Sign in

Alyssa Katz

@alykatzz.bsky.social
13K followers 661 following 812 posts

Listen.

PostsRepliesMedia
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Happy new-Ric-Burns-New-York-documentary-episodes week! I'll be moderating a post-screening conversation this Thursday with Burns, writer/producer James Sanders + architect Vishaan Chakrabarti, sponsored by the Downtown Alliance. Come join us.
eventbrite.com
“New York: The Future of Cities” — Rebuilding Lower Manhattan
Explore how Lower Manhattan’s transformation shaped NYC's future in a screening and conversation with filmmakers Ric Burns & James Sanders.
050
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Giuliani, with and Bush's EPA, tried to bury journalist Juan Gonzalez's 2001 reporting on environmental hazards at Ground Zero. So did editors at his own newspaper, the Daily News, as I wrote back then.
prospect.org
Toxic Haste: - The American Prospect
After the World Trade Center fell, many shaken New Yorkers took unexpected comfort in numbers. As the mayor’s initial order for 10,000 body bags was gradually displaced by an increasingly verifiable e...
1125
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
"Everyone agreed that the current course can’t go on," said one of the rabbis who met with Mamdani at City Hall today and talked with @jacobkornbluh.bsky.social afterward. "The way he vilifies Israel, and so constantly, is really causing harm.”
forward.com
Rabbis Mamdani invited to City Hall tell him his Israel rhetoric is ‘causing harm’
During a private hour-long meeting, Jewish clergy across denominations urged the NYC mayor to change how he talks about rhetoric on Israel
540
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
American Jews who volunteered to protect Palestinians on the West Bank have been getting out-of-the-blue notices from the Israeli government that they are now blocked from reentering the country. @theiachatelle.bsky.social talked to seven of them for @forward.com.
forward.com
Israel is revoking entry permits for Jewish U.S. activists involved in West Bank
Volunteers who accompany Palestinian farmers during harvests say their travel authorizations vanished, sometimes while they were still in the country
38738
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
A properly epic account from @keene.la on the phenomenon of Orthodox Jews riding kick scooters on Shabbat to go farther and faster than their feet alone can take them. Some traditionalists do not approve.
forward.com
Orthodox Jews are scootering to synagogue. Will Shabbat ever be the same?
With neighborhoods sprawling, a transportation hack opens up new possibilities — and tests the limits of the day of rest
1121
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Read @jaymichaelson.bsky.social on what El-Sayed is actually saying about the future of Israel and Palestinians: unlike Mamdani, he's not talking about a zero-sum showdown.
forward.com
Abdul El-Sayed is right about the future of Israel and Palestinians
The Michigan Senate nominee’s vision of self-determination for all provides a coherent alternative to the one-state partisans on both the left and right.
041
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Each of these incidents in a heavily Jewish Queens neighborhood was alarming to learn about. Now the same person has been charged in both — one of them as a hate crime — putting the speeding-vehicle death of journalist Cara Trager in a new and chilling light.
forward.com
Man charged in car crash that killed Jewish journalist vandalized a Jewish business days before
A fatal car crash, an unsolved murder and attacks on Jewish establishments have put a Queens community on edge
08923
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
On this primary day in Michigan, read @forward.com on the Jews for El-Sayed phenomenon — including former Rep. Andy Levin, defeated by Haley Stevens with AIPAC's help.
forward.com
Abdul El-Sayed is courting Jewish voters — without moderating his views on Israel
The Michigan Senate candidate, who has called the Israeli government “evil,” is finding a following among Jewish voters that includes some who identify as Zionist
1213135
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Michelle @sneaker328.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Was just there on my last visit. This is so upsetting. Whether antisemitism or not, just devastating.
233
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
"This is how Europe started" —the landlord of the Montreal kosher restaurant that burned down early Saturday, son of a Holocaust survivor, speaking to @forward.com's @benyamincohen.bsky.social .
forward.com
Suspected arson gutted Montreal’s trendiest kosher restaurant. The city’s Jews say they saw it coming
Surveillance video shows a man setting fire to Nöam, a popular pizza establishment. Canadian Jews say it's part of a pattern officials refuse to name
187
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
NYC has a history of moments when mayors failed to lead in ways that looked out for Jews. I delved into one of them, the 1968 teacher's strike, for some perspective on claims Mamdani is turning his city into an antisemitic hellscape.
forward.com
A mayor exposed New York City Jews to chaos. It wasn’t Mamdani.
