Superman’s dream
Actor Dean Cain in Israel to film episode of travel program
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s actor Dean Cain of Superman fame.
Cain, the star of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which ran on American TV from 1993-1997, spoke exclusively to The Jerusalem Post shortly after arriving in Israel on Tuesday about his plans for the trip.
“I have dreamed about coming to Israel for as long as I can remember,” he said. “I always wanted to be here… I love history. There are few places on earth that have as much historical value.”
Cain is visiting along with Laura McKenzie, a travel writer for USA Today, host of Laura McKenzie’s Traveler and a friend of the actor. They will be filming an episode of the show in Israel, dividing their time between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The actor also brought along his high-schoolsenior son, and said they’re excited to visit Christian sites, as well as learn more about Judaism, about which his son is doing a project for school.
“I’m working in a travel show and homework,” Cain quipped.
While he’s here, Cain also plans to visit the Knesset as the guest of Zionist Union MK Hilik Bar, something he said he’s “honored” to do.
“I want to come in and say hello, and probably state the obvious – that Israel has a special place in the heart of people in the US. The two countries are special friends,” he said.
Cain endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and Bar, as a Zionist Union MK, is on the political Left – but the actor said that he’s an independent who has voted for both Republicans and Democrats. “I don’t pick my friends based on politics,” he said.
Cain and Bar met in Warsaw through From the Depths, an organization dedicated to preserving Jewish historic sites in Poland and honoring Polish righteous among the nations. Cain is From the Depths’ honorary chairman and a longtime friend of the organization’s founder, Israeli-British political operative Jonny Daniels. Bar is chairman of the Israeli-Polish Parliamentary Friendship group.
“After we became friends and I learned what a special person Dean is – who loves Israel and the Jewish people – I promised him that I will organize an event for him in the Knesset,” Bar said. “He was very excited by the offer and the idea, and I’m happy that this dream is finally coming true... It’s exciting. Dean is not Jewish but loves the Jewish story and our country. Tomorrow in the Knesset, we will embrace Dean and Dean will embrace Israel in return.”
As for his involvement with the organization, Cain said: “I was a history major at Princeton University; I took exams in war and diplomacy, and I find those things very fascinating.” He also writes, produces and directs history documentaries and recently co-produced Architects of Denial, about the Armenian Genocide, for which he was awarded the Order of Armenia.
Israel has not recognized the Armenian Genocide because of its relations with Turkey. While Cain said he wouldn’t tell a foreign country what to do, he hopes every government would recognize the genocide, because “it’s a historic fact.”
“I do understand the political ramifications in the US – it’s because we have diplomatic relations with Turkey. For anyone who studies genocide or history, it’s very clear the genocide took place. It’s not the people of Turkey today who did it, or even the government... It was horrible – call it what it was,” Cain said.
As for what Cain wants to tell Israelis while he’s here, the Superman actor said: “I’m so excited to be here and share Israel with my son, take in the sites and meet the people. It’s a place I always dreamed of visiting.”