‘Vampire Diaries’ star Kat Graham tours Israel

Jewish actress celebrates Hanukkah in the Holy Land

Kat Graham, the star of the CW network’s The Vampire Diaries and a slate of Netflix films, is visiting Israel this week, spending time with family and celebrating Hanukkah.

Graham, born in Switzerland to a Jewish mother and African father, has a lot of family in Israel and visits regularly. And all week long she has been posting photos and videos of her time in the country on social media – including in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Graham has also shared videos of her family lighting candles for Hanukkah, eating sufganiyot, and exploring the capital with her almost 5 million followers on Instagram.

On Thursday night, Graham dined at the renowned Eucalyptus restaurant in Jerusalem with a few famous friends - including former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire and TV personality Rocsi Diaz. Graham lit candles with the restaurant’s chef, Moshe Basson, and took part in his famous maqluba ceremony.

Last year, Graham told Travel + Leisure magazine that “most of my family’s in Israel, so between that” and her busy acting and singing career, “I’m on a plane about twice a week.” She added that she has done charity work with the UN Refugee Agency and also traveled to Jordan as part of her involvement.

While Graham regularly visits Israel for family reasons, she is here at least in part on a trip sponsored by the Jerusalem Affairs Ministry and coordinated with the Foreign Ministry.

Diaz – who has worked for BET and Entertainment Tonight – is also part of the organized trip under auspices of “America’s Voices for Israel,” which brings celebrities and media personalities to visit the country.

Graham was most recently seen in the Netflix Christmas movie The Holiday Calendar, playing a photographer who was gifted a magical advent calendar by her grandfather.

Turns out in real life, Graham is much more into the dreidel.