used to be used more derog, derogatory against non, and I was always like, I'm a shik.
I, like, I was practically like, that's more how it's used now.
Okay, cool.
But she did, she's like, no, your husband should call you Shane Puum.
Aw.
So I love that.
Um, once she explained what it means, which it means pretty face.
Yeah.
Um, and, but no, she didn't know.
She didn't know who I was, which was cool.
So we just started talking about like as mothers as, I mean she lost both of her sisters.
Um.
And her parents.
Mm.
And then she somehow got placed in Minnesota.
So then I grew up in the Midwest too.
So then we were talking about Minnesota and just her, she was funny because yes, her, she lost her entire family and then she was talking about being in Minnesota and they were staying with a family like I guess Jewish families in Minnesota sponsored.
People.
Mm-hmm.
I, I never knew that part of the history.
Yeah.
Of like how everyone got here and how she even, I think, stayed in Auschwitz for like a few months after, you know, but they weren't being prisoners just until they could figure out.
I don't know if it would've been Auschwitz itself, but like a, like a refugee camp.
Yeah.
She said it wasn't like that different, but obviously there weren't German soldiers there.
It was just like they were, they were in this holding area and she, she met her.
Right.
I didn't know what to do with all these people.
She met her husband.
Right.
A lot of marriages came out of those Yeah.
Post-war camps.
Yeah.
And I, I.
That makes so much sense.
'cause like who else could understand what you're going through?
Yeah, exactly.
But then she ended up in Minnesota and she was staying in someone's attic and she's like, it's was the worst.
And she said there was bats in the ceiling.
I'm like, Ella, you just came from like a concentration camp.
And she's like, well, it was the worst at the time.
Right.
You know, because like then that was the past and that's what was so amazing about her.
Is she, she does not have bitterness.
I mean, you heard her speak when we were at that event.
Yeah.
And she is just.
She's incredible because she, she just is, she's still at 99.
Looking forward, I mean, I think the reason she had 120 people at her birthday and she's getting awards and doing all these things is because she has a purpose, which is educating, you know, she's still meeting with school kids once a week and speaking at the museum, and I think that that is a real, gives her.
A real purpose.
Yeah.
Angie has a, a great family around her and, you know, an extended family.
Um, and she's just, she's so amazing to me because she's not bitter.
I wonder if she was like that the whole time.
Was that the sense you got, or, it's sort of like a wise, in my old age, I've let go of the old No, I, I, I get the sense of that's how she.
Moved forward.
Mm-hmm.
And I think that a lot of those survivors, they don't like to talk about it.
Yeah.
And, and some do.
And that's how they heal.
And she's one of those.
Yeah.
And just who she is in the world.
Like I have this a similar feeling about my own mother because like she lost a son and my parents split up and I.
I used to call her Pollyanna and not as a compliment.
And then I realized when I became an adult, like, wow, that's a choice.
That's a choice.
How to live is to To choose.
To see the good side.
Yeah.
You know, because it's very easy and especially like, like at, you know, like you listen to the news and you're just like, oh, it's so easy to like get bogged down in it.
And somehow you have to find your way out of the negativity and move forward.
And I think that.
That Ella was a great example of that for me.
That's amazing.
What do you hope somebody takes with them when they see the Borrowed Spotlight Project or, or hear Ella's story?
You know, other than you doing it because you felt it was the right thing to do, what do, what do you hope other people can get from, from your involvement and, and the project as a whole?
I think what's scary to me is like the Holocaust deniers, I mean.
These people are gonna be gone soon.
Yeah.
Like the firsthand accounts.
So I think it's just like Mark, you know, marking that as in as many ways as we can.
Um, but also her attitude of like, she did not let what happened to her define her, ruin her.
And I think we all need that.
Like we all need that inspiration and hope.
Yeah.
Big time.
So you mentioned we were at an event together.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, this was the Holocaust Museum, LA Gala.
Yes.
Uh, I was there getting an, an award for advocacy Uhhuh, which I was very proud about.
Uhhuh.
And you and Ella were there together?
Yes.
Getting an award of courage, Uhhuh, which was awesome.
What did that honor mean for you?
There was no way, I was not showing up for that because I wanted to do it for Ella.
Yeah.
We mentioned your, your mommy group.
Mm-hmm.
You've been talking about, you know, your, your other Jewish friends you've had throughout your life.
Mm-hmm.
Maybe, you know, maybe there's nothing to read into it, but what do you think?
It says that you have so many close friends who are Jews.
I live in New York and la You think that's, it's just proximity?
Uh, I don't know.
That's interesting.
I just, I like good people.
