From Mad Men to Jerusalem: TV’s Biggest Names Celebrate Israeli Creators

Top American television creators Matthew Weiner and Joel Fields headlined the final day of Jerusalem Sessions, a three-day gathering of Israeli and international TV professionals at the National Library of Israel. The event, modeled on Series Mania and Canneseries, was organized by the Jerusalem Media Initiative with support from the Jerusalem Municipality and the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs.

Weiner, creator of Mad Men, said he came to Israel because “Israeli artists and producers are amazing,” adding that he expected to learn “what’s really going on in TV, because Israel always knows.”

Fields, co-creator of The Americans, spoke both on stage and in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, highlighting his role in helping launch the Jewish Entertainment Alliance, created to support Jewish professionals facing hostility in Hollywood after October 7. Fields, who has family in Israel, said younger Jewish artists are bearing the brunt of a shift in the industry.

“Hollywood was a place started by Jews, created by Jews, and welcoming. To see the industry turn on its Jewish members has been painful,” he said. Anti-Zionist framing, he warned, has become “a new code for anti-Jewish bigotry,” and many in the West do not understand Jewish peoplehood or history. His own children, he noted, have faced antisemitism since October 7.

Fields also discussed the Jewish storylines in The Americans, explaining that he and co-creator Joe Weisberg worked with Russian emigres to depict Soviet Jewish life with accuracy. In Hebrew from the stage, he told the audience he was emotional to be in Israel and hoped to work here in the future.

The program included dozens of industry figures such as producer Danny Cohen (The Zone of Interest), who reiterated his criticisms of director Jonathan Glazer’s 2024 Oscars speech. Cohen said he felt obligated to speak out about growing anti-Jewish prejudice. Israeli creator Hagai Levi discussed his new series Etty and said the harshest backlash he faces is domestic, not from abroad.

Additional participants included writer Eshkol Nevo, producer Danna Stern, director Hagar Ben Asher, and executives from SIPUR, Lightricks, and NBCUniversal. The Movie Eaters podcast team also hosted segments with their usual irreverence.

For the closing session, Sigal Avin interviewed Weiner about his long path to Mad Men. Weiner described years of rejections before the show found a home. Writing remains his refuge, he said, “because in that world I decide everything.” He also reflected on Jewish character Rachel Menken’s famous line about Israel, saying it captured an authentic American Jewish sentiment of its era.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion urged international guests to share “the truth about Jerusalem” abroad, underscoring the city’s bid to expand its role as a global creative hub.