Dear Friends,
At this special time — one Jewish year just ending, a new one upon us — we, like many of you, take time to reflect candidly on the past and look forward with hope to the coming year.
In that spirit we share with you our annual report on the state of The Jewish Week, and ask your help so that we can continue to provide high-quality journalism and an array of additional programs, enabling us to both report on and help build our community.
This past year our editorial team, led by editor and publisher Gary Rosenblatt and managing editor Robert Goldblum, provided reporting intended to educate, engage and, often, entertain. Our news stories shared triumphs and tragedies, and our editorials and opinion pieces offered a wide variety of views, fulfilling our mission to be a strong, independent forum that bridges the wide differences in our community. We note with gratitude the articles made possible through our Investigative Journalism Fund, launched this year, which enables us to probe more deeply and shine a light on important issues affecting us all, and too often otherwise neglected.
Our websites have prospered and, for that, we also thank our editorial team and Rich Waloff, associate publisher, for their work on thejewishweek.com, Blueprint, in New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem, a leading online source of information and events for single Jewish professionals in their 20s and 30s, and freshinkforteens.com, written for and by teenagers, who offer their own insights on a platform designed so that they can express themselves. We are also proud of additions to our website, including a lively Food and Wine section and new blogs, like The New Normal, which gives voice to issues and ideas relating to those in our community with disabilities; the blog already has generated a grateful and energetic international following.
Our sales and business team, led by Rich Waloff and sales manager Ruth Rothseid, has worked tirelessly to serve our advertisers and build our circulation, reaching out to every part of the community.
It is no secret that operating a media business and competing in the New York market is not easy. What’s more, maintaining our commitment to editorial excellence through original local, national and international reporting, and to quality service, adds financial challenges. Nevertheless, we strive to expand our offerings and to provide a variety of ways to help connect us as a community. And all of this costs money.
You can play a vital role in keeping The Jewish Week a respected source of news and educational activity with tax-deductible contributions to FJC, which holds donor-advised funds for The Jewish Week (www.thejewishweek.com/support).
These funds support special projects at The Jewish Week, like our educational programs, including Write On for Israel, now in its 11th year educating high school students to become informed and engaged advocates for Israel when they go to college. FJC funds also support the Investigative Journalism Fund, The Conversation, our annual retreat for national thought leaders and innovators in Jewish life, and our many Community Forums. (See our ads in this week’s issue for details on our next two events, one featuring Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren with journalist and author Yossi Klein Halevi, and the second with Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman.)
Our major event of the coming year will be our Jewish Week Gala, and we invite you to celebrate with us, on Dec. 12 at Sotheby’s. We are proud to honor Jerry Levin, immediate past president of UJA-Federation of New York, and our own Gary Rosenblatt, who is marking his 20th year in his post. Please visit the Gala web page for more information and to add your name to our roster of attendees and journal advertisers.
As we enter the New Year, we renew our commitment to journalistic excellence, service and community building. And we thank you for your interest and your support along the way. On behalf the of the entire Jewish Week Media Group team, including our Board of Directors, we wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.
Shana Tovah,
Support the New York Jewish Week
Our nonprofit newsroom depends on readers like you. Make a donation now to support independent Jewish journalism in New York.
Stuart Himmelfarb President
Peter Wang, Board Chair