John Lindsay’s inept handling of a schools control crisis six decades ago as antisemitism swirled offers perspective on claims that Mayor Zohran Mamdani is turning his city into a hellscape for Jews.
2143
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
NYC has a history of moments when mayors failed to lead in ways that looked out for Jews. I delved into one of them, the 1968 teacher's strike, for some perspective on claims Mamdani is turning his city into an antisemitic hellscape.
forward.com
A mayor exposed New York City Jews to chaos. It wasn’t Mamdani.
John Lindsay’s inept handling of a schools control crisis six decades ago as antisemitism swirled offers perspective on claims that Mayor Zohran Mamdani is turning his city into a hellscape for Jews.
2143
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Israel has an election coming up in late October with an opposition poised to eject Israel's current prime minister. @forward.com columnist Rob Eshman is polite here when he says that Mamdani's fixation on Netanyhau is a distraction from the real story of how to change course.
forward.com
Mamdani isn't the real resistance against Netanyahu — Israelis are
Israeli voters are quietly doing something New York’s mayor can't: putting Netanyahu's coalition on track to lose.
573
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Dr. Bronner's soap, which is made from West Bank and Israeli olive oil, is still sold at the Park Slope Food Coop despite the coop ban on products from those places. The soap co CEO insists on the opposite approach: peace through "constructive engagement."
forward.com
Dr. Bronner’s soap mixes Israeli and Palestinian olive oil — and dodges product boycotts
‘Cosmic Engagement Officer’ David Bronner brings the family “All-One” legacy into a campaign for Palestinian rights and Jewish coexistence, promoting peace by doing business with both sides
043
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Read @forward.com's investigation of U.S. church pageants where Jewish characters are villains out to destroy baby Jesus. Thanks to our reporting, the Ukrainian Catholic church is now vowing to stop the antisemitic displays. The Vatican remains silent. forward.com/news/839093/...
forward.com
Vatican silent on Jewish villains in U.S. Ukrainian Catholic church pageants
Giant noses, peyos and booze are props in the Christmas-season plays called verteps, hosted and attended by church officials
0135
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
From the department of "we told you so," by @jacobkornbluh.bsky.social. forward.com/news/836396/...
forward.com
After Platner's collapse, Jewish Democrats say party can't ignore candidates’ red flags
Jewish Democrats who opposed the Maine Senate nominee say their party’s push to anoint him offers lessons about compromise on values important to Jewish voters
2125
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Happy 60th birthday to the #FOIA, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on this day in 1966! Subscribe to FOIA Files! It's FREE! bloomberg.com/foiafiles
515642
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Adam Roy @adnroy.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
"But it seems to me the real danger is that young Jews will conclude there is no room for them inside Jewish institutions unless they silence their conscience. A community cannot thrive if the choices it offers the next generation are hypocrisy or excommunication."
0205
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
In a new op-ed for @forward.com, Brad Lander responds to Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove's prediction that an emboldened left will consider him an expendable Jew and vote him out the way he defeated Dan Goldman.
forward.com
My hopes for the rabbi who envisions my defeat — and for a better Jewish future
Elliot Cosgrove says I’m doomed politically as a Jew who seeks a new path for Israel. I invite him to join me in reckoning with our shared spiritual challenge.
05913
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Columbia University has a new president today. A year after the Trump administration shoved the school into a pledge to reform its offerings on Israel and the Mideast, the department at the center of controversy remains more or less alone.
forward.com
Columbia Mideast course reforms leave scrutinized department untouched
A year after the school settled threatened federal action with a commitment to more balanced teaching on Israel, the Middle East studies department Trump tried to seize remains status quo
1134
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Not chutzpah to say that Judaism could be what saves us from AI apocalypse. As laid out beautifully here by @miraefox.bsky.social
forward.com
We're losing control of AI. Is Judaism the key to keeping it from killing us?
Judd Rosenblatt believes that we need a new idea to ensure that self-improving AI doesn't delete human values from its code
011
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
JUST IN: The Supreme Court *upholds* birthright citizenship as a right under the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Roberts writes the 6-3 decision, with only Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissenting.
1630184
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
A detailed and fair look from @keene.la at Melat Kiros (and incumbent Diana DeGette's) differences on Israel that could decide today's congressional election in Colorado.
forward.com
Colorado voters weigh candidate for Congress who declined to call Boulder firebombing antisemitic
Melat Kiros has made Israel a wedge issue in her campaign. Polls show the strategy is working.
