Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.
Sam Kestenbaum
By Sam Kestenbaum
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Fast Forward VIDEO: This Is The Man Suspected Of Torching Brooklyn Jewish Art Bus
Police are asking the public for help identifying the man suspected of torching a Jewish art bus in Crown Heights last month. On Thursday, the police released a short video of the suspect, taken from what appears to be surveillance footage inside a deli. This is the second video released to the public of the…
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Fast Forward Linda Sarsour Calls For Anti-Trump ‘Jihad’ — And Faces Swift Backlash
Linda Sarsour, the Palestinian-American activist and Women’s March organizer, drew criticism over a recent speech she gave at the Islamic Society of North America convention over her use of the word “jihad.” “I hope that … when we stand up to those who oppress our communities, that Allah accepts from us that as a form…
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News Once Resistant, Rabbis Embrace Intermarriage As The Path To Jewish ‘Survival’
Marci Shegogue was raised in a Conservative synagogue in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., but she fell in love with a Catholic man, Rich. They dated for seven years, speaking often about their different faiths, but when they decided to finally marry they had a very hard time finding any cleric who would bless their…
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Fast Forward Is Jay-Z ‘Going Anti-Semitic’ On New Record?
On Jay-Z’s latest single, the hip-hop superstar makes what some took to be an anti-Semitic comment, rapping that Jewish people “own all the property in America.” Wasnt really expecting Jay-Z to go anti-semitic when I started the new 4:44 album this morning. https://t.co/WugWbMpNue pic.twitter.com/zNiM72Lh72 — Jerry Gamblin (@JGamblin) June 30, 2017 In a song titled…
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Fast Forward Suspect In Jewish Art Bus Arson Caught On Video
The police have released surveillance footage apparently showing a suspect wanted for torching a Jewish art bus last weekend in Brooklyn. In the 30-second clip, uploaded on Twitter last night, the suspect walks down the street in a baseball cap while talking on his cell phone. The NYPD just released surveillance video of the suspect…
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Fast Forward Kabbalah Study Center Opens In Lebanon — But It’s ‘Not Judaism’
A center for the mystic Jewish study of Kaballah opened this week in Lebanon — but members include Muslims and Christians who see their study as removed from Judaism or Jewishness. “I have to reinforce the idea that Kabbalah is not Judaism,” a Muslim teacher in the group identified only as Sara told the Middle…
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Fast Forward Kodak Black Worships With Hebrew Israelites
The rapper Kodak Black spent Saturday worshipping at a Hebrew Israelite congregation in his home state of Florida, bobbing along to conga drumming and listening to spiritual leaders preach that black people are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites. The 20-year-old rapper, released from jail just weeks ago, is diving deeper into the Hebrew…
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Fast Forward ‘Hebrew Priestess’ Roseanne Barr Is ‘Riding Trumpian Wave’ With Reboot Of Her Show
In May, ABC confirmed that Roseanne, the 1990s TV comedy, would be rebooted. The show, which starred a working-class and white family, seems perfectly fit for the political moment. “Roseanne Barr, the groundbreaking female comic behind the sitcom, seems to be well aware that her reboot is riding a Trumpian wave,” the Daily Beast’s Amy…
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