I don't think any person has ever asked me my religion to see if they're gonna be friends with me or not.
Right.
And I would never do the same.
Sure.
Of course.
You know, you could be friends with someone a long time.
And religion never come up, don't you think?
No, I mean, not for me.
Hmm.
Well, I mean, you know, well just because I think because I wear my Jewishness so much on my sleeve, Uhhuh, it would be.
Almost weird if it didn't come up right away, you know?
Right.
I mean, I wear this everywhere I go all day long.
Right.
Um, but like, I wear a, a cross mm-hmm.
And people don't go, oh, if you and me were having dinner mm-hmm.
Like, I would definitely ask you about it at some point.
Mm-hmm.
Not just 'cause I'm a curious person.
Mm-hmm.
And if you're wearing it, whatever it was, if you're wearing a football, it'd be like, what, what, what's so meaningful to you about that?
Yeah.
Also, I think we're so used to seeing people wearing crosses.
Mm-hmm.
I don't think we're as used to.
Seeing a bunch of, you know these as much.
Yeah.
'cause there's just not many people.
Right.
I mean, that's the other crazy thing.
If you think about like, and I, I'm gonna get the number wrong, but it's like 16 million Jewish people, something like that in the whole, yeah.
15, 60 million in the world.
World.
Yeah.
That's like teeny.
It's not like, oh, I'm gonna be friends.
Of course em or No, I'm not gonna, you know, with anybody.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it's, I mean, from where I'm sitting, it just seems like there's a nice value alignment of the way.
Jews tend to, you know, live their lives and the way you live yours.
And there's, you know, a lot of similarities there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's why, back to like talking about your wife converting, it's like, 'cause I would say like probably, I don't know, but like the values that you think are Jewish could also be.
Part of other faith.
Oh, totally.
The, you know, we, where we align is like family first.
Exactly.
You know, tradition.
Yeah.
Uh, being good people in the world.
Right.
Giving back, giving back all those things.
Absolutely.
Little Mitzvah here and there.
Right.
Exactly.
You know, Sebastian Maniscalco, the comedian, he.
Married a Jewish woman and he says like Italians and Jews.
Uhhuh like sa, same department, different Division D for different food, right?
Yeah.
Different food.
Something like that.
Yeah.
All.
So now we've come to a part of the show that is for our subscriber community only.
It is called Five Deep Questions.
If you haven't yet joined our community, the Keila, you can do so by going to being Jewish podcast.com/community.
And today's five deep questions.
We're gonna get into beauty business and.
Childhood family history with Cindy.
So if you want to catch it, join up and if not, I'll catch you on the flip side.
All right, we're getting towards the end of the show here.
Um, I did mention in the intro that in 2019 you were part of a group that stepped in to save Nate Owls the, uh, you know, LA Iconic Deli.
Probably, I would say maybe second most iconic after Langert.
It's definitely up there.
What's the first one?
Langert Deli.
I don't know that one.
You've, how long have you lived?
I only lived the one on Fairfax.
I've, oh cantor.
I mean there's, you know, that's, there's gotta be the top three canter where the other one maybe can, is number one.
Actually, you're right in terms of like, but Langer's has the best deli food, I think of all three.
Langer's is in MacArthur Park, like towards downtown.
Oh, okay.
That's why it's been there for like 70 years or something.
I, they have the best pastrami sandwich.
I think anywhere.
Okay.
You know, come at me, but we, we gotta hook you up with some language.
Okay.
Again, how and why, like, how are you involved with saving Nate and Owls and why?
Yeah.
I think, I mean, Nate and Owls is an institution.
Totally right?
And I think for me, someone who didn't grow up in la.
It's still like a diner.
Like it Oh yeah.
Felt like that.
So that's nostalgic for everybody.
I think from any small town you understand a diner.
Mm-hmm.
So I think maybe it felt familiar, but really, and, and my husband, you know, loves the bagels.
Loves that.
What's the one that food that I think is so weird.
Eggs with with crackers in it.
Like a matza Bri, a matza Bri with jelly on it.
I'm like, I don't understand this food.
Anybody eating Matza?
Bri not on Passover is insane to me.
Okay.
My husband will eat Matza Bri at Nate and Al's.
I do not.
That is just not a flavor.
There's several flavors by the way that we could discuss that.
I'm like, hmm.
And also like on Passover, why is everything round in a ball on Passover?
Like a gefilte fish, a matza ball, everything's like, what else besides those two?
Um, Kish.
Okay.
Everything's like a rock in your stomach.
I'm like, I, I, I cannot eat like this.
Yeah.
