WATCH: ‘West Wing’ and ‘Mean Girls’ Stars Join With Hillel To Get Out The Jewish Vote

Lisa Edelstein and Josh Malina want you to vote Image by youtube

By Jenny Singer September 6, 2018

When a Jew turns 12 or 13, according to tradition, she has a bat mitzvah.

When a Jew turns 18, according to a new video from Hillel, she has a MitzVote.

In the niftiest thing to come out of Hillel since the matzo sandwich, the Jewish campus organization paired with celebs to make a non-partisan video urging 18-20 year old Jews to vote in the upcoming midterm election. Lisa Edelstein (of “House” and “The West Wing”) and Josh Malina (of “The West Wing” and “The Big Bang Theory”) star in the video, a cheeky send-up of b’nei mitzvah party videos made by loved ones, as parents of a brand new 18-year-old who’ll celebrate her “MitzVote” in November.

Alongside a chilled out female rabbi and an enthusiastic URJ summer camp counselor, the video features cameos by beloved HQ Trivia host Scott Rogowsky and “Mean Girls” and “The Goldbergs” star Tim Meadows. But the best line comes from the fictional “MitzVote” celebrant’s grandparents:

Grandpa: Your great-grandfather didn’t vote in the 1933 elections. Grandma: In Germany! Grandpa: Big mistake.

So vote! Or curse your descendants with intergenerational guilt forever. According to the Hillel MitzVote site, only 15% of 18-20 year olds voted in the 2014 midterm elections. So if you’re a Jewish American and you’re eligible to vote for the first time, see you out there. And happy MitzVote.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

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