Jacob Kornbluh is the Forward’s senior political reporter. Follow him on Twitter @jacobkornbluh or email [email protected].
Jacob KornbluhSenior Political Reporter
By Jacob Kornbluh
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News Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County’s first Jewish executive, guided by Orthodox tradition
When Bruce Blakeman was nine years old, his grandfather Jesse Herbert Blakeman turned to his grandson and asked him to promise that he would never forget he is both an American and that he is a Jew. Two weeks after the young Blakeman gave that promise, his grandfather passed away. Blakeman, a Republican, became the…
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News In new job, the ‘Anthony Fauci of the New York City Council’ aims to fight COVID and antisemitism
Mark Levine, a term-limited councilman from Manhattan, is battle tested. In his two campaigns for the City Council, Levine, who is Jewish, was subject to vitriolic antisemitic attacks from a primary rival. “I have confronted explicit antisemitism in politics before and I’ve proven that we can beat it,” he said after his re-election. And just…
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News De Blasio exits City Hall, his Jewish support in tatters
Bill de Blasio made a promise eight years ago that he would visit the Orthodox community in New York “one hundred times” in his first three years as mayor. He broke that promise. But de Blasio — who is term-limited and leaves office at year’s end — maintained strong relationships with Orthodox leaders that broke…
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Fast Forward Illinois divests from Unilever over Ben & Jerry’s Israel move
Jewish American groups welcomed on Wednesday a decision by the state of Illinois to divest its pension funds of investments in Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, over the ice cream maker’s decision early this summer to end sales in the occupied West Bank. The unanimous vote by the Illinois Investment Policy Board,…
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Fast Forward Former Obama officials urge Biden to get tougher on Iran
Several former Obama officials are imploring the Biden administration to toughen its stance on Iran as indirect talks about returning to the 2015 nuclear deal stagnate. “Without convincing Iran it will suffer severe consequences if it stays on its current path, there is little reason to hope for the success of diplomacy,” the officials, who…
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News Eating pizza and talking Jewish politics with Tom Suozzi, who’s running for governor of New York
Tom Suozzi, a Democratic Congressman from New York, sees his current bid for governor of New York as a moment of ”bashert,” a Yiddish term often used to express the seeming fate of an important event. He is one of at least three candidates who are competing in next year’s Democratic primary against the incumbent,…
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Fast Forward AIPAC to fund campaigns for the first time in its 70-year history (through a PAC)
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying organization, is often described as “powerful,” but not because it showers dollars on political candidates. The group seeks influence by lobbying policymakers, and AIPAC members make political donations independently. But now AIPAC has launched political action committees that can send dollars directly to pro-Israel candidates. The…
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Fast Forward NYC Mayor-elect Eric Adams reschedules his inauguration so it doesn’t fall on Shabbat
The swearing-in ceremony traditionally takes place at 12 p.m. on the first day of the year
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