This Shabbas, Treat The Family to Jewish TV

While I’m not sure if the strictly observant are allowed to go online post-sundown tonight, after breaking bread and sipping wine tonight the chosen among us might want to check out the Jewish TV Network (JTN), a new online destination with an old testament flavor.

Just so you don’t worry that JTN isn’t with it, there’s music videos from hipster cantors like the Beastie Boys and Matisyahu. For your bubbe, there’s the musical stylings of Neil Diamond, too (though nothing from his Christmas album). Don’t know your bubbe from your tuchus? Then be a mensch and check out “Yiddish With Dick and Jane.”

The site is built in Flash, and with the video content powered by Brightcove. You can link to clips, but not embed them. Current programming ranges from cooking to news, singles to spirituality. User videos and video blogs are promised to be on the way. There are also plenty of movie trailers, like this one for the upcoming I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (though I doubt that trailer will be getting much airtime on Logo).

The network is the work of JTN Productions, which has a 25-year history of producing original programming focused on the Jewish community for networks like PBS. The online effort was funded at least in part by a $130,000 grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.

By offering worldwide access to their programs via the web, it’s a great example of how online video can break out of local and national markets to reach large but geographically dispersed audiences.