122
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
The Army's paratrooping rabbi: a profile in what America makes possible and a Jewish leader's drive to pay it forward, from @benyamincohen.bsky.social. .
forward.com
The Army’s only airborne rabbi finds his congregation wherever he lands
As America celebrates 250 years, Scott Klein — the sole Jewish chaplain at the country's largest military base — is carrying on a tradition of service that dates back to the Revolution
031
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
My colleague @arnorosenfeld.bsky.social, who covers antisemitism for @forward.com, is from San Francisco and has an excellently local assessment of what just happened (twice) to @scottwiener.bsky.social. .
forward.com
How seriously should we take San Francisco’s anti-Zionist hecklers?
The confrontations with congressional candidate Scott Wiener bubble from a tradition of Bay Area provocateurs
0324
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
The most insightful piece I have read anywhere about what the Goldman/Lander race was really all about when it came to the place of Jews in the world, from @joelhs.bsky.social in @forward.com.
forward.com
The biggest Jewish issue in New York's most Jewish primary wasn't really Israel
The race was really a contest over which strategy for fighting antisemitism American Jews should bet on
11711
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Don't be fooled by Netanyahu pausing the antiquities bill: The settler project of using historic sites to expand Israel's West Bank turf and hem in Palestinians is in full effect. forward.com/news/833972/...
forward.com
044
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
claudia irizarry aponte @clauirizarry.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
NEW: The United Auto Workers Is New York City’s Unlikeliest Kingmaker For the second consecutive year, the UAW bet early on long-shot candidates, putting themselves in opposition to their allies in labor. Now two of its own are set to serve in Congress. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/06/25/u...
thecityreporter.nyc
The United Auto Workers Is New York City’s Unlikeliest Kingmaker
For the second consecutive year, the UAW bet early on long-shot candidates, putting themselves in opposition to their allies in labor. Now two of its own are set to serve in Congress.
13613
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Tom is right about the coming GOP tactic. The trackers who were asking Dems about Graham Platner will now ask about Avila Chevalier; on TV, Dems will get asked if they agree with her about abolishing prison etc and they'll squirm. Up to them to answer; tactic isn't guaranteed to work!
3414917
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Quite a night for anyone following how Israel is resonating as an issue in Democratic politics. Here's @forward.com's New York City roundup. forward.com/news/833219/...
forward.com
Lander, Avila Chevalier unseat incumbents on winning congressional primary night for Mamdani
Israel was front and center in defeats of Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat
213921
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Brad Lander is projected to win the NY-10 primary over Rep. Dan Goldman. Read @jacobkornbluh.bsky.social on how Lander turned out anti-Zionist voters even as he is committed to the premise of Israel as a Jewish state.
forward.com
Can a liberal Zionist win with the pro-Palestinian movement? Brad Lander is trying.
In race for Congress, Rep. Dan Goldman and his progressive challenger differ on how Democrats should build political coalitions around Israel and Gaza
051
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Fascinating analysis of a question hovering around AIPAC: Does all its spending actually sway elections? The evidence suggests not.
forward.com
Is AIPAC a 'monster' that decides Congressional races? The data shows otherwise
AIPAC is the most demonized lobby in the US — despite being far from the most effective one
020
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Voting in the Dan Goldman or Jerrold Nadler districts in NYC today? @forward.com coverage can help. Here's @jacobkornbluh.bsky.social's in-depth guide to where the Upper East/Upper West Side candidates stand on Israel.
forward.com
In the race for Jerry Nadler’s seat, much talk on Israel but little disagreement
In Manhattan’s heavily Jewish 12th Congressional District, Alex Bores, Micah Lasher and Jack Schlossberg all largely support Israel, even as Gaza and military aid divide Democrats elsewhere
121
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
If you’re rooting for Cape Verde today in the World Cup, some related Jewish history here will enhance the experience. By @keene.la
forward.com
This year’s biggest World Cup upset came from its most Jew-ish team
Cape Verde, the island country that shut out Spain, has a rich Sephardic heritage — and a player with likely Jewish ancestry
082
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Essential Juneteenth reading from Robin Washington debunking the insulting and flat-out wrong popular story about how the holiday came to be.
forward.com
Juneteenth story is marred by myth that Blacks didn’t know they were free
And here's why it’s time for supremacists and their sympathizers to surrender
093
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Running neck and neck with Netanyahu on Polymarket's Israeli election pool.
forward.com
Who is Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli politician who could dethrone Netanyahu?
