Montana Tucker has been told she doesn’t fit the bill of what a Jew is, in multiple ways, from her last name to her blonde hair.
But the 30-year-old, lifetime performer said she doesn’t let others’ doubts stop her from celebrating her Jewish culture. And now, she’s working to creatively instill in others a new pride in their Judaism.
Tucker — who’s originally from Boca Raton, Florida, but now lives in Los Angeles — has been acting, modeling, singing and dancing since she was 8 years old, and in recent years rose to social media fame through her dance videos on sites like TikTok and Instagram.
But amid the entertainment lifestyle, she also grew up hearing her grandparents’ stories of their experiences as Holocaust survivors.
She realized she had to use her influential platform to not just entertain people through song and dance, but also to educate folks on the Holocaust and Jewish culture.
“I knew I needed to do something bigger to honor them,” Tucker said.
Tucker created “How to: Never Forget — a Holocaust remembrance film,” a 10-part series of short videos documenting her time spent in Poland last year visiting Nazi-invaded sites, from which some of her Jewish ancestors never made it out.
This week, Tucker spoke about making that film and her ongoing work to preserve Jewish history to about 80 attendees at the Congregation Tikvat Jacob synagogue in Manhattan Beach. The presentation was timed in honor of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, which took place April 17 and 18 this year. It’s always on the 27th day of Nisan, or spring, on the Hebrew calendar, which falls in April or May each year.
Rabbi Josh Kalev, of Manhattan Beach congregation, said he invited other synagogues and churches in the South Bay, middle and high schools and local group MB United to the Tuesday, April 25, event, which was not open to the general public.
Tucker and her team started publishing videos from the remembrance series on TikTok and…
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