Does David Copperfield Support Israel?

Tal Feldman Feb 25, 2025 3 min read

Short answer: As of July 2026, David Copperfield has a genuine Jewish and family connection to Israel through his mother, who was born in Jerusalem, and he openly credits his Jewish upbringing for his career. He has never made a public statement or taken any documented action for or against Israel, and there is no record of him performing there or joining (or refusing) any boycott. On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict specifically, his position is simply unexpressed in public.

What David Copperfield has actually said and done

1924: Copperfield's mother, Rebecca Gispan, is born in Jerusalem, then part of Mandatory Palestine, into a Jewish family, and later emigrates to the United States. This is the root of his personal tie to the land of Israel (Wikipedia).
September 16, 1956: David Seth Kotkin, later known as David Copperfield, is born in Metuchen, New Jersey, to Jewish parents: Rebecca Kotkin (nee Gispan) and Hyman Kotkin, whose own parents were Jewish emigrants from the Ukrainian SSR (Wikipedia).
July 2013: In a widely quoted interview carried by Haaretz and the Forward, Copperfield credits his Jewish upbringing and his tough, Israeli mother for his drive, says he still believes in God, and ties his magic to Jewish resilience: "We're taught in the Jewish tradition ... whether it's the Holocaust or the Maccabees, we have to rise above persecution."
October 23, 2020: The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia announces it will induct Copperfield, alongside Harry Houdini, into its hall of fame, honoring their place in American Jewish history, as reported by The Times of Israel.
December 12, 2020: Copperfield is inducted into the museum's Only in America Gallery and Hall of Fame in a livestreamed ceremony, and he in turn inducts Houdini. The museum's writeup notes that "his mother came from Israel and his father's parents were born in Russia" (The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History).

A Jerusalem-born mother and a proudly Jewish story

David Copperfield was born David Seth Kotkin on September 16, 1956, in Metuchen, New Jersey, to Jewish parents. His mother, Rebecca (nee Gispan, who lived from 1924 to 2008), was born in Jerusalem, which the Weitzman museum describes as her having "come from Israel." One nuance is worth keeping in mind: she was born there in 1924, during the British Mandate period, before the modern State of Israel was founded in 1948. His father Hyman's parents were Jewish emigrants from the Ukrainian SSR, a background that older writeups sometimes round off loosely to "Russian." Copperfield embraces this heritage openly rather than treating it as trivia. In the 2013 interview he credited his tough, Israeli mother and his Jewish upbringing for his success, affirmed his belief in God, and linked his craft directly to Jewish history and perseverance, naming both the Holocaust and the Maccabees. On the political question, though, the public record is genuinely silent. Repeated searches of reputable outlets turned up no statement, no donation, no appearance, no visit, and no boycott position from Copperfield regarding Israel or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, before or after October 2023. That silence is worth stating plainly rather than filling in: an unexpressed position is not the same as a hidden one.

The bottom line

Copperfield's link to Israel is real, but it is personal and cultural rather than political. He is a proud Jew who traces his mother to Jerusalem and openly attributes his career to his Jewish upbringing, yet he has never publicly supported or opposed Israel, never taken a side on the conflict, and never engaged in any boycott. The fair read is to treat him as a figure of warm Jewish heritage with a Jerusalem-born mother, not as a documented public advocate for Israel. If you came here hoping for a clear yes or a clear no on the politics, the accurate answer is that he has not said.

Wear your own answer

Copperfield's own answer to the political question stays private, but yours does not have to be. His story begins in Jerusalem, the city his mother came from, and that same city anchors our Jerusalem collection of shirts, art, and gifts made for people who want their connection to Israel to be visible and proud. Where a celebrity's stance is unspoken, you can let yours be plain, and you can back the place itself directly.

Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.