Meet the Jewish family behind the New Year’s Eve ball drop
Jacob Starr designed the very first New Year’s Eve ball in 1907

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Jewish immigrant Jacob Starr designed the very first New Year’s Eve ball in 1907 (and personally lowered it himself). Three generations later, we talked to his granddaughter Tama Starr about the legacy of the ball drop.
Watch their story below:
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.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