The former IDF chief of staff whose son was killed in the Gaza war is rapidly climbing in polls and betting markets, emerging as a leading contender to become Israel’s next prime minister.
132
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Jewish law offers a lesson for all those men who want to require their wives to have sex with them: Just ask! Often! @miraefox.bsky.social dispenses Talmudic wisdom.
forward.com
Judaism requires men to offer sex to their wives. Why does the manosphere blame women for men not getting laid?
Many men are arguing that women use sex to entrap men into marriage. But the Talmud imagines a flipped gender dynamic.
064
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Bookmark this, from @jaymichaelson.bsky.social, for next time you need to school a Ken Paxton about God and gender.
forward.com
You're wrong, Ken Paxton: Obviously God is nonbinary
The Texas Senate candidate has insulted millions of Jews (and Christians) with his mockery of basic theology
001
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
I hope the city does apologize for this: forward.com/news/831956/...
forward.com
This Jewish activist was arrested and deported for her book ‘Lesbian Love.’ 100 years later, will NYC apologize?
Eve Adams, a Polish immigrant, died at Auschwitz after being targeted by the NYPD. Now Mayor Mamdani is weighing a request to deem her arrest unjust
26526
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
The NYPD has never apologized for arresting lesbian activist Eve Adams a century ago on obscenity and disorderly conduct charges. Now Mayor Mamdani just might.
forward.com
This Jewish activist was arrested and deported for her book ‘Lesbian Love.’ 100 years later, will NYC apologize?
Eve Adams, a Polish immigrant, died at Auschwitz after being targeted by the NYPD. Now Mayor Mamdani is weighing a request to deem her arrest unjust
091
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
A serious run at building a new coalition to challenge Netanyahu in upcoming Israeli elections, led by Jews and Palestinians.
forward.com
New Jewish-Arab political party debuts in Israel, aiming to topple Netanyahu
Founders of Makom Lekulanu aim to build on their work as leaders of the coexistence group Standing Together, who’ve been harassed by the political right and face a skeptical left
060
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Satellite imagery shows the aftermath of Israeli army demolitions of hundreds of homes in West Bank refugee camps, carried out to make it easier for military vehicles to maneuver. From our partners at the Israeli newsroom Shomrim.
forward.com
‘Spatial restructuring’ razes hundreds of residences in West Bank refugee camps
Israel is thinning refugee camps by demolishing Palestinian homes, as the IDF deploys new security measures and a combat doctrine imported from the Gaza Strip
064
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Why Abdul El-Sayed is making inroads with Jewish voters, including some who identify as Zionists.
forward.com
Abdul El-Sayed is courting Jewish voters — without moderating his views on Israel
The Michigan Senate candidate, who has called the Israeli government “evil,” is finding a following among Jewish voters that includes some who identify as Zionist
062
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Stealing from my colleague @keene.la: My mayor Muslim My soccer team Swiss My practice field Jewish Knicks in six?
forward.com
Swiss World Cup team sets up shop at California Jewish day school's soccer field
San Diego Jewish Academy has been hosting Switzerland’s national squad. Cue the snake jokes
062
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Spectacular sunset tonight reveals Jupiter and Venus on a date together. A sweet way to close out the weekend.
0210
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Parade of Trains AND a beautiful beach day! Brighton joy.
2323
Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
I had a delightful last meal here with the Forward’s archivist a few weeks ago. Supposedly the Pearl Diner may get resuscitated as an upscale “real New York experience” kind of joint, as happens a lot these days. Does it matter?
441
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
The City Reporter @thecityreporter.nyc · 27/05/2026
NEW: An investigation by @thecity.nyc, based on a database of more than 1,200 lawsuits, shows that ICE agents in the field have seized Latinos in numbers that far exceed their share of the undocumented population.
projects.thecity.nyc
We Found 430 ICE Street Arrests in the NYC Area. More Than 93% Targeted Latinos.
An investigation by THE CITY, based on a database of more than 1,200 lawsuits, shows that ICE agents in the field have seized Latinos in numbers that far exceed their share of the undocumented…
18303201
Reposted by Alyssa Katz
Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 27/05/2026
The Park Slope Food Coop vote to boycott Israeli goods PASSES, 67%–31%, with 2% abstaining. 4,551 pro-boycott 2,083 anti-boycott (6,772 total present)
941277