Paige Wolf, 46, has had her own communications firm, Paige Wolf Media & Public Relations, for 25 years. Today, one of her biggest clients is Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History-based organization that puts on screenings and festivals of Jewish films and other media.

PJFM celebrates Jewish stories of all types. It’s not technically advocacy work. But at its best, it can have the effect of deepening Jewish identity, understanding and pride.

That kind of work is increasingly important to Wolf, who grew up at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, found political progressivism, once described herself as “an anti-Zionist” and devoted herself to Jewish causes after Oct. 7.

It’s been a journey, and while Wolf raised her kids Jewish and never lost her identity, she said she used to be “clueless about Israel.” She said her journey was similar to that of Sarah Hurwitz, the former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, who wrote two popular books about finding Judaism again.

“Despite growing up in the synagogue and going all the way through confirmation, I definitely lost connection to my Jewish roots,” Wolf said.

Wolf’s perspective actually began to change about two years before Oct. 7. She was talking to a rabbi she knew when she said something negative about Israel.

The rabbi told her she should look into that.

“That was all he said,” Wolf recalled.

It was all he needed to say.

Wolf looked into it and learned more about the history of Zionism and the creation of Israel.
Then, after the Hamas attack, “I had a big shift. I definitely became deeply connected to my Judaism and to my people.”

Wolf had already been serving on the board of the Jewish Caucus in the New Jersey Democratic Party. After Oct. 7, she used her political contacts to try to build support for the codification of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism into New Jersey state law.

The effort had support from Jewish Federations up and down the state and from lawmakers in both parties. Yet it still didn’t pass. It still hasn’t.

“I tried to continue working from the inside,” Wolf said. “But I found that I was up against too much antisemitism on both sides of the aisle to be comfortable working on the inside anymore.”

In its definition of antisemitism, the IHRA uses illustrative examples like the denial of Jewish self-determination and the accusation that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their home country. But it does not preclude criticism of the state of Israel or its government.

Thirty-eight states have adopted or endorsed it. Yet New Jersey, the state with the fourth-biggest Jewish population in the U.S., is not one of them.

“After years of fighting and years of advocacy, they didn’t have the courage to bring it to the floor for a vote. People were misinterpreting what the IHRA said and what the legislation said. It does not impinge on free speech at all,” Wolf said. “My state can’t pass basic legislation to protect our communities on the most basic level.”

Wolf stopped working on the inside.

She launched a Substack to tackle Jewish issues and took on PJFM as a client. On a personal level, she also traveled to Israel this summer and plans to take her children there next summer.

She hopes to attract more Jewish clients in the future, too.

“We can amplify our voices and support each other. I just want to be part of that,” Wolf said.

She feels she is already doing that with PJFM.

“It’s so critical to highlight stories that tell different perspectives, and focus on the real lived experiences of Jews around the world,” she said. “It’s so many different stories, and no one way of thinking about anything.”

Wolf has lost friends and acquaintances since Oct. 8, 2023. Like many Jews, she paid a price for standing up.

But she doesn’t regret it.

“When I went to Israel, I met with people whom I had never met in person, but were willing to host me for Shabbat,” she said. “I’m trying to figure out how I can be the most effective at doing good for our community.”

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com