Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. His work has also been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine and VICE. He is based in Los Angeles and can be followed on Twitter @thislouis.
Louis Keene
By Louis Keene
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News Why did these rabbis seek a pardon for Elliot Broidy?
When former President Donald Trump, in one of his last acts in office, granted an executive pardon to confessed felon Elliott Broidy, the White House cited letters in Broidy’s support from some unusual sources: five Los Angeles rabbis. Broidy, a multimillionaire businessman and prominent Jewish philanthropist, pleaded guilty to illegal foreign lobbying on Oct. 20….
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News No refrigerators left: L.A.’s COVID-19 spike swamps Jewish mortuaries
On one recent Saturday night, mortuary director Moe Goldsman got his first call at 10 p.m., his second at 12:30 a.m., and his third at 1:45 a.m. He worked through the night and went to sleep at dawn. With coronavirus numbers skyrocketing in Southern California since Thanksgiving, Goldsman’s Sholom Mortuary is struggling to keep pace…
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News A police crackdown in a Black neighborhood paved the way for a Jewish resurgence
Editor’s note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Forward is resurfacing some of our recent coverage related to the Black-Jewish experience and racial justice. This article originally appeared in July, 2020. If you want to come to grips with the way race, injustice and real estate intertwine in America today, a good…
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News Zach Banner speaks out for Black and Jewish understanding
Editor’s note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Forward is resurfacing some of our recent coverage related to the Black-Jewish experience and racial justice. This article originally appeared in July, 2020. As an offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Zach Banner is paid to throw all six feet, eight inches and 350…
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News In California, rabbis ask why clergy aren’t in first — or second, or third — group for COVID-19 vaccination
As tens of thousands of vaccines are distributed to healthcare workers and the elderly across Los Angeles County, faith leaders are not in either of the top tiers, keeping them sidelined as the pandemic worsens through the winter months. “I’m baffled,” said Rabbi Elazar Muskin, who leads Young Israel of Century City, an Orthodox synagogue…
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News Deni diary 1/8: The man of a million questions (turns 20)
You’re reading DENI DIARY, the weekly dispatch from Deni Avdija’s rookie season by Louis Keene. Want these posts in your inbox? Click here. So, after starting the season with five straight losses, the Washington Wizards strung together a pair of wins against Minnesota and Brooklyn last weekend. But Deni Avdija has seen his minutes decline…
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News A mystery ‘religious leader’ and another guilty plea in Chabad of Poway scandal
The latest guilty plea in the Chabad of Poway financial scandal has connected an additional religious leader to the scheme that rocked a community victimized by a 2019 terrorist attack. Rotem Cooper, 54, admitted Tuesday to defrauding the government and his employer by claiming thousands of dollars in false donations, becoming the eighth person to…
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News Meet Gabbi Stein, the first Orthodox Jewish girl to earn the rank of Eagle Scout
Not long after the Boy Scouts of America started letting girls in, Gabbi Stein felt her parents nudging her to join. Their sales pitch was hardly original: Their daughter was a junior in high school. It would look good on her college applications. “At first I was like, Oh my God, this is totally not…
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Film & TV Bonhoeffer biopic tells of a pastor turned would-be Hitler assassin — but is the story true?
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News What Mike Huckabee’s ‘Kids Guide to Israel’ says about his views
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Culture At 95, Shaindel Schreiber is still dispensing babka and advice on the Lower East Side
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Fast Forward Trump attorney general pick Pam Bondi: 5 things Jews should know
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News Israel reached a ceasefire in Lebanon. Why does Gaza seem so hard?
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Culture Barbra Streisand recorded here — and so did Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, John Lennon and, uh, The Village People
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Fast Forward Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to helm EPA, says he received bomb threat with ‘pro-Palestinian themed message’
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Opinion We can be thankful this year — and Jewish wisdom can help
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