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/...

"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.

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.

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.

It's never too early to learn some Yiddish words for witchcraft.

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."

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...

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."

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 ⬇️

"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."

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.

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? 🧵

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...."

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.

"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.”

“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." 🧵

"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.”

Thank you for everything, Jake! 🤝

There are now Charlie Kirk memorial yarmulkes being advertised on Instagram, underscoring the beatification of the right-wing activist in a large segment of the Jewish community.

The baseless claim that Mossad murdered Charlie Kirk is really about a battle over his legacy between pro-Israel conservatives and the Groypers whose influence was increasingly eclipsing Kirk's Turning Points USA crowd forward.com/news/antisem...

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.

A Westchester County town has reversed its decision to deny a Jewish organization a permit for Tashlich in a public park. Chabad was denied a permit in June, with the town claiming the park's deed bans religious events — even though the same park hosted an Easter egg hunt in April.

I’m proud of how my colleagues at @forward.com covered the news, acknowledging and capturing the fact that people viewed Kirk in wildly divergent ways

Antisemitism Decoded is officially on Substack and you can read/sign-up here! open.substack.com/pub/antisemi...

Israeli leaders offered their prayers for conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk after a gunman shot him in what appeared to be a targeted assassination attempt at a campus event in Utah.

I wrote about the growth, and growing pains, of traditional-egalitarian Judaism: forward.com/news/767221/...

Researcher Olivia Haynie has written about her time working on the False Image of History Project and what it taught her about comparisons between Confederate commemoration and Nazism for her latest column in The Forward @forward.com. forward.com/culture/7669...

Most New York City voters, including a solid majority of the young voters who powered Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic primary win, say the strident Israel critic offered the best approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the campaign for mayor, a new poll finds.

NEW: Traditional-egalitarian prayer groups are popping up across the country, where members can vary from anti-Zionist to Zionist. These minyans, built on lay leadership, low overhead and liberal ideals, are discovering that the very qualities that fueled their rise are also driving them apart.

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on ‘Globalize the Intifada’ slogan: “It means end Israel. It means destroy Jews… No matter what words they intend to be saying, that is the meaning of these phrases… It's not a social movement. It's terrorism, it's destruction, it's death.”

Columbia University set aside $21 million for Jewish employees who faced antisemitism as part of its $200 million settlement with the Trump administration. From the Columbia Spectator:

Jack Schlossberg, the Jewish grandson of President John F. Kennedy, said he is exploring a run for Congress to fill the soon-to-be-vacated seat of Rep. Jerry Nadler, Democrat from New York, who is retiring. From @axios.com:

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, said in an interview on Sunday that if elected, he would support permanently divesting from Israel Bonds.

Rev. Al Sharpton to Mamdani: Has your personal views on the phrase of ‘globalize the intifada’ changed since you've been running for mayor? Do you understand those that see it in a more threatening way? Mamdani: “Yes, they have.. This is language I would discourage.”

Mamdani says he backs Brad Lander’s decision not to purchase new bonds in Israeli government debt securities as a political statement during his mayoralty. Mark Levine, the NYC comptroller nominee who’ll oversee investments, tells me he will purchase new Israel Bonds forward.com/fast-forward...

Six people were killed and at least six others seriously wounded at rush hour on Monday morning when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a bus stop in Jerusalem, the latest in a series of deadly attacks deepening tensions between Israelis and Palestinians as the war in Gaza grinds on.

ICYMI: I wrote this past week about the Columbia University settlement with the federal government over "campus antisemitism," and how it ironically makes my job of teaching Jewish history to Jewish students harder. forward.com/opinion/7663...

New @reformjudaism.bsky.social post about the war in Gaza calls it of "increasingly dubious legitimacy"

Northwestern University President Michael Schill announced he would resign Thursday, ending a three-year tenure during which the Trump administration targeted the university over allegations of antisemitism.

Elias Rodriguez, the Chicago man charged with killing two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. in May, pleaded not guilty to the government’s charges at a brief hearing.

I have seen students who are not especially anti-Zionist afraid to talk about Israel-Palestine or Zionism in class, for fear of saying the wrong thing and being reported. I wrote about it. forward.com/opinion/7663...

The government said it had turned over more than one million pages of evidence to the defense, plus the contents of an iPhone. forward.com/news/766570/...

I blogged about Joe Sanberg, the prison-bound social justice entrepreneur at the center of the scandal embroiling the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard. This marks (I think) a professional first for me – the reasonable inclusion of a Getty photo I appear in. Click to see it! forward.com/fast-forward...