Jewish Man, Yellow Cab, Green Street
By Dan Friedman May 12, 2009
After editing the national magazine American Jewish Life and wandering around the Bible Belt for a year Benyamin Cohen (“My Jesus Year: A Rabbi’s Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith,” HarperCollins, 2008) decided to save the world from itself.
Cohen joined up with the fledgling Mother Nature Network and, using his Jewish media experience, developed the role of Content Director. Just as Jewish media eschews limiting definitions of Jewishness to report broader Jewish culture the resulting content of this avowedly environmental news site often veers away from direct facts into what might be loosely called “environmental culture.”
Today marks the start of MNN’s most recent series, “On the Streets” featuring Forward contributor Jonathan Kesselman. When not writing his Machal pieces for us, he’s apparently making an environmental nuisance of himself on the streets of Manhattan and either causing or observing mayhem depending on how you view it.
It’s not exactly clear how new video-recorded craziness every Tuesday helps the Jews, but as long as it’s good for the environment we’re down with it.
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.
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