I have a lot of respect for investigative journalism, making the world a better place, and commitment to the vitality of the Jewish people. That’s only part of the reason I have enormous admiration for the Forward, its editors, its journalists, and Rabbi Steven Wernick. (Full disclosure: I’m Jewish, a contributing editor to the Forward, and a consultant to the Conservative movement.)

For all those reasons, with all the challenges in the world, with all the deficiencies in Jewish communal policy and leadership — and even a few rabbis, I suppose — I cannot fathom why your otherwise sound editorial judgment failed you when you decided to make a front-page story (“When May a Rabbi Use Words of Others?” August 31) over Rabbi Wernick’s oversight in neglecting to properly credit Bradley Artson and Ismar Schorsch in an online posting using their words.

I’ve worked with Steve for years. He’s one of the good guys; in fact, one of the very good guys — with a well-deserved reputation for managerial effectiveness and personal integrity. The citation failure was a mistake, but it wasn’t one worthy of a front-page story — or any story — in the nation’s leading Jewish newspaper.

Steven M. Cohen New York, N.Y.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT