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Over the past year, she has watched people return to Jewish life who had once drifted away from it — not out of fear, but out of need.
“It surprised me how relevant a Jewish community can be in times of crisis,” she said. “I knew it from books. I had never experienced it.”
“It surprised me how relevant a Jewish community can be in times of crisis,” she said. “I knew it from books. I had never experienced it.”
She helped rescue the Torahs from their burning synagogue. A year later, Pasadena's mishkan is thriving.
A year after wildfire destroyed Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, its congregation is still gathering, growing and planning a new synagogue.
forward.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Over the past year, she has watched people return to Jewish life who had once drifted away from it — not out of fear, but out of need.
“It surprised me how relevant a Jewish community can be in times of crisis,” she said. “I knew it from books. I had never experienced it.”
“It surprised me how relevant a Jewish community can be in times of crisis,” she said. “I knew it from books. I had never experienced it.”
The Eaton Fire that razed Pasadena was different.
“What surprised me,” she said, “was how loving and caring and strong and vibrant a community can be in the midst of tragedy. There was no doubt that we were going to be OK.”
“What surprised me,” she said, “was how loving and caring and strong and vibrant a community can be in the midst of tragedy. There was no doubt that we were going to be OK.”
January 7, 2026 at 2:15 PM
The Eaton Fire that razed Pasadena was different.
“What surprised me,” she said, “was how loving and caring and strong and vibrant a community can be in the midst of tragedy. There was no doubt that we were going to be OK.”
“What surprised me,” she said, “was how loving and caring and strong and vibrant a community can be in the midst of tragedy. There was no doubt that we were going to be OK.”
She grew up in Buenos Aires and lived through two acts of mass violence that targeted the Jewish community there — the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, which killed 85 people, including friends of hers.
January 7, 2026 at 2:15 PM
She grew up in Buenos Aires and lived through two acts of mass violence that targeted the Jewish community there — the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, which killed 85 people, including friends of hers.
Cantor Harris Berman recalls the experience with @forward.com's @benyamincohen.bsky.social.
She helped rescue the Torahs from their burning synagogue. A year later, Pasadena's mishkan is thriving.
A year after wildfire destroyed Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, its congregation is still gathering, growing and planning a new synagogue.
forward.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Cantor Harris Berman recalls the experience with @forward.com's @benyamincohen.bsky.social.
As smoke filled the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center one year ago, Cantor Ruth Berman Harris searched for her husband through the darkness, calling out to make sure the Torahs were being carried out.
By night’s end, the building was destroyed, but all 13 Torahs were safe. 🧵
By night’s end, the building was destroyed, but all 13 Torahs were safe. 🧵
January 7, 2026 at 2:15 PM
As smoke filled the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center one year ago, Cantor Ruth Berman Harris searched for her husband through the darkness, calling out to make sure the Torahs were being carried out.
By night’s end, the building was destroyed, but all 13 Torahs were safe. 🧵
By night’s end, the building was destroyed, but all 13 Torahs were safe. 🧵
For those of you who've seen Marty Supreme, how did audiences react during the honey scene? @forward.com editorial fellow Olivia Heynie explores the disconnect between Josh Safdie's intent and how many viewers have responded to it.
So, what’s the deal with the honey scene in ‘Marty Supreme?’
A harrowing story of survival in Auschwitz has been misinterpreted by some viewers, sparking online discourse.
forward.com
December 30, 2025 at 5:03 PM
For those of you who've seen Marty Supreme, how did audiences react during the honey scene? @forward.com editorial fellow Olivia Heynie explores the disconnect between Josh Safdie's intent and how many viewers have responded to it.
Reposted by The Forward
For my last piece of 2025, I wrote about reading Arnošt Lustig and hoping against hope for @forward.com
forward.com/opinion/7938...
forward.com/opinion/7938...
The Holocaust survivor writer who can help us through this ominous era
Arnošt Lustig, a Czech Jewish writer, survived the Holocaust and incorporated its horrors in his writing — but came out hopeful all the same.
forward.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM
For my last piece of 2025, I wrote about reading Arnošt Lustig and hoping against hope for @forward.com
forward.com/opinion/7938...
forward.com/opinion/7938...
Of course - our pleasure!
December 19, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Of course - our pleasure!
