Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Life

Blognik Beat Is Born

In reporting the American Jewish story, the Forward has come to appreciate the unique complexity and distinctive identity of the Russian-speaking Jewish community. That is why we are excited to partner with Genesis Philanthropy Group to launch Blognik Beat, which we hope will be a new home for conversation among young Jewish writers who have emigrated from or have ties to the Former Soviet Union.

Blognik Beat contributors are high school and university students in North America who trace their roots to a wide array of former Soviet Republics. They are passionate about writing and have a keen sense of the issues that matter to youth and first-generation heritage speakers from the FSU. On this daily blog, they will offer ideas and commentary on topics of religion, identity, culture, arts and politics.

Genesis Philanthropy Group is an organization that seeks to foster Jewish culture, heritage and values in future generations of Russian speaking Jewish communities worldwide. The Forward retains its independence in recruiting contributors and editing the blog.

Blognik Beat will join the Forward’s growing and flourishing lineup of blogs, including The Sisterhood; The Arty Semite; The Shmooze, Forward Thinking and Jew & the Carrot. We are excited to hear the voices of the next generation of young Russian Americans.

Maia Efrem, who was born in Georgia and lived in Israel before immigrating to the United States, is the blog’s editor. She can be reached at [email protected]

Blognik Beat has been made possible through the generous support of Genesis Philanthropy Group.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.