The Gabila’s Knish Crisis Is Over!

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Like all knish lovers, we at the Forward shed a tear when we heard that Gabila’s, the king of the fried square knish, was forced to shut down its factory after a fire last fall. Five months later, the knish drought is almost over.
On Monday, the Long Island factory will once again smell of delicious potatoes fried in oil (imagine the scent of latkes, year-round). If they get back up to full steam, the company will make as many as 250,000 knishes in its first week.
Up to 2,000 of those knishes will be sold in a week at Katz’s Deli, which was forced to take the knishes off of their menu last fall, according to owner Jake Dell. At the deli diners resorted to eating potato salad and French fries while more desperate knish devotees turned to eBay to get their fix.
For everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the knish, you’ll just have to wait for May for “Knish: In Search of the Jewish Soul Food.” In the meantime, we’re content to just snack on those square knishes.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
