A Muslim Congressman Heads to the Holy Land
Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota is among a congressional delegation visiting Israel this week with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. The eighteen-member group, which is almost all freshmen, also includes Jewish congressmen Paul Hodes, John Yarmuth and Steve Cohen.
My colleague Nathan Guttman is in Israel now and will have a story up this week about all the politicking going on in the Holy Land.
It is particularly interesting to watch Ellison trying to balance his Jewish and Muslim constituencies. He still seems to be figuring out how to keep his foot out of his mouth.
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.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
