Just hours before the terrorist attack on Oct. 7, Israeli film star Swell Ariel Or was in Canada as the guest of honour at an Israel Bonds fundraiser. The young actor was fresh off her breakout role in the Israeli historical drama The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, which launched on Netflix in 2022. She played Luna Ermoza, the fashion-designer daughter of a Sephardic family living in pre-1948 Jerusalem.
Or sat down for an interview with The CJN Daily while in Toronto that day—although nobody could have predicted that the world would change just hours later. Soon after the Hamas attack, Or began volunteering to help Israeli soldiers, and now, months later, she’s been back on set again with one of the producers of Beauty Queen—but not for season 3 of the Netflix show. This new series will be called Handles, about survivors of Oct. 7.
With tonight being the eve of Jerusalem Day, or Yom Yerushalayim—a national holiday in Israel celebrating the country’s recapturing of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967—we’re now bringing you this interview with Or, in which she discusses what it was like filming Beauty Queen and why she moved to Hollywood, as well as a follow-up interview conducted after the life-changing events of Oct. 7.
What we talked about:
- Follow Swell Ariel Or on Instagram
- Learn more about the actor’s Israel Reservist Fund to reimburse Israelis who flew home to fight after Oct. 7
- Read why Ellin’s interview with Swell Ariel Or marked a turning point in her life, in The CJN
- Watch The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem on Netflix
Credits:
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.
