Forward 50 2015
It’s a rare group of people who can say they saved another person’s life. But dozens of Jews, most of them ultra-Orthodox, are saving lives every year by committing a profound act of altruism — becoming a live kidney donor to a stranger. That’s thanks to Mendy Reiner, 38, a soft-spoken ultra-Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn….
Gary Cohen, 59, has spent his entire career trying to reduce pollution. His Virginia-based not-for-profit, Health Care Without Harm, has been at the forefront of the push to eliminate the use of mercury in medical instruments worldwide and to dramatically reduce the number of medical waste incinerators in America, a leading source of pollution linked…
What do you do when you discover that your rabbi filmed you naked in the mikveh as you were converting to Judaism? You pull out your cell phone at 2 a.m., type up “a bill of rights for Jewish converts” and watch as your blog post goes viral by morning. At least, that’s how you…
Jill Soloway, 50, is no new- comer to the entertainment industry. From 2002 to 2005 the Chicago-born director and screenwriter wrote and later co-executive produced the acclaimed HBO series “Six Feet Under.” She wrote and directed the 2013 movie “Afternoon Delight,” about an unhappy mother who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 19-year-old sex…
When Evan Wolfson wrote his Harvard Law School thesis on gay marriage in 1983, it was considered a fringe idea. Thirty-two years later, Wolfson had his “I told you so” moment when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015. “Love won,” Wolfson wrote in The New York Times that day. As…
This year, one newcomer stood out on the increasingly crowded shelf of memoirs written by Jews who have left the ultra-Orthodox world. “All Who Go Do Not Return,” by Shulem Deen, distinguishes itself with its mesmerizing lyricism — which is all the more remarkable when you consider that Deen’s rigid upbringing in the insular Skverer…
The hallmark of a good leader is not simply what she does while in office. It’s how she chooses to leave. The announcement in October that Ruth Messinger was stepping down after 17 years as president of American Jewish World Service wasn’t a complete surprise — despite her formidable stamina and almost youthful enthusiasm, she…
When Columbia University dismissed her sexual assault complaint, Emma Sulkowicz came back to campus carrying a mattress like the one on which she said she was raped by a fellow student — and never left it behind. The image of a young woman carrying her mattress quickly became the new symbol of the national movement…
Like many other Jewish boys, Michael Dell was supposed to grow up to become a doctor, just like his father. But from early on he had other plans. At the age of 12 Dell already showed his knack for business, making a small fortune from trading stamps and selling newspaper subscriptions. So it was no…
Zalmen Mlotek, 64, has been involved in Yiddish culture practically since before he was born. His mother, Chana Mlotek, who died in 2013, was a folk song researcher, anthologist and long-serving chief archivist at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. His father, Joseph Mlotek, was a writer, educator and cultural activist who served as the…
“Nothing ends, it’s just a continuation, it’s a pause in the conversation. Rather than saying goodbye or good night, I’m just going to say I’m gonna go get a drink and I’m sure I’ll see you guys before I leave.” And with those words, Jon Stewart exited “The Daily Show.” To honor Stewart in 2015…
