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Forward 50 2017
Marvin Hier
The President’s Rabbi The rise of Donald Trump has been very good to Marvin Hier, founder and leader of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. Hier has been an oft-noisy voice on the national Jewish scene since the 1970s. But the months since Trump’s inauguration have seen him ascend from the rank and file of…
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Forward 50 2017 Michael Rosbash
It’s Time To Honor The Scientist Who Explained Our Body’s Clock Michael Rosbash’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine — for discovering the genetic mechanisms of the circadian rhythm, the body’s biological clock — was the crowning achievement of a lifetime of research and mentoring. Rosbash arrived at Brandeis University in 1974; he has never…
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Forward 50 2017 Joel Pollak
Breitbart’s Jewish Journalist Joel Pollak emerged this year as one of the most influential Jewish conservatives in the country. A senior editor-at-large at Breitbart News, Pollak has rocketed to fame on the heels of the election and his website’s growing power. Pollak, 40, has written countless articles for the website — feeding the right-wing appetite…
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Forward 50 2017 Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper: Asking Tough Questions About The State Of The Union An election season like no other, and the unprecedented presidency that has followed, emphasized the important role of reporters as independent arbiters and speakers of truth to power. For Jake Tapper, CNN’s energetic news anchor, it was a logical transition. Calling out the president…
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Forward 50 2017 Alissa Thomas-Newborn
The Barrier-Breaking Female Orthodox Rabbi Alissa Thomas-Newborn grew up watching a woman lead services in synagogue: Her own mother, Didi Thomas, is the spiritual leader at Temple Emet, a Reform congregation in Torrance, California. Over the years, Thomas-Newborn became Orthodox — but found herself searching for a way to serve as a female religious leader…
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Forward 50 2017 Julie Klausner
The Future of Comedy Is Deplorable The future of comedy is definitely female. No one exemplifies this more than Julie Klausner, whose Hulu show “Difficult People” just finished its third season. The New Republic called the season “its most mature iteration of the show… [Difficult People] has finally found its groove and its glory zone.”…
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Forward 50 2017 Billy Joel
The Piano Man Demonstrates Against Hate Billy Joel has said that his circumcision was “as Jewish as it gets,” but besides that and other quips about “clipping the tip,” he has never talked much about being Jewish. Indeed, his attitude toward his background has seemed ambivalent at times: He went to church as a kid…
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Forward 50 2017 Norman Eisen
The Former Ethics Czar Fighting White House Corruption In the past year, Norman Eisen, 56, has quickly become Washington, D.C.’s ethics watchdog — vigilantly watching every move in the White House, ensuring that no wrongdoing goes uncovered. Born into a Jewish family in Los Angeles, Eisen, who keeps kosher, investigated anti-Semitism and civil rights violations…
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Forward 50 2017 Kathy Manning
Jewish Educational Trailblazer At a time when many Jewish organizations insist on going it alone, even though they struggle for money and members, what happened last year in the day school community defied the norm: Five well-established, distinct organizations representing diverse religious streams and approaches actually decided to meld into one. Key to this development…
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Forward 50 2017 Gal Gadot
A Real Wonder Woman The Forward 50 has historically only honored American Jews who have made differences in our lives, but in honor of the breakout year of Israeli actress Gal Gadot, we’re making a “wonder”-ful exception. The winner of the 2004 Miss Israel competition, the actress and model made her film debut playing an…
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Forward 50 2017 Sophie Ellman-Golan
The Jewish Activist Who Powered The Women’s March Sophie Ellman-Golan is an activist at the forefront of the fight for social and racial equality. After working at Everytown for Gun Safety, the nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization, she became the deputy head of communications and outreach for the Women’s March, the nationwide protest movement…
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