Um, anyway, but so Nate, Alice is just somewhere we would go, and then I think when Shelly and Irving Azoff decided to, to raise some money from friends to put it together to, you know, to keep it, yeah.
We, we just wanted to do it because.
Just somewhere, even though we live in Malibu, the, the idea of a, of a LA without Nate nails in it, it just doesn't seem right.
That's so awesome.
It's like you guys are heroes.
Two final questions and then we'll get to our lightning round.
Okay.
So this, I feel like this question we've sort of really been pointing towards, which is this, this Jewish part of your life?
Mm-hmm.
Like, do you feel that.
Being Jewish in some way or being a part of the Jewish community belongs to you, or do you belong to it?
Hmm.
I've never thought about it.
I think I, I have a lot of love and respect for what I would call the Jewish community, the Jewish culture, the Jewish, um, ideology and values.
They align a lot with the way that I was raised, like we talked about family and.
Um, traditions.
So I would say I'm Jewish adjacent.
How's that?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah, I mean, I guess the reason I ask is sort of, not that it's mine to grant, but like to, to, to give you permission to feel like you have ownership of it.
It's been such a part of your life as a mother and as a wife, and so many other ways.
I have something to ask you, but this, it might not be good for this, but like.
Several of my Jewish friends, they don't believe in God.
Mm-hmm.
You're like, that's to me, like, I don't get that.
Okay, great.
So love that question.
Okay.
We've talked about that on that sh this show a lot.
Okay.
Because being Jewish is.
You know, as we said earlier, it's a tribe, right?
Mm-hmm.
So the religious part of it is actually just one facet of all it is to be Jewish.
Mm-hmm.
You know, with, when I, I did a DNA test a couple years ago.
Mm-hmm.
Mine came back, 99% Ashkenazi Jew.
That's my husband, you know?
Mm-hmm.
And then actually I got an email that was like, it's been updated, and I was like, oh, good, now I'm gonna get something interesting.
100% Ashkenazi Jew.
So true Blue.
Okay.
Um, but.
You know, you can not believe in God at all and still be a hundred percent Jewish.
I mean, I know that thing about questioning is huge.
I I, that I get, but it's like, mm-hmm.
Yeah, it's, it's, it's weird, I think for someone who's not Jewish to understand that like.
I wouldn't say I'm a Christian and be, but I don't believe in.
Right.
Well, so here's the two differences.
Yeah.
One is Christianity is, is a straight up religion, right?
Mm-hmm.
And so it's, you believe this, you're in, you don't believe it, you're out.
Judaism is not a religion.
Yeah.
It is like a, the, the best parallel, honestly, is to think of like a Native American tribe and like you're still part of that tribe, whether you believe the traditional religious beliefs about.
The god of the sky or whatever or not that you are still the member of that tribe.
Right.
I get that.
Mm-hmm.
But then like some of these same people don't have burn.
They, they'll have their kids bar.
They will have their kids Bar mitzvah.
Mm-hmm.
Or they'll still do Passover or they'll still fast.
Like, to me, those are about the religious part of it.
Yes and no.
So it's part, there's a, I guess there's a difference between religious and necessarily, you know, a, a tangible belief in the divine in a certain way.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
So there's, there's meaning to those and there, but for a lot of people, it's about the tradition, right?
It's about, it's just the personhood part.
Mm-hmm.
It's the, mm-hmm.
I'm a link in this chain that's existed for thousands of years.
I'm not gonna let the chain.
Die with me.
Mm-hmm.
And I like this part of the chain.
I like the culture.
Mm-hmm.
I like these beautiful traditions that I did with my grandma.
Like, these are important to me and part of who I am.
Right.
But you know, I don't.
Pray all the time, 'cause that's not important to me.
Mm-hmm.
Or whatever it is.
Mm-hmm.
So you get to sort of be a little bit of a, you know, pick and choose Jew.
Yeah.
Uh, and, and you keep the parts that have meaning to you.
Right.
And you don't, I mean, that's a very modern form of Judaism.
There are, you know, the, the more Orthodox Jews would say Absolutely Nothmm, you need to do it all.
And that's what being Jewish is, is following all of the mm-hmm.
The rules under God and, and whatever.
And I've even had an orthodox friend ask me, like, so conservative and reformed Jews.
If you're not doing it for Hashem, like God, like mm-hmm.
What is, what is it about for you?
Like he mm-hmm.
He hadn't even considered that idea.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
So there's a whole spectrum and range to all this stuff, which for me is what I love about being Jewish Yeah.
Is that it's a spectrum and it's what this show is all about.
There's no one right way to be Jewish.
Right.
At least on my book.
Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
Do you have any advice for other potential allies who might be out there and who are, for whatever reason, are too afraid to use their platforms to stand up for standby Jews?
It's like that question, right?
Like, how do you wanna be in the world?
And again, it's not like I was like, how, how can I be the best ally to the Jewish community?
But obs certain things are just obvious to me.
It's like.
To say I stand against antisemitism.
That's that.
That seems very clear and easy.
So if you feel something, if you're connected to an idea or a thought organically, I think it's way worse to keep quiet.
I don't know, like for me, I wouldn't feel, I would feel like a coward or I would feel like I, I'm not.
I'm not being the person in the world that I wanna be.
You heard from Cindy Crawford?
Don't be a coward.
All right.
We're gonna finish off as I like to do with a lightning round.
If you could bring back one nineties trend, what would it be?
Oh, I like vintage Levi's.
Is that gone?
No, but like all I know now, it's, the clothes are also baggy and I think it looks terrible on everybody.
Yeah.
But like, you know, like the ones with the little red tag on the Yeah.
Like the red tag Levi's, like, that's a good one.
Nice.
Do you have a favorite or like beloved shoot or photo that you can remember?
Mm.
Or too many, uh, too many.
I have certain photographers I, but even that is like from Hel Newton to Herberts, to Irving, Penn, Aon, like, I was so blessed to work with, like, literally like the Masters.
How much of the outcome of a shoot is the photographer?
Most of it.
I mean, it's, look, it's like, um, a film, right?
Film is like a, A still picture is just, you're still telling a story, but like without words and without music and without movement.
It's like a still moment.
But, so I think the best shoots is like the collaboration between the photographer, the stylist, editor.
The model hair and makeup, like we're all trying to tell the same story and those are the best shoots.
What is the most important piece of advice you've shared with your daughter Kaya as she's gone on her modeling career?
It was the same advice for both my kids at their first jobs.
My son worked at a smoothie shop, which was beyond time.
Be prepared and stay off your phone.
Nice.
Yeah.
Advice we can all use.
Exactly.
Sneakers or heels?
Heels.
I figured it was gonna be heels.
Desert island fashion item.
You can only keep one bikini.
Oh.
I mean, that's a good choice.
Okay.
Randy, co-founder of Casamigos.
Yes.
Tequila.
You and I both share a love of spicy tequila.
I learned uhhuh.
So you, you guys have the casamigos casamigos skew, which is jalapeno infused.
Mm-hmm.
Which is awesome.
What's your favorite way to drink it?
I think like.
The reason that we did that was so I like a skinny margarita.
Mm-hmm.
And so a skinny, spicy, right.
So like that on the rocks with club soda.
It's like a super skinny margarita.
You can put a little lime in there.
But I'm just saying like, you get that little heat, like I don't think you need to.
I don't like.
Drinks that are too complicated.
Keep it clean.
Yeah, keep it clean and keep the sugar down.
Exactly.
Yeah, no doubt.
Do you actually like Pepsi?
I love Pepsi.
Come on.
I love Pepsi as a brand.
There we go.
I do.
I think they're a great American brand.
Do I drink Pepsi all the time?
No, and I think I, I mean, I don't think it should be drank that way, but like sometimes, like if.
We're on a beach and it's like hot.
Like does a cold Pepsi taste good?
Sure.
Yeah.
Only if they don't have diet Coke.
Uh, okay.
And then the last question which we ask of all of our guests.
Okay.
Chala, which I'm assuming you've eaten quite a bit of at this point.
Sure.
Yes.
Do you rip it or do you slice it?
Oh, you rip it.
Boom.
Is that right?
Is that the right answer?
There's no right answer.
It's just basically 95% of the guests say, rip.
Me, I, I slice.
Um, well for French toast, you slice.
There it is.
Yep.
You gotta slice.
You gotta slice, you slice to preserve.
Yes.
So I sometimes like to slice.
Okay.
All right.
Cindy Crawford, thank you for being an amazing ally.
Thank you for being here.
This has been so awesome.
That was fun.
Thank you.
Still iconic, still gorgeous, like a fine wine.
She's only got more and more to offer her answers to my five deep questions were really fascinating.
If you want to check 'em out, head to beingjewishpodcast.com/community.
Join the Kehillah to get today's segment, more bonus content and all kinds of fun goodies forevermore.
Uh, also, if you happen to notice these shoes I'm wearing, these are the Air Maccabee Jonah Platt collab.
You can get those on the website too under our merch section and use code JP 18 to get a little discount.
Happy New Year guys.
It's gonna be a kick ass 2026, and I will see you.
All right, back here for the next runway ready episode of Being Jewish with me, Jonah Platt.