When Rachel Kastner finished her studies at Columbia University, with a degree in international relations and experience in productions in New York and Los Angeles, she was a young producer on her way to a promising career in Hollywood. But precisely at this critical point, which serves for others as a dream launching pad, she decides to make a dramatic turn.
Kastner politely refuses tempting job offers from Spotify and Will Smith’s production company and decides to pack a suitcase and leave with her partner for Israel.
“When I finished my studies at Columbia, I thought I’d get a job in Los Angeles and officially enter Hollywood”, she admits. Instead, Kastner made Aliyah and joined, as chief of staff, a startup called OneStep. “I felt that a different adventure was calling me – to contribute to the Jewish story and try something new.”
“On Sets Since Age 15”
The young New Yorker, born to a Jewish family in Long Island and imbued with Zionism from a young age, always had a burning desire to work in the film industry. “I started working on sets from the age of 15. I used a fake ID so they would hire me”, she recounts. “I worked in everything in the field – from Broadway shows to podcasts, television, and movies”. Already at the age of 23, she was involved in producing the documentary film “The Barn”, which was shown at festivals and screened worldwide. At the same time, she produced podcasts dealing with the Holocaust, Judaism, and Israel, and worked with influencers in media bodies, including Spotify and “The New York Times”.
In 2022 she produced an educational documentary series called ‘How To: Never Forget’, which dealt with the Holocaust and garnered millions of views on TikTok, and was even nominated for a Webby – the award for digital content considered the “Oscar of the Internet world”, previously won by the Holocaust project “Eva’s Story”.
Interviews on Major Networks
The inspiration for the series came during Operation “Guardian of the Walls”, during which she was exposed to the extent of ignorance, lies, and hatred occurring on social networks. “I was sitting in a shelter, scrolling through Instagram to distract myself and was exposed to an unimaginable amount of Holocaust denial. I couldn’t believe that while I was trying to educate about the Holocaust through digital media, influencers were destroying Holocaust memory using the same platform”, Kastner shares.
“That night I decided that my next project would focus on Generation Z and Holocaust awareness. It was a huge success that reached more than 20 million people. There’s no doubt that so far this is my peak moment”.
This year, during the war, she became an active advocate and a prominent voice on social networks, with about 35,000 followers on Instagram and content viewed and shared by more than three million people worldwide – including quite a few international celebrities. “Immediately after the events of October 7th, I started sharing content on my personal social media channel”, Kastner recounts. “The goal was to share with my friends around the world what’s happening here, to arouse empathy and explain Israel’s side”.
She didn’t confine her advocacy only to digital media and was frequently interviewed for major American networks, like Fox and MSNBC.
Currently, she is the CEO of a new media company related to combating extremism on social networks, through content aimed at the Middle East. “My path was never paved in a straight line or moved in a predictable way”, she testifies about herself. “I’ve always been drawn to amazing stories, inspiring people, and important missions. This has always guided me in the decision-making process and in pursuing my dreams. This is what led me to live in the US, Denmark, and Israel, and this is what brought me to work in diverse worlds – like high-tech, Hollywood, or digital and social media”.
