Everyone Needs a ‘Jewish Momma’ — Even ‘Real Housewives’
My current guilty pleasure is “The Real Housewives of New York City. ”Watching their “reunion” on Bravo Tuesday night was like watching a sack full of expensively bejeweled, super-skinny, couture-clad cats in a sack claw at each other. But hilariously.
Going by their names, looks and mannerisms — hey, if we can’t stereotype ourselves, who can? — I’m guessing that two of the “housewives” are Jewish: Bethenny Frankel who’s single and a natural foods chef and cookbook author, and Jill Zarin (nee Kamen), a fund-raiser for several charities and mother of a teenage girl, Ally Shapiro.
Ally did this interview with New York magazine about her “Jewish momma.” Not only is Zarin the funniest of the bunch, she speaks with a bit of a Brooklyn brogue, which as a naturalized citizen of the best borough makes me like her even more. She’s kind of the hoity-toity super-rich girlfriend I’ve never had and hope one day might invite me for a shopping spree on her AmEx black card.
Part two of the catfight — I mean reunion — airs Thursday night. Tune in!
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.
