This is part of an ongoing series featuring hometown sons and daughters as they make their way in the world. We invite our readers to notify us of other interesting stories for future issues.
Shana Tabak is making a name for herself by merging her two passions — Judaism and social justice. She is currently the acting director of planning and development for AVODAH: the Jewish Service Corps, a New York City based organization for post-college students.
Also working in New York is David Deutsch, who was recently hired as humor editor at “Heeb,” a new quarterly Jewish magazine aimed at a younger readership. In addition, he teaches American history at Yeshiva University High School in Manhattan “to feed my family,” he mused.
The Milwaukeeans took a few minutes out of their hectic schedules to share their experiences with The Chronicle.
A graduate of Whitefish Bay High School, Tabak, 25, said that her interest in Judaism “blossomed” on her first trip to Israel after graduating from college in 2000.
An international relations major at Macalester College (St. Paul, Minn.) with a focus on Latin America, she was interested in labor rights and worked for (the late) Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) as a constituent advocate while in school. Also, she worked as a union organizer in Minnesota.
After graduation, she headed to Israel to work as a madricha (leader) for birthright Shorashim, which offers trips to Israel for 18-26-year- olds. Later, she worked for the New Israel Fund in Jerusalem where she promoted equal rights and social justice.
“My experiences in Israel really opened my eyes to the breadth of Judaism which I hadn’t been exposed to growing up in Milwaukee. Clearly, that’s where my passion for Judaism began.”
Then in 2002, she received a Fulbright Scholarship and spent a year in Bolivia researching the success of international development projects on poor families.
“I interviewed the participants who were receiving funds from projects run by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations to determine how they viewed their role in those efforts. Unfortunately, I found that the success was limited because the participants weren’t invested in the program. The governments were trying to find sustainable ways for them to survive in their under-resourced country,” she explained.
That experience, she believes, easily connected to her interest in immigration and labor rights in the United States. “I worked with populations of people struggling to get by in their own countries and then how they do when they come here.
“From what I’ve seen, I strongly back an international standard for labor rights which should be enacted through international trade agreements. What I see is the ‘race to the bottom’ where U.S. labor forces were passed over for cheaper ones in Mexico. Now they are abandoned for still cheaper ones in China. There will always be a cheaper population willing to work for less. Corporations need to be held accountable,” she said.
As she began to connect the dots between the important things in her life Judaism and social justice kept popping up.
“In continuing to integrate my interest in Judaism and politics, I now work for AVODAH as acting director of planning and development in New York. My role is to coordinate the yearlong program for young Jewish adults ages 21-26 who work with non-profit organizations, such as homeless shelters, legal aid groups and domestic violence shelters.
“The interesting component is that the participants live in a communal home to allow them to look at issues of social justice through a Jewish lens. While they work during the day, they spend their evenings in community building activities with fellow Jews of all denominations. I think such a program will help the participants define their Jewish identity.”
Though she didn’t go through the program, she said, “It certainly dovetails with my interests personally and professionally.”
Acknowledging she’s not sure what her next step will be, Tabak said she is committed to trying to make the world a better place. “I see myself creating and running some type of non-profit agency that is dedicated to immigration and workers rights,” she said.
The daughter of Barbara Tabak and Fred Tabak, she said in her spare time she likes to run “because it keeps me sane,” and “keep up with her friends who are scattered everywhere.”
Making ‘Heeb’ funny
Deutsch, 34, fills his New York days with history and comedy. A high school history teacher by day, he is busy pursuing a creative life that is colored with laughter — as a comedic writer and stand up comic.
He recently hooked up with Heeb Magazine, the irreverent “New Jew Review,” where, he said, he is a jack-of-all-trades. “As humor editor, I write features and punch up other articles. I try to make things funnier.”
On stage, Deutsch works hard for a laugh. But the father of two hasn’t yet met great success.
“I guess people have always thought I was funny, but I don’t seem to be getting the big laughs on stage. I’ve performed in numerous ‘New York’s Funniest Jew Contests’ and have never advanced beyond the first round. As a high school history teacher, my 16-year-olds are usually my best audience,” he admitted.
In January, he performed at the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s “An Evening of Jewish Comedy.” Unfortunately, he planned material geared to an anticipated audience of young Jewish professionals and found himself facing a bunch of retirees. “As I began, I heard audible gasps amid a few laughs.”
Deutsch said, “I really do think I have a lot of potential, but I’m lazy. To be successful, you have to be out. And, that means going on as many club stages as you can. It’s a tough life.”
The son of Suzanne and Henri Deutsch, he was born in Tel Aviv but grew up on Milwaukee’s west side, in a mostly Catholic neighborhood. Though he celebrated his bar mitzvah at Congregation Beth Jehudah, his spiritual conversion to Orthodoxy came later.
After graduating from Rufus King High School, Deutsch enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the 101st Airborne Division during the Gulf War. “I wasn’t ready for college and felt that if I live in a democracy, I should give something back,” he said.
“I didn’t have much of a Jewish identity at that point and felt I should get my house in order in case I went overseas. Luckily I didn’t, but my unit was called after my discharge and friends of mine went to Kuwait. I decided if I was going to become religiously observant, that was the time. And I did,” he explained, “ in a pretty simple process.”
After serving two years in the Army, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he met his wife, Aliza. She was attending Stern College in New York and was invited to attend an event at Hillel Foundation University of Wisconsin Inc. He performed a comedy routine and then sang a rendition of Dean Martin’s classic, “That’s Amore” to her. “That seemed to cement our relationship,” he laughed.
In 1994, after graduation, he moved to New York and earned a master’s degree in history at New York University. He also tried his hand at writing short stories. “That hasn’t proved financially successful, but I do some freelance writing for film trailers.”
Deutsch is now writing a Heeb-related book that he hopes may boost his comedy career. And he thinks writing for the magazine may provide some material for his future endeavors.
His dream is to write screenplays in New York. “There’s good money in it and the film medium works for me. I hope to move in that direction because I think I have good ideas.”
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