Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
“I met Rabbi Cukierkorn this year, 30 years after discovering my Sephardic Jewish roots. I spent 30 years investigating my surname, searching the archives, hearing stories of family and how we come to Costa Rica and why. That was 30 years of receiving “NO” for an answer every time I tried to get close to the Jewish community in my country, Costa Rica. I have no doubt of who I am. I found Rabbi Cukierkorn with one hand ready to take me to the Path of Abraham our father. Jacques Cukierkorn is my Jewish hero, the kind man who answered the door.”
—GUSTAVO RAMIREZ CALDERON (also nominated by 15 others)
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.
