Birthday Bash at Shea Stadium

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The New York Mets will celebrate Israel’s 60th birthday when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers later this month. Asaf Shariv, consul general of Israel in New York, will throw out a first pitch at the May 29 game, and the American group Parparim Ensemble will perform Israeli folk dance during the pre-game ceremony.
Baseball fans, however, might be focusing on what could be, for some, an unsettling sight on the sidelines: New York great Joe Torre wearing a Dodgers
uniform. The showdown brings Torre back to the Big Apple, following his unfortunate departure from the Yankees last year. Torre is now manager of the Dodgers.
At this point, the game’s outcome is anyone’s guess. Both teams are strong National League clubs, but the Mets have been underperforming so far this season, and while the Dodgers started out hot, they were recently brought back to a mediocre record after a five-game slump.
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.
