Louis Keene

Conservative rabbinical school Ziegler pauses admissions, signaling broader overhaul The LA-based seminary has begun to distance itself from the Conservative movement under new leadership

So for the last couple months Ziegler rabbinical school has been hinting at cutting ties with Conservative Judaism

Now the school has paused fall admissions

Faculty say they haven't been told what's going on

"The future is foggy," one told me

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I appreciated the candor from AJ Edelman. Story's full of great quotes like this.

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Just pubbed @forward.com – an exclusive interview with AJ Edelman, the Israeli Olympic bobsled captain, who pulled no punches defending the ill-fated switch that got his team disqualified.

Read here: forward.com/news/sports/...

She's a democratic socialist who affirmed Israel's right to exist. Can she be LA's next mayor? Nithya Raman thinks she can win over the city's Jewish voters. Step one: Convince them she’s not Zohran Mamdani.

Just pubbed @forward.com:

I spoke with Nithya Raman about her run for mayor of Los Angeles, her engagement with the Jewish community in her district and how voters should read her breaking with DSA on Israel.

Gift link!
forward.com/news/806134/...

She's a democratic socialist who affirmed Israel's right to exist. Can she be LA's next mayor? Nithya Raman thinks she can win over the city's Jewish voters. Step one: Convince them she’s not Zohran Mamdani.

Just pubbed @forward.com:

I spoke with Nithya Raman about her run for mayor of Los Angeles, her engagement with the Jewish community in her district and how voters should read her breaking with DSA on Israel.

Gift link!
forward.com/news/806134/...

From D.C. to L.A.: The Local Impact of the Second Trump Administration Join Jewish Partnership for Los Angeles and The Forward for a virtual conversation about the impact of the first year of the second Trump Administration on Los Angeles: the social safety net, immigrat...

TOMORROW NIGHT: I'm speaking about how to fight authoritarianism locally at a great *virtual* event with @forward.com and the Jewish Partnership for LA

With amazing copanelists – Pastor Eddie Anderson, Rudy Espinoza, and Marjorie Gilberg, moderated by the Forward's @louiskeene.bsky.social

Join us!

These rabbis are making an Orthodox case against AI. Will anyone listen? The leadership of the Orthodox Jewish community is addressing the challenges of AI use and its perceived spiritual risks.

I went into the heart of Lakewood to get the Jewish case against A.I.

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The Garden State Parkway's Jon Bon Jovi Rest Stop Is Playing Fast And Loose With Famous Quotes | Defector CHEESEQUAKE, N.J. — Have you ever scored a touchdown? I never played real football, so my own experiences have been pretty low-key, but man, did they feel great. I think I remember almost all of them—...

Here's a thread of some Dan McQuade blogs that we really loved 🦅

The Garden State Parkway’s Jon Bon Jovi rest stop is playing fast and loose with famous quotes: defector.com/the-garden-s...

thanks for reading!

Orthodox Jewish groups have been quiet about ICE. This Minneapolis rabbi wasn’t. Bucking the political norms of Orthodox Judaism, Rabbi Max Davis signed a letter condemning ICE for "wreaking havoc across our state."

Interviewed someone who's against the Nazi/Anne Frank ICE comparisons. Except he's also the only Orthodox rabbi I'm aware of who signed a letter against ICE. His perspective is important so I'm sharing it here.

Rabbi Max Davis on Minneapolis, ICE and his shul:
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It's one thing when opposing Anne Frank comparisons is the only way you're engaging with this topic at all, and it can feel like that is typically the case. Not here.

(Story is also a good reminder that Orthodox Judaism contains a range of political views!)

Orthodox Jewish groups have been quiet about ICE. This Minneapolis rabbi wasn’t. Bucking the political norms of Orthodox Judaism, Rabbi Max Davis signed a letter condemning ICE for "wreaking havoc across our state."

Interviewed someone who's against the Nazi/Anne Frank ICE comparisons. Except he's also the only Orthodox rabbi I'm aware of who signed a letter against ICE. His perspective is important so I'm sharing it here.