There's nothing like archival ads from early 20th-century editions of Forverts to bring out the Yiddishe research nerd in all of us. But now we want to know what this musical pin looked like!
from @forward.com, June 1908--found while looking for info about other Musical stuff.
what's a musical pin? 🤔
what's a musical pin? 🤔
December 19, 2025 at 2:26 PM
There's nothing like archival ads from early 20th-century editions of Forverts to bring out the Yiddishe research nerd in all of us. But now we want to know what this musical pin looked like!
Our publisher weighed in as well and noted the pin in question had something written on it, so she also thinks it's more likely to be something you would wear rather than a tool of some sort. - @acarv.in
December 19, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Our publisher weighed in as well and noted the pin in question had something written on it, so she also thinks it's more likely to be something you would wear rather than a tool of some sort. - @acarv.in
Hey there- thanks for sharing this! I reached out to both our Yiddish editor and our archivist, to see if they had any additional insights. They both think it was a decorative pin you would wear, like a brooch. Our archivist also noted that cameos and silhouette buttons were fashionable at the time.
December 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Hey there- thanks for sharing this! I reached out to both our Yiddish editor and our archivist, to see if they had any additional insights. They both think it was a decorative pin you would wear, like a brooch. Our archivist also noted that cameos and silhouette buttons were fashionable at the time.
As Commissioner Chadwick was wrapping up the commission meeting, he wished the group a Merry Christmas, and Commissioner Waldrop whispered, “We haven’t said ‘Happy Hanukkah.'”
“No, we don’t say that,” Chadwick replied, as Waldrop’s mouth fell agape.
“No, we don’t say that,” Chadwick replied, as Waldrop’s mouth fell agape.
This politician refused to say ‘Happy Hanukkah,’ then blamed ‘political correctness’ for the backlash
Chris Chadwick, chairman of the Carteret County Board of Commissioners, said he will defend his right to say "Merry Christmas."
forward.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:41 PM
As Commissioner Chadwick was wrapping up the commission meeting, he wished the group a Merry Christmas, and Commissioner Waldrop whispered, “We haven’t said ‘Happy Hanukkah.'”
“No, we don’t say that,” Chadwick replied, as Waldrop’s mouth fell agape.
“No, we don’t say that,” Chadwick replied, as Waldrop’s mouth fell agape.
"Despite his clear love of the Jewish Shabbat, he cannot help but reject it because it’s not Christian. And this is key to his argument: At its roots, Kirk’s praise of Shabbat is more concerned with convincing his readers to embrace Christianity than it is with learning from Judaism."
In making a Christian case for Shabbat, Charlie Kirk stripped off its Judaism
'Stop, in the Name of God,' Charlie Kirk's final book, is careful to make sure that Shabbat doesn't sound too Jewish.
forward.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:20 PM
"Despite his clear love of the Jewish Shabbat, he cannot help but reject it because it’s not Christian. And this is key to his argument: At its roots, Kirk’s praise of Shabbat is more concerned with convincing his readers to embrace Christianity than it is with learning from Judaism."
Reposted by The Forward
“I understand that the gentiles who are lighting their own menorahs as a show of solidarity mean well but that’s not for y’all to be doing. Judaism is a closed practice,” one user posted. “Get the circumcision first, then we’ll talk.”
Christians are displaying menorahs in their windows post-Bondi Beach attack. Why some Jews object
Non-Jews are placing menorahs in their windows as a show of support for their Jewish neighbors. But is it solidarity or appropriation?
forward.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:43 PM
“I understand that the gentiles who are lighting their own menorahs as a show of solidarity mean well but that’s not for y’all to be doing. Judaism is a closed practice,” one user posted. “Get the circumcision first, then we’ll talk.”
Reposted by The Forward
I wrote a thing for @forward.com about reconnecting with family that I had presumed did not exist because of the Holocaust, and how a Bondi Beach veteran's pub became a place of reunion for us.
Australia welcomed my family’s Holocaust survivors — and Bondi Beach soon became a symbol of renewal for me
The Australian Jewish population nearly tripled in size from 1938 to 1961, with Holocaust survivors like my family moving there.
forward.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:54 PM
I wrote a thing for @forward.com about reconnecting with family that I had presumed did not exist because of the Holocaust, and how a Bondi Beach veteran's pub became a place of reunion for us.
Please welcome @forward.com's incoming editor-in-chief, @alykatzz.bsky.social!
