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Since 1897, the Forward has been a leading source of news, opinion and culture through a Jewish lens.
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Become a member today: forward.fundjournalism.org
Reposted by The Forward
The latest in @benyamincohen.bsky.social's series @forward.com on small Jewish communities reflects a universal truth: baseball is always the answer.
"'You don’t build the baseball diamond for them to come,' he said. 'You build it because you love baseball.'"
forward.com/news/782347/...
"'You don’t build the baseball diamond for them to come,' he said. 'You build it because you love baseball.'"
forward.com/news/782347/...
This Jewish farmer is harvesting corn — and planting a synagogue — in the Illinois prairie
Near his family’s Illinois farm, Nik Jakobs is replanting Jewish life — turning a cornfield into a synagogue and a museum of small town Jewry.
forward.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:06 PM
The latest in @benyamincohen.bsky.social's series @forward.com on small Jewish communities reflects a universal truth: baseball is always the answer.
"'You don’t build the baseball diamond for them to come,' he said. 'You build it because you love baseball.'"
forward.com/news/782347/...
"'You don’t build the baseball diamond for them to come,' he said. 'You build it because you love baseball.'"
forward.com/news/782347/...
"As the political right navigates Tucker Carlson’s recent decision to host the white supremacist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes on his podcast, one thing has become clear: There are some people in this country who are eager to pretend that antisemitism on the political right is a new issue."
For @forward.com, I wrote about the right’s bad bet on antisemitism and why acting as though mainstream right wing antisemitism started last week is deeply misguided forward.com/opinion/7820...
The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP's antisemitism crisis
Tucker Carlson hosted Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and Holocaust denier, on his show; now Republicans are in chaos over antisemitism.
forward.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:09 PM
"As the political right navigates Tucker Carlson’s recent decision to host the white supremacist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes on his podcast, one thing has become clear: There are some people in this country who are eager to pretend that antisemitism on the political right is a new issue."
“The sun may have set over our city this evening. But as Eugene Debs once said, ‘I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.’”
Learn more about Eugene Debs and how @forward.com's earliest years were closely intertwined with him.
Learn more about Eugene Debs and how @forward.com's earliest years were closely intertwined with him.
Mamdani quoted Eugene Debs in his victory speech — there's a long Jewish history there
Mamdani quoted Eugene Debs in his victory speech — a 1900s socialist leader with a long history of Jewish support in the Forward.
forward.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM
“The sun may have set over our city this evening. But as Eugene Debs once said, ‘I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.’”
Learn more about Eugene Debs and how @forward.com's earliest years were closely intertwined with him.
Learn more about Eugene Debs and how @forward.com's earliest years were closely intertwined with him.
Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose campaign was powered by youthful energy, a surge of new voters, and a promise of unconventional change, completed his yearlong journey with a decisive victory — to be elected the 111th mayor of NYC and the first Muslim to hold the office.
How Mamdani became New York’s next mayor, with Jews divided between fierce opposition and fiery support
Zohran Mamdani’s victory will make him the first Muslim mayor of New York City, which has the highest concentration of Jews outside Israel.
forward.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose campaign was powered by youthful energy, a surge of new voters, and a promise of unconventional change, completed his yearlong journey with a decisive victory — to be elected the 111th mayor of NYC and the first Muslim to hold the office.
Reposted by The Forward
I went to Germany to speak with both Jews and non-Jewish Germans who are doing the work of bringing memory culture to life — and to learn how Germany's commitment to remember the Holocaust is being strained by the post-Oct. 7 and far-right politics.
Thanks to @boellus.bsky.social for their support.
Thanks to @boellus.bsky.social for their support.
How Germany's Holocaust remembrance culture kicked off a democratic crisis
Germany’s Holocaust remembrance culture has been strained by Oct. 7 and the rise of the far-right. What happens if Germany loses its memory?
forward.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I went to Germany to speak with both Jews and non-Jewish Germans who are doing the work of bringing memory culture to life — and to learn how Germany's commitment to remember the Holocaust is being strained by the post-Oct. 7 and far-right politics.
Thanks to @boellus.bsky.social for their support.
Thanks to @boellus.bsky.social for their support.
