Phil Smaller, producer
Phil Smaller, producer of the show, has
been involved with both video
production and Israel for many years.
His first introduction to video was as a
physicist and engineer with Ampex
Corp. in 1953. In 1970 he went on to
start his own video business, Media
Associates, and operated the company
until 1997. His introduction to Israel
started in 1936, when his aunt and
uncle emigrated to Israel to cultivate an
orange grove. He has a large number
of family members still living in Israel,
even though the orange grove was
replaced by an office complex long ago.
He has made a number of trips to
Israel over the years. Phil is dedicated
to the continuation of Israel as a
homeland for Jews from all over the
world, and he is proud of the country's
accomplishments to date.
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Marty Wasserman, co-producer & host
Marty Wasserman was the first to
suggest that the group start its own
cable show. His previous media
experience includes a seven year stint as
producer and host of A Deeper Look, a
weekly radio interview show on KCSM-FM,
and a one year stint as host of a weekly
TV series, also called A Deeper Look, on
KCSM-TV. A long time pro-Israel activist,
he regularly contributes opinion pieces to
Arutz Sheva, the Israeli radio station and
website that upholds traditional Jewish
values. He is a strong proponent of the
idea that the land of Israel is the eternal
heritage of the Jewish nation, and
opposes any attempt to transfer
ownership of any part of it to outside
forces. Marty holds a degree in
mathematics from Columbia University,
and has spent much of his career
designing high performance software
tools for the semiconductor industry.
Please visit his website at
www.deeperlook.net
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David Meir-Levi, Chief Presenter
David Meir-Levi is an American-born
Israeli. He holds an MA in Near Eastern
Studies from Brandeis University, and
taught Archaeology and Near Eastern
History at the Hebrew University in
Jerusalem and the University of Tel Aviv
in the 60's and 70's. A professional
Jewish educator, he has lectured
throughout northern California and
abroad at synagogues, churches,
universities, and service organizations
on topics related to the history of the
Arab-Israel conflict and the roots of
terrorism in the Arab world. He lectures
and teaches in English, Hebrew, and
Spanish. He has a weekly radio show,
“Mid-East Media Watch” at KZSU
Stanford, is a frequent contributor to
frontpagemag.com, and has been a
frequent guest on radio talk shows in
the USA, Israel and Latin America. In
his “day job”, David is an insurance
broker and investment professional,
with offices in Menlo Park and San
Francisco.
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Don Mintz, Graphics Coordinator
Don's role on Spotlight involves
assembling photos, titles, and credits to
present during the show. Don has had a
career in high tech industry, including
over 22 years in the semiconductor
manufacturing equipment business, the
last 12 as a reliability engineer. Before
that he worked on analytical instruments
and uranium isotope enrichment projects.
He has a PhD in chemistry, is the author
of several articles in the field of chemical
dynamics and holds 14 patents. Don is
past treasurer and adult education chair
at Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto
and is currently head usher at religious
services there. He has traveled to Israel
three times and has family living there.
His hobbies are fishing, backyard
gardening, and bicycling.
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Art Cohn, Researcher
Art has held numerous leadership
positions in the Jewish community,
including president of Congregation Kol
Emeth in Palo Alto, vice president of
Stanford Hillel, president of Palo Alto B’
nai B’rith, co-chair of the South
Peninsula Jewish Community Relations
Council, vice president of the American
Zionist Federation and chairman of its
Energy Committee, and co-chair of the
American-Israeli Energy Committee. He
holds a PhD in physics with degrees
from MIT and RPI, and has worked on
advanced jet engines, plasma jets,
lasers, coal liquefaction and gasification,
and advanced gas turbine power
plants. On the Spotlight program, he
contributes to the selection of topics,
and develops historical background
information.
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Magda Smaller, Publicity
Magda has scripted several of the
Spotlight shows, helped design the
studio set, and also designed flyers and
stationery for the show. Her professional
background includes nineteen years of
medical, technical, and public relations
writing and policy analysis, the last fifteen
at Lockheed (1985-2000), and she holds
degrees in Organizational Behavior and
Public Policy Analysis. Magda's strong
support for the Spotlight group has its
roots in her experiences as a young child
in Holland during World War II. The
cruelty and humiliations she saw the Nazi
occupation inflict on the Jews in
Amsterdam started a life-long passion for
justice for the children of Israel, first and
foremost the right of return to the
dignity of their homeland. Magda is
married to Phil Smaller, the program’s
producer, and is also active in the League
of Women Voters.
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Ralph Bernstein, Researcher
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