Alyssa Katz

i love history that makes me hungry.

Mira is not just an oyster consumer and oyster shucker, she is an oyster farmer knee deep in the biology, ecosystem and lore. Such an epic and fun read.

Could my love of oysters actually be kosher? At the turn of the 20th century, rabbis argued that bivalves were OK to eat — which is good news for a Jewish oyster shucker like me

A delicious appreciation from @miraefox.bsky.social of oysters and their surprisingly central place in American Jewish cuisine.

LM Live Event: “The Gods of New York” With Jonathan Mahler and Alyssa Katz - Downtown Alliance The event will be held at 60 Pine St. on March 10.

As it happens, I'll be talking with this article's author, @jonathanmahler.bsky.social, about his NYC 1986-1990 book "Gods of New York" on Tuesday eve, hosted by @downtownny.bsky.social. It's free — come join us!

Renters Made Mamdani Mayor. Can He Remake the City for Them?

A revealing and fair look at NYC's rent battle, including a landlord opening his books. One detail gets mentioned and then dropped as Mamdani's top tenant organizer spells out her social housing vision: as much as half of city revenue is property taxes.

Gavin Newsom just confirmed the demise of the Democratic party's support for Israel American Jewish voters, who overwhelmingly trend liberal, are about to face some difficult choices

"Politicians understand that uncritical support for Israel is no longer compatible with the Democratic mainstream" — @emilyctamkin.bsky.social on Gavin Newsom's "sort of an apartheid state" watershed moment.

Chabad on high alert after false Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens war claims Two leading right-wing anti-Israel influencers hurl accusations that the highly visible Hasidic sect is somehow behind the Iran conflict

Putting a target on the folks who brought the world the (entirely peaceful) Mitzvah Tank.

Come work with me at @forward.com! We're looking for a managing editor to work with our phenomenal team.

Explore Financial Disclosures From President Trump and 1,500 of His Appointees - ProPublica Use this database to explore potential conflicts of interest for President Donald Trump and his team. The documents disclose positions officials have held outside government, their assets and their de...

NEW: Over the past year, we've been collecting thousands of financial disclosure documents from across the Trump administration. Now we're making them searchable. Look up names, assets, former employers across 1,500+ Trump appointees and 3,000+ ethics documents.

Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s exiled crown prince, has a plan for his people’s future — if they’ll have him The exiled son of the Shah is closely allied with Israel — and leaves Iranians divided over his offer to be the nation’s transitional leader

Your morning reading on Reza Pahlavi, the scion offering to be Iran's transitional leader if the regime falls.

As Iran’s Jews prepare for Purim, their government calls its story proof of a past genocide A besieged community navigates the holiday’s themes in real time — measuring loyalty to the regime against survival

Beyond the threat Iran poses to Israel and its own people, Jews in Iran have been living in an impossible situation where the only way to survive is to genuflect to the regime. We posted this at @forward.com yesterday, before the strike began and ahead of Purim, which begins Monday night.

In the aftermath of Oct. 7, many rush to paint the pro-Palestinian movement in the U.S. as supporters of Hamas terrorism — often relying on tenuous claims about slogans and political platforms that didn't hold up to scrutiny. 🧵

Young Americans increasingly likely to view Hamas as 'resistance,' not terrorists Polling hints at growing sympathy — but also misses important complexities of views on the militant group that controls Gaza

Young adults are becoming more likely to tell pollsters that they see Hamas as a militant resistance group, rejecting the label "terrorist." But views also defy simple labels, @arnorosenfeld.bsky.social found in this look at the numbers.

7am major reporting sites snowfall update: Islip: 22.5" Newark: 18.3" NWS NY (Upton, NY): 18.3" Central Park: 15.1" LGA: 15.1" JFK: 15.0"

WNBC says another 5-6 hours of snow to go. Central Park already at 15," per the NWS weather stations. Newark Airport has gotten 18" already. Long Island has gotten socked with between 18-22". x.com/NWSNewYorkNY...

Ethiopian-American Jews lament loss of Harlem restaurant hub Tsion Cafe declared a tiny community’s public presence through food and cultural connection. Its shutdown in the face of antisemitic harassment leaves a void for members of the Jewish-African diaspora

Almost all Ethopian Jews in the U.S. arrived via Israel, and their ties have made them a target. Said one: “For a long time, I felt like that extra layer of being Black almost protected me, because people are scared of being called racist...I don’t think I have that extra armor anymore."