It's never too early to learn some Yiddish words for witchcraft.
October 31, 2025 at 12:45 PM
It's never too early to learn some Yiddish words for witchcraft.
Happy Challahween, everyone!
October 31, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Happy Challahween, everyone!
New from @forward.com contributing columnist @emilyctamkin.bsky.social:
"There is a meaningful risk that the election of a mayor with a record like Cuomo’s would make women feel less secure reporting harassment to those in power."
"There is a meaningful risk that the election of a mayor with a record like Cuomo’s would make women feel less secure reporting harassment to those in power."
In the Mamdani-Cuomo race, why should I choose safety as a Jew over safety as a woman?
Rabbis are denouncing Zohran Mamdani in the race for New York City mayor — without acknowledging the threat to women posed by Andrew Cuomo.
forward.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:49 PM
New from @forward.com contributing columnist @emilyctamkin.bsky.social:
"There is a meaningful risk that the election of a mayor with a record like Cuomo’s would make women feel less secure reporting harassment to those in power."
"There is a meaningful risk that the election of a mayor with a record like Cuomo’s would make women feel less secure reporting harassment to those in power."
Reposted by The Forward
For @forward.com, I wrote about how political violence is only an issue of both sides (or the left) if you completely leave power out of your analysis forward.com/opinion/7765...
Think the left is politically violent? Young Republicans have a wake-up call for you
A Young Republican chat rife with antisemitism and racism is a reminder of how we misjudge the seriousness of political violence.
forward.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:05 PM
For @forward.com, I wrote about how political violence is only an issue of both sides (or the left) if you completely leave power out of your analysis forward.com/opinion/7765...
Reposted by The Forward
I've been lucky enough to profile/interview some of my favorite writers over the years.
Here's a piece I wrote about @susanorlean.bsky.social for the @forward.com back in 2018, around the release of her dazzling "The Library Book."
Here's a piece I wrote about @susanorlean.bsky.social for the @forward.com back in 2018, around the release of her dazzling "The Library Book."
Susan Orlean On Her Passion For Books And Judaism
Susan Orlean Discusses Her 'Library Book' and her passion for Judaism and journalism.
forward.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:16 PM
I've been lucky enough to profile/interview some of my favorite writers over the years.
Here's a piece I wrote about @susanorlean.bsky.social for the @forward.com back in 2018, around the release of her dazzling "The Library Book."
Here's a piece I wrote about @susanorlean.bsky.social for the @forward.com back in 2018, around the release of her dazzling "The Library Book."
Reposted by The Forward
In The Forward, J Street’s National Director of Communal Relations Sam Berkman writes powerfully that this is a moment for both celebration and resolve – to ensure there are no more massacres, no more hostages and no more bloodshed.
Read the full piece ⬇️
Read the full piece ⬇️
The hostages are home. The fight for their future is far from over
The last living Israeli hostages were released today. They deserve a future of peace in the Middle East — so we can't become complacent.
forward.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM
In The Forward, J Street’s National Director of Communal Relations Sam Berkman writes powerfully that this is a moment for both celebration and resolve – to ensure there are no more massacres, no more hostages and no more bloodshed.
Read the full piece ⬇️
Read the full piece ⬇️
"One day, when Sabrina Hakim was out for a walk with her father, he started speaking a language she could not understand. Sabrina figured he must be speaking Judeo-Kashi, a variety of Judeo-Iranian. Her father spoke this language as a child in the Iranian city of Kashan before he moved to Tehran."
Could dementia be the key to saving endangered Jewish languages?
Sometimes when people's short-term memories begin to falter, they recall the first languages that they learned.
forward.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
"One day, when Sabrina Hakim was out for a walk with her father, he started speaking a language she could not understand. Sabrina figured he must be speaking Judeo-Kashi, a variety of Judeo-Iranian. Her father spoke this language as a child in the Iranian city of Kashan before he moved to Tehran."
"Why do we read the Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur?” asks Forward contributing columnist Sruli Fruchter. "Commentators — predictably — differ. But I believe one crucial reason is because of the book’s warning against dehumanizing others in the course of seeking our own redemption."
