A Changing of the Guard

Writer-at-Large Jane Eisner April 28, 2011

One of the things I learned early on in journalism is to be good to your staff members, because you’ll never know when one of them will become your editor.

Sure enough, that happened to me a few months after I arrived at the Forward in 2008, when the position of opinion editor opened up and Daniel Treiman asked for the job. He was our web editor at the time, had supervised the redesign of our website and clearly had the smarts and the passion to tackle a new challenge. It was an easy promotion to make, and he’s been editing my editorials ever since.

Now, after working on and off at the Forward for the past nine years, Daniel is returning to journalistic cyberspace to take a new job as online editor at JTA.

He leaves behind a proud tradition of publishing opinion pieces that were trenchant, sophisticated and often surprising, reflecting his determination to take readers outside their comfort zones, showing that sound answers are rarely obvious and that no one has a monopoly on the truth. Daniel was known for his rigorous editing, a reputation to which I can attest and something I will sorely miss. We wish him well in his new position.

Happily, this important chair will be filled without delay. I am thrilled to announce that our own Gal Beckerman will become the Forward’s new opinion editor. Gal’s broad intellect, superb writing, analytical skills and knowledge of the Jewish world make him a perfect fit for this job.

Now I get a new editor, too.

Jane Eisner was editor-in-chief of the Forward from 2008 to 2019.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

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