Everyone can be a war profiteer in Gaza or Iran, thanks to online betting markets Polymarket and Kalshi let people bet on exactly when and where bombs might fall

"The likelihood of the U.S. striking Iran is currently the top trending market on Polymarket, with $313 million wagered." From @miraefox.bsky.social

VIDEO: Actor Allen L. Rickman reviews ‘Marty Supreme’ in Yiddish Hear this take on the film about an ambitious, unscrupulous table tennis player and pick up some Yiddish on the way

A Marty Supreme review as meant to be heard: in Yiddish (with English subtitles)

Romance is the last literary genre frontier for me. Philip Roth does not count.

How Jesse Jackson changed his mind about Jews — and what Abe Foxman made of it The late civil rights leader 'was the guy who couldn't pass the synagogue without going in,' the longtime ADL director said in a new interview with the Forward

My colleague @talyazax.bsky.social checked in with sometime adversary/sometime friend Abe Foxman, the longtime past ADL leader, on the legacy of Jesse Jackson. Foxman said: "We have to learn that people can change their minds and hearts."

An audiobook narrator told Zionists to kill themselves. A popular romance novelist hired him anyway. As the romance genre has grown more inclusive, some authors say Jews still aren’t getting their happily-ever-after

Storm in the romance world.

She's a Democratic Socialist who affirmed Israel's right to exist. Can she be LA's next mayor? Nithya Raman's Democratic Socialists of America affiliation makes some pro-Israel voters wary of her candidacy for mayor of Los Angeles.

Do read @louiskeene.bsky.social's profile of a DSA city council member who is a serious contender to be the next mayor of LA — and taking a different approach from the group and NYC's Zohran Mamdani when it comes to Israel.

Inside City Hall - YouTube

I’ve changed publications but am still on Inside City Hall @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social occasional Wednesday eves. Tonight around 7:40 and again at 11:40, Gerson Borrero, @errollouis.bsky.social and I talk Mamdani’s tax gambit, rent freeze prospects and Jesse Jackson. TIL it streams on YouTube!

Muslim and Sephardic Jewish college students are connecting over shared heritage Amid campus tensions, participants in Mizrahi cultural events say shared food, language and other commonalities are creating unexpected connections.

Mimouna is a Moroccan celebration in which Muslims bring Jews flour and fixings for a post-Passover kitchen reboot. Honoring it on campus is just one of the ways students are finding what they have in common.
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Forever curious, never daunted, Frederick Wiseman sought to repair the world through film The great documentarian, who has died at 96, leaves behind a legacy of films that offered a moral accounting of the American soul.

Why is Frederick Wiseman so revered? There’s no substitute for watching his works, but for now read Dan Friedman’s appreciation.

Mamdani’s antisemitism chief pledges trust-building amid early skepticism Phylisa Wisdom outlines plans for NYC antisemitism strategy modeled in part on the Biden White House national plan.

My colleague @jacobkornbluh.bsky.social got the first interview with @phylisawisdom.bsky.social, Mamdani's appointee as antisemitism watchdog. See what she said.

Just you wait for the Bintel Brief reboot.

Sex tips from the Talmud, just in time for Valentine's Day Most people think of religion as puritanical when it comes to sex, but the rabbis of the Talmud were anything but.

"At points the rabbis prophesize all sorts of ills to come out of bad sex (which includes, variously, sex both standing up and sitting down), but they also have some pretty solid advice." As related by @miraefox.bsky.social

The longtime director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism — which tracks this kind of thing on social media — left last month to work for another watchdog group that has been deeply critical of the ADL’s political shift

ADL retracts Tumbler Ridge shooting antisemitism claim A day after ADL said Jesse Van Rootselaar had posted ‘the Zionists want me to hate Jews,’ it said the false claim had been 'preliminary.'

This disinformation about the Canadian mass shooter circulated widely (including on a syndicated post @forward.com published and has since unpublished) before the ADL retracted it. This is from the nation's leading antisemitism watchdog.

What Carrie Prejean Boller tells us about Christian Zionism in the US Are Carrie Prejean Boller's comments on Jews and Israel a bellwether for the end of Christian Zionism in the U.S.?

Important analysis from @miraefox.bsky.social on what now-ex-Trump religious liberty panelist Carrie Prejean Boller's declaration against Zionism portends: a Catholic front in the burgeoning right-wing coalition opposing Israel.