Hollywood actor and Israel advocate makes first visit to Jewish state
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…Dean Cain, best-known for his portrayal of the Man of Steel in the mid-90s hit television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, who is visiting Israel for the first time. The actor, who is in the country to film an episode of Laura McKenzie’s Traveler, found time to headline a meet-and-greet event at the Israeli parliament organized by Deputy Speaker Hilik Bar (Zionist Union).
Cain’s pro-Israel bona fides gained notoriety in 2014, when he publicly supported Israel’s right to defend itself during the 50-day war against Hamas. In a radio interview that August, at the height of the conflict, he affirmed that Israel, like the United States, is a democracy under attack and is thus deserving of American support; this, in stark contrast to many other celebrities who slammed the Jewish state’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.
“Clearly Hamas are terrorists,” Cain contended at the time. “And if rockets were being fired from Mexico into my home town of San Diego, Americans wouldn’t accept that for a minute, we’d be taking over that part of Mexico and making it part of California.”
The prominent actor-cum-humanitarian—Cain actively promotes awareness of the Armenian genocide and has produced multiple documentaries about oppressed peoples—explained to The Media Line from where his affinity for Israel derives. “My first exposure to Judaism was my best friend growing up,” he revealed in an interview following the gathering at parliament. “We would always talk about different things and when he had his bar mitzvah I helped him learn. And then being interested in history [Cain majored in the subject at Princeton University—Ed.], it is clear that Israel’s is unreal. Plus, it being the only democracy in the Middle East and what it stands for are things that I have always supported. As I grow older, I realize just how special the country is.”
While Cain self-identifies as a political Independent—having previously voted for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates—he was one of only a few members of the predominantly liberal Hollywood community to publicly endorse Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. elections.
“I love the relationship between the United States and Israel and I’m really happy to see the way President Trump is acting,” he asserted. “I wasn’t happy with our last [Obama] administration as I thought it should have supported Israel more. I am glad to see things turn around.”
But as with many of Cain’s relationships, his with Bar—who is considered left-of-center—transcends political boundaries. The two met in Warsaw in 2016 at an event organized by From the Depths—for which Cain serves as honorary president—a group dedicated to honoring the ‘Righteous Among the Nations,’ a title given to non-Jews who saved Jews from the Nazi genocide.
Indeed, Cain made clear that he considers bipartisan support for Israel imperative, highlighting how impressed he was that every Israeli parliamentarian he spoke with, irrespective of party affiliation, expressed a firm commitment to working towards building a strong and secure nation.
For his part, Bar conveyed a deep admiration for Cain, describing him as a great personal friend and an unofficial ambassador of Israel. “I believe that Dean can help advocate on behalf of the state, which is something we need,” Bar stressed to The Media Line.
“I think every person, including those who are famous, who can spread a message of goodwill is important. [Dean, in particular,] has millions of people who adore him and if he says how amazing Israel is and describes the challenges we are facing it can only be helpful for us, and this is what he is willing to do freely and that is exceptional for a star like him.”
Though Cain believes the prestige “may be a little larger than [he] deserves,” he feels strongly enough about Israel to have brought along his son, who, coincidentally, is working on a school project about Judaism and how it manifests in today’s Israel.
“You see history at every turn,” Cain said in reference to his first impressions of the Jewish state. “The people are warm and fantastic and there’s so much going on, what a vibrant place.
“It has an incredible energy which gets me very excited.”