President Zelensky: The Evolution of a Jewish Comedian to a Wartime Leader of Ukraine

Wednesday at 12PM PDT

President Zelensky:  The Evolution of a Jewish Comedian to a Wartime Leader of Ukraine

The rise of Volodymyr Zelensky from Jewish comedian and actor to president of Ukraine leading a heroic resistance to Putin’s Russia has been one of the most astonishing stories of our time. Join Michael Idov—journalist, screenwriter, and former editor of GQ Russia who has followed Zelensky’s career—and AJU President Jeffery Herbst for a discussion on one of the most fascinating people of our time.

Michael Idov is a screenwriter and director whose work includes Palme d’Or-nominated Leto, The Humorist, and Emmy-winning TV series Deutschland 83. Born in Soviet Latvia, he moved to the U.S. in his teens and worked as a journalist in New York, winning three National Magazine Awards for his writing, before moving on to film and TV. He was the editor-in-chief of GQ Russia from 2012-2014 and has recently written about President Zelensky and Russian President Putin.

Dr. Jeffrey Herbst is the fourth president of American Jewish University.  At AJU, he has focused on promoting innovation in the university’s academic programs.  He has also supported the growth of the Maas Center for Jewish Journeys, expansion of the B’Yachad/Together digital platform, and capital improvements on the Brandeis-Bardin Campus. Prior to joining AJU, Dr. Herbst was president and CEO of the Newseum and the Newseum Institute in Washington, DC. From 2010 to 2015, he was president of Colgate University, where among other accomplishments he is credited with helping the university complete its nearly half billion-dollar fundraising campaign, leading the development and initial implementation of a university-wide strategic plan, and increasing the diversity and academic caliber of its educational programming. Dr. Herbst earned his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Princeton University, and a master’s degree and doctorate in political science from Yale University. He is the author of the award-winning “States and Power in Africa” and, with several co-authors, the just-published “Making Africa Work.”