Journalism
Some of my recent work, organized by category.
Mural calling to end ‘genocide’ in Gaza roils S.F. neighborhood
As Israel wages war against Hamas, another kind of battle is taking place more than 7,000 miles away — this one over a piece of provocative street art in a typically quiet San Francisco neighborhood.
With unique new Torah scroll, Karaite Jews hope to inspire next generation
The Karaites in Daly City have always done things a little differently from the rest of America’s Jews. Now the community has something else that sets them apart: A new Torah scroll that contains nekudot (vowels), te’amim (trope symbols) and colons indicating the ends of sentences.
‘Jewpanese’ rapper has a new hit — an online cooking show
As he mixed matzah ball ingredients in a bowl during a recent episode of his online cooking show, Tsutomu Shimura reminisced about his bubbe. “I grew up going to Jewish delis with my grandmother,” Shimura said while preparing “Judon” — Japanese udon noodles with a Jewish twist.
How Jews of color have shown up (or not) in this newspaper over the decades
I searched the online archive of J. The Jewish News of Northern California for the term “Jews of color” and was surprised by what I found.
New podcast traces how a Puerto Rican-Jewish gang leader helped create hip-hop in the Bronx
Now streaming on Audible, "Can You Dig It?" includes interviews with former gang members and historians, along with dramatic reenactments of key moments in the Ghetto Brothers’ history.
How a Jewish radio savant turned San Francisco’s KMEL into the top rap station
Under Keith Naftaly’s leadership, KMEL became the top-rated station in San Francisco. He dubbed it “The People’s Station” and sought to build a true community around it.
The 10 most influential Jewish rappers of the past 50 years
Hip-hop is hyper-competitive, so the question must be asked: Who are the Jewish artists who have made the biggest impact on the culture? To try to answer that question, I solicited the help of some serious hip-hop heads: brothers Eric and Jeff Rosenthal, together known as ItsTheReal.
From Rick Rubin to Doja Cat, Jews have helped shape the first 50 years of hip-hop
Over the last five decades, many Jewish rappers from different backgrounds and nationalities have left their mark on hip-hop culture. But the biggest contributions that Jews have made collectively to hip-hop may have been on the business side, as managers and record label executives.
Antisemitism haunts Israeli family in Silicon Valley in ‘The Wolf Hunt’
This is Gundar-Goshen’s fourth novel and her first set in the U.S. It is a very American novel in its examination of antisemitism, racial tensions and greed. But it is an unmistakably Israeli novel, too.
In ‘Rabbi on the Block,’ meet the first woman to become a Hebrew Israelite rabbi
“If the Jewish community ever wanted to have a relationship with the Black community, I am the bridge that they would want to cross to get there,” Rabbi Tamar Manasseh says in the new documentary “Rabbi on the Block.”
‘I’m not just visiting’: More African Hebrew Israelites win fight against deportation, but larger struggle continues
The African Hebrew Israelites are a small community with little political power, yet their story is important because it reveals some of the challenges faced by non-Jewish minority groups in the Jewish state.
Eat, Pray, Oy Vey: Decision to pull Elizabeth Gilbert’s Russia-set book worries Jewish writers
Russian history has long provided rich source material and inspiration to Jewish writers, especially fiction writers, from Isaac Babel to Elana Dkyewomon to Gary Shteyngart.