Every Friday morning we’re joined by editors from The Forward and JTA, as well as special guest news writers and news makers, to discuss what’s happening in the world and how it affects women.
We start with a 10-minute news roundup, then take a 20-minute deep dive into a top-of-mind issue for the week. (This week’s topic: Israel and COVID.)
This event is free.
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Every Thursday evening you'll get a reminder with links to tune in on Zoom or Facebook. We’ll also send a recording every Friday afternoon.
Journalists. Activists. Feminists. Panelists.
This Week’s Special Guest:
Allison Kaplan Sommer has been a journalist at Haaretz since 2012 and is a co-host of the Promised Podcast. She is the former Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Jerusalem Post, and has also written for the New Republic, Politico, The Forward, and other publications. She won a 2016 B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism for Excellence in Diaspora Reportage and the 2017 Simon Rockower award for excellence in covering Zionism, Aliyah, and Israel. Originally from Rhode Island in the U.S., she made aliya in 1993, and lives in Ra’anana with her husband and children.
Philissa Cramer is the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's editor in chief. Prior to joining JTA in 2020, she was a founder and editor at Chalkbeat, the nonprofit news organization covering education. She is a graduate of Brown University.
Jodi Rudoren became editor-in-chief of The Forward, the nation's oldest independent Jewish news organization, in September 2019 after more than two decades as a reporter and editor at The New York Times. She is helping lead a transformation of the storied 123-year-old institution, a nonprofit that went digital-only in early 2019.
At The Times, Jodi served as Jerusalem bureau chief from 2012 through 2015, covering two Israeli elections and two wars in Gaza. She previously covered the 2004 American presidential campaign, and served as Chicago bureau chief, education correspondent and education editor, and deputy on both the Metropolitan and International desks, before joining the masthead as associate managing editor for audience strategy.
A longtime digital innovator, Jodi was executive producer of the multimedia series "One in 8 Million," which won NYTimes.com's first Emmy Award, in 2009, and served on the 2020 committee about the newsroom of the future. She also serves on the board of directors of the Fuller Project, a nonprofit newsroom doing groundbreaking investigative work on issues that affect women.
Jodi grew up in Newton, Mass., and graduated cum laude in 1992 from Yale University, where she was managing editor of The Yale Daily News. She and her husband, Gary, combined their surnames in 2006 and live in Montclair, NJ, with their twins.
Meredith Jacobs (moderator), JWI's CEO, is an award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of Washington Jewish Week. She is the author of The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat: Connect and Celebrate—Bring Your Family Together with the Friday Night Meal (HarperCollins) and co-author, with her daughter Sofie, of the bestselling series of interactive journals, Just Between Us (Chronicle Books). Prior to joining JWI, she founded ModernJewishMom.com, the first Jewish parenting website (now part of Kveller), and was the host of the WYPR radio show, Connecting Family and The Jewish Channel television holiday specials, Modern Jewish Mom.
Jacobs assumed the role of CEO after serving as JWI’s chief operating officer for six years; in that role she managed communications, branding, messaging, and development. She has shepherded the development of numerous JWI leadership initiatives, including the Jewish Communal Women’s Leadership Project; Men As Allies: Leading Equitable Workplaces ; and the Young Women’s Leadership Network. Jacobs also works closely with JWI’s philanthropic partners, Sigma Delta Tau national sorority and Zeta Beta Tau national fraternity, developing initiatives like the award-winning Green Light, Go! and Girls Achieve GrΣΔΤness. A sought-after speaker, moderator and writer, her opinion pieces appear frequently in outlets such as JTA, eJewishPhilanthropy, and Washington Jewish Week.