Alyssa Katz Named Next Editor-in-Chief of the Forward
Alyssa Katz has been named Editor-in-Chief of the Forward, the nation’s most influential and widely-read Jewish publication. The appointment was announced today by Forward Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishm...
forward.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Please welcome @forward.com's incoming editor-in-chief, @alykatzz.bsky.social!
“When Jews are attacked for being Jews, and the response is muted, conditional, or delayed, the message is unmistakable. Jews may still live here, but only quietly.... We cannot and will not retreat into hiding our light. The call of this moment is simple and urgent: Light candles everywhere.”
The call of this Hanukkah moment remains simple and urgent: Light candles everywhere. Even when we're under attack.
Even after the attack at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead in Sydney, Australia, we light Hanukkah candles to publicize the miracle.
forward.com
December 14, 2025 at 10:41 PM
“When Jews are attacked for being Jews, and the response is muted, conditional, or delayed, the message is unmistakable. Jews may still live here, but only quietly.... We cannot and will not retreat into hiding our light. The call of this moment is simple and urgent: Light candles everywhere.”
“We have repeatedly reached out to our government, telling them that we do not feel safe. And yet, it has often felt as though these concerns are met with procedural gestures... Australian Jews do not feel that the government is taking its approach to antisemitism as seriously as it should.”
I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
I grew up believing that Australia was one of the best places on earth to be Jewish. This country always felt like a gift: Extraordinary beaches, glorious wildlife, and a cultural temperament that val...
forward.com
December 14, 2025 at 3:09 PM
“We have repeatedly reached out to our government, telling them that we do not feel safe. And yet, it has often felt as though these concerns are met with procedural gestures... Australian Jews do not feel that the government is taking its approach to antisemitism as seriously as it should.”
"Too often, Jewish leftist spaces shy away from these questions. What does the egalitarian, diverse and thriving Jewish future the left seeks to build look like in Israel and beyond? How does this future address the many legitimate questions Jews have about their safety and identity there?"
December 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
"Too often, Jewish leftist spaces shy away from these questions. What does the egalitarian, diverse and thriving Jewish future the left seeks to build look like in Israel and beyond? How does this future address the many legitimate questions Jews have about their safety and identity there?"
“The left often prioritizes spotlighting the urgent needs of Palestinians—rightly, and with good reason…But the de-escalation that has accompanied the current ceasefire has opened an opportunity for the Jewish left to reflect and redefine its strategy. What future, exactly, are they fighting for?"
The Jewish left is misplaying its hand — by not focusing enough on Jews
Jews who support Palestinians are often treated as less Jewish in Israel. It's time for the Jewish left to take that issue seriously.
forward.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
“The left often prioritizes spotlighting the urgent needs of Palestinians—rightly, and with good reason…But the de-escalation that has accompanied the current ceasefire has opened an opportunity for the Jewish left to reflect and redefine its strategy. What future, exactly, are they fighting for?"
Reposted by The Forward
@forward.com spoke with Marty Supreme's production designer on why they decided to feature the delivery truck in the film.
How the Forward got a cameo in ‘Marty Supreme’
Production designer Jack Fisk speaks about the joys, and challenges, of recreating 1950s New York — and beyond.
forward.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:45 PM
@forward.com spoke with Marty Supreme's production designer on why they decided to feature the delivery truck in the film.
Reposted by The Forward
Marty Supreme goes all-in on embracing NYC Jewishness with a nice touch of nerdy historical accuracy:
Left: Isaac Bashevis Singer in front of a @forward.com delivery truck outside the historic Forward Building in 1968
Right: a Forward truck designed for the movie, parked outside the same building
Left: Isaac Bashevis Singer in front of a @forward.com delivery truck outside the historic Forward Building in 1968
Right: a Forward truck designed for the movie, parked outside the same building
December 10, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Marty Supreme goes all-in on embracing NYC Jewishness with a nice touch of nerdy historical accuracy:
Left: Isaac Bashevis Singer in front of a @forward.com delivery truck outside the historic Forward Building in 1968
Right: a Forward truck designed for the movie, parked outside the same building
Left: Isaac Bashevis Singer in front of a @forward.com delivery truck outside the historic Forward Building in 1968
Right: a Forward truck designed for the movie, parked outside the same building
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/...
"This is untrue. And understanding the contours of that warped perception are essential to accurately identifying and pushing back on antisemitism in the United States today."
November 7, 2025 at 1:09 PM
"This is untrue. And understanding the contours of that warped perception are essential to accurately identifying and pushing back on antisemitism in the United States today."
"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."