Talking about God and Israel on Italian prime time TV - opinion

I need a second to realize where I am. I’m seriously having a reality-check moment.

“Two minutes until we begin,” the voice is ringing in my ears; my heart is pounding.

Here we go: It’s show time!

Last Monday at this time, I was taking a break between household chores and enjoying a late-night snack while the screen flickered, showcasing the charismatic host of Quarta Repubblica, a very popular talk show in Italy.

Nicola Porro is not just a personality on the screen. I remember that rainy afternoon spent in a little café discussing with him the complex work of media figures and the fascinating nation of the Jews. That meeting led to my article about him for the Magazine, revealing his complex persona: a right-wing pro-Israel figure who balances charisma with a profound understanding of journalism’s responsibilities. 

Despite Porro’s busy schedule as a prominent public figure in Italy, we’ve maintained a connection, with my respect for his time guiding our interactions.

I have often joked with him how one day he would sit me in his studio among his honored guests and let me defend my view of Israel. It so happened that I had to be in Paris in mid-October for a private glitzy event, so I tossed him the idea of hopping over to Rome for his October 7 special show honoring Israel and discussing rising antisemitism.

His succinct text reply “Let’s talk about it” arrived late in the evening: I could not sleep that night. A few days later, I was contacted by the show’s producer just a few hours before the start of the lengthy Rosh Hashanah going into Shabbat. 

How could I explain to the director of one of the main TV channels in Italy that I would only be answering my phone for another three hours on that Wednesday, and then it would be switched off from until Saturday night? They would think I was crazy and cancel my invitation to appear on the show. “Okay,” I thought to myself, “that was a nice try; I guess it’s gone. The show airs live on Monday night; there is no way they will cast me if I am not available for four days!”

I switched off my phone and lit my candles with a tinge of sadness, though all was forgotten as Rosh Hashanah prayers and meals and entertaining of guests filled my heart and soul. On Saturday night, my husband and I kissed the children goodbye and left in a crazy hurry to catch the only flight out from Israel that would bring us closer to Europe.

This is the new way of flying to or from Israel: Catch any flight on an Israeli airline that will take you somewhere in the world where you can find a connection to where you need to go. Insane. 

On TV with Nicola Porro

We arrived in Paris early Sunday morning, via Larnaca and Prague. Paris was gorgeous as always, but it is mostly populated by Arab communities – pretty intense. As I rehearsed my intervention for the Sunday night event at the gorgeous Ritz Hotel, I received a call from the Italian team of Porro’s TV show. 

Marco, the man on the line, was asking me how I felt about coming on the show the next day and facing some anti-Israel professor about the situation in Israel and rising antisemitism. At that point I had been fasting for almost 20 hours, as Sunday was the fast of Gedaliah.

 I was already nervous about the event that night, and now I was getting news of my possibility of being on a major TV show in Italy the following day. I sat down and took a deep breath. Marco ended the conversation by telling me that my presence would be confirmed only a few hours before the show. 

How true is the famous line that life begins outside your comfort zone! I had no choice now but to play the game. 

My dear husband, flowing with my crazy schedule and last-minute changes, booked us a flight as we sat down for dinner in Paris, confirming our departure in just a few hours, early on Monday morning, October 7. We landed in Rome at 1 p.m. I still did not know whether or not my attendance had been confirmed.

I switched on my phone as I exited the airport and received a message from the TV team: “Please call ASAP.” Shaking, I placed my call and got confirmation for that evening.

My dear sister, who lives in Rome, picked us up from the airport and took us to her beautiful home, where I was able to throw myself on the couch and let it all sink in. 

From 2 to 7 p.m., I had a very serious and intense session with my husband/teacher as he went over all the important information I needed to know to face an opponent on Israel, antisemitism, Judaism, and God. 

At 8 p.m., a black car came to pick us up to take us to the studio. I felt as if I were going to throw up. 

We were checked by security and handed a pass. Then my husband was asked to wait in a room with a big TV screen, while I was whisked away for my hair and makeup to be done. 

As I sat down, I saw that the woman sitting next to me was a familiar face. She reached out to me as they were applying makeup to her eyes and introduced herself. The name rang a bell; she’s a famous journalist. 

I was a few seconds away from having a panic attack. The hairdresser dug her hand into my hair, asking me how I wanted my hair to be styled, and then realized I was wearing a wig. Startled, she looked at me and, smiling, politely asked, “Can you explain?” And so there I was, giving the whole makeup team a lesson in Judaism and explaining why [many observant] married women wear wigs, to which they listened, impressed and amused. 

All done up and ready, I reunited with my husband, who looked even more nervous than I felt, and I got miked and hyped and ready to go into the studio. 

The waiting room was full of journalists and celebrities that I had so often seen on my screen in Israel as I mopped the floor wearing my pajamas; now we were all chatting. How surreal.

The girl assigned to be my guardian angel for the whole evening was a sweetheart named Benedetta, which means “blessed” – exactly what she made me feel. Just before I was whisked away through a long, dark corridor behind the scenes, my husband took me aside and told me in Hebrew to remember who I was and why I was there at this time. “You are not a politician or a professor of political science; you are a proud Jew. Tell the world this is our land because it was given to us by God as it is written in the Torah.” 

With those words ringing in my ears, I took my place in the studio. 

FROM THE moment I walked in, I felt I was in a bubble. The lights were fantastic, everyone whispered, the air was pure adrenaline, and I saw myself on a gigantic screen opposite. “Am I dreaming?” I wondered. The host finally came over to greet me, and as I politely smiled back at him, he dispelled my anxiety by asking if he could call me Hada, which would make it easier for him. I felt I could not talk; my mouth was dry, my heart racing. I forgot all I had prepared to say; my mind was blank. 

“Hashem [God], help me.”

“And we are back, 3, 2…” 

On air.

I don’t remember much of what I said; all I know is that at a certain point, I managed to squeeze in God, our land, the Torah, and the word “forever,” and I was met by the host with a shocked facial expression. How I had the courage to say that on prime-time TV, I am not sure; I just knew it was stronger than me, and it came out naturally. 

As the red light of the huge camera turned off and we finished, I left the studio walking on air and was met by my husband with a hug and, right after, by the sweetest nun who had been watching behind the scenes and wanted to congratulate me: Finally, someone had spoken about God! 

All I know is that I got many, many messages from non-Jews who appreciated finally having someone talk about Israel and God in the same sentence. “We are with you because this land belongs to you. Period.” 

My job was done. Thank you, Nicola, for giving me a chance. That was my mission.

“There’s no business like show business; like no business I know...” 

The writer, originally from Italy, lives in Jerusalem with her husband and four children. She heads HadassahChen Productions and hosts a weekly talk show on Arutz Sheva.