A crucial Yom Kippur reading holds a scathing lesson on Gaza
On Yom Kippur, we read the Book of Jonah. It's a lesson, amid the Israel-Hamas war, on the need for Jews to have compassion for Palestinians.
forward.com
October 3, 2025 at 12:41 PM
"Why do we read the Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur?” asks Forward contributing columnist Sruli Fruchter. "Commentators — predictably — differ. But I believe one crucial reason is because of the book’s warning against dehumanizing others in the course of seeking our own redemption."
Please join us on Monday, October 20 at 7pm ET for a virtual event on New York City's mayoral race hosted by @forward.com. The event is free to forward members; non-members are encouraged to make a donation.
Registration details below.
Registration details below.
NYC's Next Mayor and America's Jewish Future
events.zoom.us
October 1, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Please join us on Monday, October 20 at 7pm ET for a virtual event on New York City's mayoral race hosted by @forward.com. The event is free to forward members; non-members are encouraged to make a donation.
Registration details below.
Registration details below.
At least 300 students at Northwestern University were barred from registering for classes this month after refusing to watch a video about antisemitism that protesters say ignores Palestinian perspectives and “ostracizes anti-Zionist Jews.”
But what exactly is in the video? 🧵
But what exactly is in the video? 🧵
Hundreds of Northwestern students can’t register for class because they won’t watch an antisemitism training video. Here’s what’s in it.
Hundreds of Northwestern students who refused to watch the antisemitism training video were barred from registering for classes.
forward.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:06 PM
At least 300 students at Northwestern University were barred from registering for classes this month after refusing to watch a video about antisemitism that protesters say ignores Palestinian perspectives and “ostracizes anti-Zionist Jews.”
But what exactly is in the video? 🧵
But what exactly is in the video? 🧵
One of our readers recently wrote to our Bintel Brief advice column on interfaith burial.
"My wife is not Jewish, and even though we’re both in our late 20s, I’m already thinking about the problem of Jewish burial. My wife is not officially converting, but we plan to raise our kids Jewish...."
"My wife is not Jewish, and even though we’re both in our late 20s, I’m already thinking about the problem of Jewish burial. My wife is not officially converting, but we plan to raise our kids Jewish...."
September 29, 2025 at 3:16 PM
One of our readers recently wrote to our Bintel Brief advice column on interfaith burial.
"My wife is not Jewish, and even though we’re both in our late 20s, I’m already thinking about the problem of Jewish burial. My wife is not officially converting, but we plan to raise our kids Jewish...."
"My wife is not Jewish, and even though we’re both in our late 20s, I’m already thinking about the problem of Jewish burial. My wife is not officially converting, but we plan to raise our kids Jewish...."
Jared Kushner, alongside Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, met with Netanyahu twice in the past week — including on Sunday at the prime minister’s hotel in New York, according to Israeli and American officials.
Jared Kushner returns to Middle East diplomacy, as Trump seeks breakthrough Gaza ceasefire deal
Trump has brought Jared Kushner back into Middle East diplomacy as he presses Israel to accept a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire plan.
forward.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Jared Kushner, alongside Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, met with Netanyahu twice in the past week — including on Sunday at the prime minister’s hotel in New York, according to Israeli and American officials.
"Like a broken clock that is right twice a day, President Donald Trump appears to have figured out that Israel may move to annex parts of the West Bank, and that this would be a very bad idea,” writes @forward.com columnist @dan-perry.bsky.social.
Trump is finally absolutely right about something in the Middle East
Amid new recognitions of a Palestinian state at the UN, President Donald Trump said that he would "not allow Israel to annex the West Bank."
forward.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:19 PM
"Like a broken clock that is right twice a day, President Donald Trump appears to have figured out that Israel may move to annex parts of the West Bank, and that this would be a very bad idea,” writes @forward.com columnist @dan-perry.bsky.social.
"There is no question, of course, that the war has changed the Jewish community, especially in the United States…. But what about Judaism as a religion?" writes @forward.com contributing columnist @jaymichaelson.bsky.social.
Will Judaism after Gaza actually be different from Judaism before Gaza?
