Noa Tishby hires Gwyneth Paltrow for “Bring on the Light” campaign.

Author and activist Noa Tishby enlisted Gwyneth Paltrow to ring in the first night of Hanukkah as part of her #BringOnTheLight video series.

Tishby, who has written two best-selling books, 2021 Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth and 2024 Uncomfortable conversations with a Jew (co-authored with Emmanuel Acho) and Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actress and Goop entrepreneur, bonded over their Jewish faith and traditions. At the heart of Tishby’s eight-day campaign is the message of Jewish resilience.

“When I approached Gwyneth about this campaign, she was excited and deeply moved to get involved, and I knew we had something really special,” said Tishby.

In the first candle-lighting video, now available on YouTube along with Tishby’s social media accounts, Paltrow recounts Hanukkah celebrations with her father, Bruce Paltrow, and grandparents on Long Island, and shares that her own family tree includes 17 generations of rabbis .

“I have always felt an incredible pull toward my Jewish family,” said Paltrow, who in 2022 funded an installation at the Jewish cemetery in her ancestral hometown in Poland to honor family members lost in the Holocaust. “I still do. And just the traditions and the warmth and the unconditional love and the food and the screaming and the family and the community. I am so close to everyone in my family. We’re all kind of intertwined and so important to each other and we’re always there for each other.”

“It was inspiring to hear Gwyneth speak so passionately about her Jewish roots and the traditions she continues to share with her family,” Tishby said. I can’t wait for everyone to see what we have in store over the next seven nights as more incredible voices join us spreading light and resilience.”

This year, the start of Hanukkah coincides with Christmas. The Jewish holiday ends on January 2nd.