Rabbi Max Davis on Minneapolis, ICE and his shul:
forward.com/news/800628/...

Oh wow: Major U.S. Cardinal (Tobin of Newark) is calling for Catholics to urge lawmakers to vote against ICE funding. Via @ncronline.bsky.social

What the OU is posting on social media today...

Also, click to find out how much Sanderson says Milken paid for their campus.

Longtime dean of Ziegler School retiring as Conservative seminary plots new course Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson's retirement may signal a broader transformation of the Conservative Ziegler rabbinical school in Los Angeles.

Some interesting comments in here on the future of Ziegler rabbinical school from Jay Sanderson, president of AJU, who implies he wants to eventually make the Conservative seminary "multi-denominational."
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Cool to see Jennifer Venditti nominated for Best Casting for her work on Marty Supreme, which included this chap:

At least one Orthodox rabbi did sign a similar letter from the Minnesota Rabbinical Association: Rabbi Max Davis of Darchei Noam, a Modern Orthodox shul in St. Louis Park.
minnesotarabbinicalassociation.org/letter-regar...

Every major Jewish denomination other than Orthodoxy has signed a joint letter condemning "in the strongest terms" the violent immigration enforcement by ICE/DHS in Minneapolis and beyond.

Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist orgs signed. Orthodox Union + Agudah did not.

this is cooler than the robert pattinson cameo imo

He works at a Holocaust museum by day. How’d he end up in 'Marty Supreme'? Heading into his audition for Marty Supreme, Isaac Simon was nervous. But not for the reasons you’d expect. “I was taking a long lunch break from the museum,” he said, “and at the time I was three or ...

Spoke to the guy who plays Roger (who gets hustled in the bowling alley by Timothée Chalamet and Tyler, The Creator) in MARTY SUPREME.

His day job is teaching at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC!
forward.com/culture/7974...

Book talk: "American Reich" | The Blaze Bernstein story

Just announced:

I'll be speaking with the author of "American Reich," a new book about the Blaze Bernstein case and the post-Trump neo-Nazi revival, for a Zoom conversation on Feb. 4.

Really looking forward to this. Register here:

events.zoom.us/ev/AvnPVbYQR...

just did a very fun interview that i'm excited to share with yall soon!

Is FIDM park a good viewing spot?

One thing I find so fascinating about it is it just can't really be seen up close, you can't take a selfie with it, it sort of fits in as an inaccessible art piece alongside these other basically inaccessible skyscrapers. Levels of defiance...!

More info on Mississippi synagogue arson suspect Stephen Spencer Pittman: Quit college baseball, launched "scripture-based fitness" website, shared antisemitic meme on Instagram the day of the attack.
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I think the graffiti ghost towers are an artistic triumph, I hope they live forever, and I'm so thrilled that this art piece exists (and close to me at least for now).

Part 2 of the FBI affidavit on Stephen Spencer Pittman, the suspect charged in the arson of Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss.

Pittman called Beth Israel the "synagogue of Satan" in an interview following his arrest, authorities said.

Here's the FBI affidavit on Stephen Spencer Pittman, the suspect charged in the arson of Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss.

Pittman called Beth Israel the "synagogue of Satan" in an interview following his arrest, authorities said. (1/2)

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'She could have been any of us': Faith leaders mourn Renee Good in Minneapolis MINNEAPOLIS (RNS) — 'It's all just too much, but my faith requires me to show up,' said the Rev. Dana Neuhauser.

“Renee Good—a good person, a decent person, a mother, someone who cared about her community and standing up—may the loss of her life not be in vain. May her memory inspire us to continue to peacefully stand up for what is right.”

-Rabbi Eva Cohen of Minneapolis
religionnews.com/2026/01/09/p...

Why protests in Iran seem surprisingly pro-Israel Protests in Iran feature chants rejecting war in Gaza and renewed interest in Reza Pahlavi, reshaping how Israel appears in the unrest.

really good
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