The author argues that the tension between particularism and universalism is fundamental to Jewish tradition.
forward.com
September 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"There is no question, of course, that the war has changed the Jewish community, especially in the United States…. But what about Judaism as a religion?" writes @forward.com contributing columnist @jaymichaelson.bsky.social.
"During the McCarthy era, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover led the charge to investigate political activists on the left," writes @noraberman.bsky.social. "Now, conservative activists, donors and influencers—rather than governmental officials—are largely leading the charge, through the internet.”
As Jimmy Kimmel is pulled off air, ‘this is so much worse than McCarthyism’
After Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off air, an expert on the McCarthy era says that the crackdown after Charlie Kirk's killing is worse.
forward.com
September 18, 2025 at 8:52 PM
"During the McCarthy era, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover led the charge to investigate political activists on the left," writes @noraberman.bsky.social. "Now, conservative activists, donors and influencers—rather than governmental officials—are largely leading the charge, through the internet.”
“I’m here today to tell you that I will not be deterred in my work on behalf of the good people of Pennsylvania, and I, sure as heck, will not be silenced,” PA Governor Josh Shapiro said in remarks at the annual Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh this morning.
‘I will not be silenced’: Josh Shapiro invokes assassination attempt in address on rising hate violence
Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke at the Eradicate Hate summit about the Charlie Kirk assassination and Passover attack on his Pennsylvania residence.
forward.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:26 PM
“I’m here today to tell you that I will not be deterred in my work on behalf of the good people of Pennsylvania, and I, sure as heck, will not be silenced,” PA Governor Josh Shapiro said in remarks at the annual Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh this morning.
"In less than 20 minutes, The Matriarchs asks an inflammatory question: Can you compare King David to Hitler? The question is almost heretical — but that’s what makes it so Jewish." 🧵
A new play asks: What if the biblical matriarchs lived today?
‘The Matriarchs’ challenges audiences to accept life’s uncertainties — and imagines what Leah and Rebecca would’ve studied in college.
forward.com
September 16, 2025 at 2:49 PM
"In less than 20 minutes, The Matriarchs asks an inflammatory question: Can you compare King David to Hitler? The question is almost heretical — but that’s what makes it so Jewish." 🧵
"This difference may seem subtle, but it highlights the ways in which many Christians who adopt Jewish practices, whether that be a tech-free weekend day or a Seder, do so in a way that erases Judaism," writes @forward.com's @miraefox.bsky.social.
Charlie Kirk kept a ‘Jewish Sabbath.’ What did he mean by that?
Charlie Kirk wrote a book about keeping the ‘Jewish Sabbath’ as part of his Christian life and advocated for the practice.
forward.com
September 15, 2025 at 3:46 PM
"This difference may seem subtle, but it highlights the ways in which many Christians who adopt Jewish practices, whether that be a tech-free weekend day or a Seder, do so in a way that erases Judaism," writes @forward.com's @miraefox.bsky.social.
Charlie Kirk’s face now adorns a yarmulke, created and sold by a Jewish clothing company called JDRIP.
The company says all the proceeds will be donated to “Jewish or pro-Israel causes, or those promoting free speech and debate in the United States.”
The company says all the proceeds will be donated to “Jewish or pro-Israel causes, or those promoting free speech and debate in the United States.”
A Jewish clothing brand is making Charlie Kirk yarmulkes
The Jewish clothing brand JDRIP is manufacturing a Charlie Kirk memorial yarmulke. The conservative activist had a mixed record on Jews.
forward.com
September 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Charlie Kirk’s face now adorns a yarmulke, created and sold by a Jewish clothing company called JDRIP.
The company says all the proceeds will be donated to “Jewish or pro-Israel causes, or those promoting free speech and debate in the United States.”
The company says all the proceeds will be donated to “Jewish or pro-Israel causes, or those promoting free speech and debate in the United States.”
Thank you for everything, Jake! 🤝
Today is my last day @forward.com.
I'm headed to Germany on Sunday to report my final story for them, thanks to @boellus.bsky.social, and then I'm starting something new at the end of the month!
It's been an honor.
I'm headed to Germany on Sunday to report my final story for them, thanks to @boellus.bsky.social, and then I'm starting something new at the end of the month!
It's been an honor.
September 12, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Thank you for everything, Jake! 🤝