William Shakespeare famously said that “All the world’s a stage.” At The Jerusalem Post, there is no one for whom that is more true than Gadi Zaig.
Our most veteran breaking news desk editor, Zaig has seen it all, from elections and protests to January 6 and terrorist attacks. And he has also had the distinction of being one of the first people in the world to report on the Oct. 7 massacre.
Taking the lead on that fateful Saturday morning, Zaig’s experience on the news desk shone brighter than the sun as he handled coverage of one of the most chaotic and terrifying days an Israeli journalist has ever experienced.
In addition, Zaig also inherited the geek culture beat from yours truly; and when it comes to nerdy trivia, he can go the distance with the best of them, possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of the noble houses of Westeros and the wars and spiritual monastic orders in a galaxy far, far away.
But while this column is typically focused on the subjects’ achievements in the realm of journalism, we would be remiss for not mentioning the other area of Zaig’s life to which he devotes his passion and hard work: acting.
A talented thespian, the New Jersey native has long been active in theater and has been a staple of Jerusalem’s theater community.
Whether it be dancing his way through In The Heights or proving his dark comedic chops in Heathers, Zaig has range and he has charisma. Recently, that also led to him taking those talents to a more professional level, acting in commercials and working on his master’s degree at Tel Aviv University’s Steve Tisch School of Film & Television.
That last note has also seen him work behind the camera, taking a seat in the metaphorical director’s chair. And we at the Post can’t wait to see him become a star on the silver screen in the future.
In Jerusalem sat down with Zaig to talk about his career, both in the news and on the stage.
What brought you to Israel?
Well, it’s funny you ask that because making a aliyah was actually not my decision. I came at the age of 14, right at the start of high school with zero knowledge of Hebrew. I barely knew the Aleph Bet. The decision was made by my parents because they wanted me to experience living in another country, and living in the US just wasn’t working for us at the time.
What brought you to journalism?
I fell into journalism completely by accident! It was never a journey that was remotely on my radar, but I managed to get a position as a breaking news editor at the Post just by knowing people who had worked on the desk before me. I got the job while studying for a BA in English literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I met Tamar Uriel-Beeri, who was working with the Post at the time, and she told me there was a position available on the breaking news desk. I applied, and found that it was a great fit for me!
What has been the highlight of your journalism career thus far?
Unfortunately, there’s one highlight that stands out among everything else during my time here, and my colleagues at this paper will immediately know what I’m talking about because I never shut up about it. I am, of course, talking about working an early morning shift on Oct. 7, 2023, when I was covering and reporting on the Hamas attacks as they were happening in real time.
Oct. 7 was on a Saturday morning, which means that the news in Israel is usually relatively quiet, so there’s less staff working for the paper at that time. So it really fell on me to cover those attacks. There were so many reports coming in at once it was nearly impossible to cover all of it, in addition to the extreme state of shock I was in because of what was happening. I couldn’t believe the words I was writing on my laptop about what was taking place.
Usually a ‘highlight’ is supposed to indicate something positive, but being one of the first journalists worldwide to report on the attacks is something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.
What got you into theater and acting?
Okay, well now for something more light-hearted! I first caught the acting-bug at 13, while I was still in New Jersey and a year before I made aliyah. It actually started when I was watching behind-the-scenes footage of my favorite films and TV shows and thought the idea of being on a film set would be so much fun. So I initially started taking classes for acting in front of the camera during my last year in the US.
When I made aliyah, I didn’t know Hebrew so I thought the opportunities here would be extremely limiting for me. However, I was in for a shock when I discovered that Jerusalem had a whole theater community, which consisted of many different companies putting on community theater productions, many in English. I was so happy to integrate and do shows ranging from plays to musical theater with them, and so my journey heavily pivoted toward the stage, and that was my main focus going forward.
What has been the highlight of your acting career thus far?
The biggest highlights for my acting career have yet to come – I’m sure of it! It’s a tough question to answer because I’ve really only stepped foot into the professional world recently. However, during my over a dozen years in community theater, my favorite role to play has to be Sonny in the musical In the Heights, which was performed in Jerusalem in 2019. I’ve also finally booked commercials this year, which were released and seen by many of my friends and colleagues.
What’s something about the news and about acting that most people don’t realize?
Wow – two very different worlds! I’m gonna try to tackle both of these areas at once.
One thing about the theater world and the journalism world is that the ability to think on your feet is imperative. That’s the best similarity I can think of between the two.
I have, obviously, more experience in the journalism world, and I think something that I never realized is how much news happens and is produced in a single day. If you don’t work at all in the media, you don’t really realize how much happens in a day. In my opinion, though, I have to say that news in Israel is hard to miss now, since the entire world eyes our country like a hawk.
What advice do you have for aspiring journalists and actors?
Network, network, network. Practice, practice, practice. These are tough industries, so I’ve done exactly that for both. Go for every opportunity you encounter; talk to industry professionals; learn; get enough sleep; and eat healthy.