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Benji Lovitt
Headshot of Benji Lovitt
Birth nameBenjamin Nathan Lovitt
Native nameבנג'י לוביט
BornSeptember 27, 1974
Dallas, Texas
EducationUniversity of Texas
GenresIsraeli comedy, Jewish comedy, observational comedy
Subject(s)Israel, Jewish culture, Middle East, current events
Websitewww.benjilovitt.com

Benji Lovitt (Hebrew: בנג׳י לוביט) is an Israeli-American comedian, educator and writer.

Biography

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Benjamin (Benji) Lovitt was born in Dallas, Texas,[1] attended J.J. Pearce High School,[2][better source needed] and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree from The University of Texas at Austin.[3][better source needed]

Lovitt visited Israel for the first time when he was 15 years old as part of a Young Judaea trip, and he returned a few years later to spend a gap year before college as a participant on Young Judaea's Year Course program.[1]

After university, Lovitt lived in Houston for several years, working at a start-up while trying standup for the first time at the Laff Stop comedy club. He then moved to Atlanta and continued performing as a hobby in the Punchline, Eddie’s Attic, and other venues. Unfulfilled in corporate work, he took a job at the Israeli Consulate to the Southeast United States, coordinating events on college campuses. In 2003, Lovitt moved to New York City to work for Young Judaea Israel Programs before making aliyah at the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.[4][5]

Stand-Up Career

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In 2009, the Jewish Agency for Israel sent Lovitt on a six-city speaking tour across the United States to perform standup comedy about life in Israel.[6] Since that time, he has performed in clubs and for Jewish organizations around the world, including South Africa, Australia, England, and more.[7][8] Lovitt has opened for comedians including Jim Gaffigan,[9] Elon Gold, and Yohay Sponder.[10]

During Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, Lovitt performed together with other comedians for Israeli civilians confined to bomb shelters or otherwise impacted by rockets launched by terrorists and for Israeli soldiers, with proceeds donated to the Friends of the IDF's Lone Soldier Program .[11][12]

Lovitt also produced videos on Jewish holidays, aliyah and other topics.[13]

Content Creation Career

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Lovitt is a regular blogger for the Times of Israel and previously provided guest columns for The Jerusalem Post. Articles by Lovitt can also be found at eJewish Philanthropy, the Jewish Daily Forward, Ynet, Israel21c, PresenTense Magazine,[14] Jewish Boston and other online publications.[15]

Lovitt's annual column "Things I love about Israel" Yom Ha'atzmaut highlight the unique aspects of Israeli society from the perspective of an oleh.[16]

Lovitt's January 2014 article in eJewish Philanthropy about bringing short-term Israel program participants to Tel Aviv[17] is credited as inspiring Birthright Israel to launch the Tel Aviv Urban Experience in 2015.[18][19][20]

In 2023, Benji marked Israel's 75th anniversary by co-authoring the book “Israel 201, Your Next-Level Guide to the Magic, Mystery and Chaos! of Life in the Holy Land" with Joel Chasnoff. The book examines the daily life of Israelis and tries to give its readers insight into some unique aspects of Israeli culture. In 2023, the book won a National Jewish Book Award.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Levitt, Meredith Price (25 September 2008). "CafeTalk: Arrivals: Benji Lovitt". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Classmates.com". Classmates.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Degrees and Dates of Attendance". Degrees and Dates of Attendance. Office of the Registrar of UT-Austin. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  4. ^ Silverthorn, Deb (2023-10-11). "Benji Lovitt comes home to Dallas". Texas Jewish Post. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  5. ^ "Benji Lovitt". OFF THE WALL COMEDY THEATER. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  6. ^ Herman, Deb (2017-10-26). "Stand-up nation". The Jewish Standard. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  7. ^ Brender, Yael. "Lovitt's loving Limmud". www.australianjewishnews.com. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  8. ^ "Presenters". events.limmud.org. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  9. ^ "Jim Gaffigan returns to tickle the 'clean' funny bone | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  10. ^ "WATCH: Israeli comedians in English on Americans speaking Hebrew | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  11. ^ Oster, Marcy. "Amid Gaza-Israel conflict, some tales to warm the heart". Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  12. ^ Dreyfus, Hannah. "Comic Shelter From The Storm". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Benji Lovitt Videos". BenjiLovitt.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  14. ^ Lovitt, Benji. "Would You Like Some Chumus with that Poke? Facebook Invades the Holy Land". Presentense Magazine. Presentense Group. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  15. ^ "Writing". BenjiLovitt.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  16. ^ Freedman, Allie (29 October 2014). "Why We Love Israel". Jewish Times. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  17. ^ Lovitt, Benji (16 January 2014). "Israel Programs: The Case for Tel Aviv". eJewishPhilanthropy.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  18. ^ "Birthright Israel Launches Tel Aviv Urban Experience; hmmmmm". eJewishPhilanthropy.com. June 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  19. ^ Ghert-Zand, Renee. "As it turns 15, Birthright Israel takes a closer look at Tel Aviv". Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  20. ^ Steinberg-Zand, Jessica. "Is Birthright in decline for neglecting 'cool' Tel Aviv-style Israel?". Times of Israel. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  21. ^ "73rd National Jewish Book Award Winners". Jewish Book Council. 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
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