| Benji Lovitt | |
| Birth Name: | Benjamin Nathan Lovitt |
| Birth Place: | Dallas, Texas |
| Genre: | Israeli comedy, Jewish comedy, observational comedy |
| Subject: | Israel, Jewish culture, Middle East, current events |
| Birth Date: | September 27, 1974 |
| Education: | University of Texas |
Benji Lovitt, (Hebrew: בנג'י לוויט) is an Israeli-American comedian, educator and writer.
Benjamin (Benji) Lovitt was born in Dallas, Texas,[1] attended J.J. Pearce High School,[2] and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree from The University of Texas at Austin.[3]
Lovitt visited Israel for the first time when he was 15 years old as part of a Young Judaea trip, and he returned a few years later to spend a gap year before college as a participant on Young Judaea's Year Course program.
In 2023, Benji marked Israel's 75th anniversary by co-authoring the book “Israel 201, Your Next-Level Guide to the Magic, Mystery and Chaos! of Life in the Holy Land" with Joel Chasanoff. The book examines the daily life of Israelis and tries to give its readers insight into some unique aspects of Israeli culture.
During Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, Lovitt performed together with other comedians for Israeli civilians confined to bomb shelters or otherwise impacted by rockets launched by terrorists and for Israeli soldiers. While many of the shows were free, the proceeds from those with an admission charge were donated to the Friends of the IDF's Lone Soldier Program .[4] [5]
Lovitt also produced videos on Jewish holidays, aliyah and other topics.[6]
Lovitt is a regular blogger for the Times of Israel and previously provided guest columns for The Jerusalem Post. Articles by Lovitt can also be found at eJewish Philanthropy, the Jewish Daily Forward, Ynet, Israel21c, PresenTense Magazine,[7] Jewish Boston and other online publications.[8]
Lovitt's annual column "Things I love about Israel" Yom Ha'atzmaut highlight the unique aspects of Israeli society from the perspective of an oleh.[9]
Lovitt's January 2014 article in eJewish Philanthropy about bringing short-term Israel program participants to Tel Aviv[10] is credited as inspiring Birthright Israel to launch the Tel Aviv Urban Experience in 2015.[11] [12] [13]