Journalism
Some of my recent work, organized by category.
‘What Jewish Looks Like’: Children’s book highlights 36 diverse ‘heroes’
The subjects include the famous, such as basketball player Sue Bird, and the less well-known, such as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) leader Uri Ben Baruch.
For Beth Sholom’s new Kenyan rabbinic intern, San Francisco is a long way from home
Samson Nderitu Njogu’s journey from East Africa to the West Coast of the United States — and from Messianic Judaism to mainstream Judaism and rabbinical school — is a uniquely modern Jewish story.
The Israeli army once excluded African Hebrew Israelites. Now one is an IDF social media star.
How did a young Hebrew woman become one of the public faces of the IDF? And what does it mean for her and her community?
The 30 pieces of contemporary Jewish culture that bring us joy
For this project, I reached out to Bay Area artists and tastemakers and asked them: What piece of Jewish culture from the past quarter century brings you joy, and why?
First woman rabbi from Uganda steps into role at Beth Am in Los Altos Hills
Nambi is the second Abayudaya member to be ordained as a rabbi in the U.S., after Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, the community’s spiritual leader. She is also a children’s book author.
Meet the fiercely Zionist French Jews who have created a ‘kibbutz’ on the Peninsula
“In France, we do not hesitate to say things as they are,” said Isabelle Marcus, a native of Paris. “When we think something is not right, we will go into the streets.”
‘Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round’ revisits first Black-Jewish civil rights protest
In the summer of 1960, Howard University students and their white Jewish allies picketed for 10 weeks outside Glen Echo Amusement Park in Montgomery County. Theirs is thought to be the first organized interracial civil rights protest in U.S. history.
JCCSF invites prominent Black Jews to lead its first Juneteenth event
Public celebrations of Juneteenth have been held in African American communities for generations, especially in the South, but they are a relatively new phenomenon in Jewish communities.
The Warriors aren’t in the Finals, but Oakland’s Malika Andrews is
Like a deep Curry 3-pointer, Malika Andrews has made a big splash in the male-dominated sports journalism world over the last few years.
Jewish and Black studies scholars converge at unique Harvard conference
At a first-of-its-kind academic conference this month at Harvard University, Shaul Magid and Terrence L. Johnson sought to broaden the Black-Jewish conversation.
Drake lost the Great Rap War of 2024 — and so did Jews
A “beef” is just a mean poetry contest, but the stakes of this one felt higher for Jewish fans of hip-hop like me. A loss for Drake, who has celebrated his Jewishness in his art, is a loss for Jews.
Latest rap beef wraps in Drake, rhinoplasty and pastrami
“It doesn’t make sense that the most prominent Black Jew in entertainment is going through this right now,” said Y-Love, the rapper and content creator who is also Black and Jewish.