Media coverage of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue has included feature articles and highlights in the many local, national and international news outlets. Below is some select coverage that highlight the synagogue.
Press inquiries may be directed to Communications Director Ryan Greiss at rgreiss@swfs.org or (212) 877-4050, ext. 267.
New York Family: When Should Your Kids Start Religious School?
Oct 29, 2018
Our Director of Youth Education Rabbi Rena Rifkin discusses Challah Club, our revolutionary afternoon drop-off class that introduces young children to Jewish learning: “If we want our kids to be as good at Judaism, as well-versed and as thoughtful about Jewish life as they are at math, then we have to start as soon as we can.”
amNewYork: Pittsburgh synagogue massacre unites New Yorkers against hate
Oct 28, 2018
Following the shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, members of the Jewish community gathered at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue for a concert commemorating the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. There, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch discussed what he felt was a rise in anti-Semitism and hate speech that stems, at least in part, from the rhetoric of President Trump: “Obviously, the tone starts at the top. You cannot isolate intolerant speech on any particular community. If you direct harsh, coarse rhetoric toward a certain group — say Mexicans — it infects our entire society and it gives license to a coarseness and hoarseness of speech to the groups that are perceived as the ‘other.’”
NY Jewish Week: Trying To Bridge The Great Divide
Oct 26, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch weighs in on the difficulty incoming Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Isaac “Bougie” Herzog will have in bridging the growing chasm between Israeli and diaspora Jewry.
J-Wire: Israel is The Nation State of The Jewish People
Oct 25, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said what worried him more than the Western Wall was loss of Jewish identity outside of Israel. He cited an op-ed in JTA by our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch to illustrate his point: “In the modern world, those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.”
The Jerusalem Post: Reforming the Reform Movement
Oct 25, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch sat down with The Jerusalem Post’s editor in chief, Yaakov Katz, to discuss the state of the relationship between Israel and American Jewry, and the future of liberal Judaism in both countries.
The Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu Reaffirms Commitment to Demilitarized Palestinian State
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who wrote in JTA: “Those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.” Hirsch’s op-ed, adapted from his 2018 Yom Kippur sermon, “From the Ghetto,” is here.
JTA: Netanyahu says he supports a Palestinian ‘state-minus’ controlled by Israeli security
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said what worried him more than the Western Wall was loss of Jewish identity outside of Israel. He cited an op-ed in JTA by our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch to illustrate his point: “In the modern world, those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.”
The Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu: Loss of Identity is Most Serious Challenge for Diaspora Jews
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who wrote in JTA: “Those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.” Hirsch’s op-ed, adapted from his 2018 Yom Kippur sermon, “From the Ghetto,” is here.
Times of Israel: Blaming ‘ultra-Orthodox street,’ Netanyahu defends freezing Western Wall deal
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who wrote in JTA: “Those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.” Hirsch’s op-ed, adapted from his 2018 Yom Kippur sermon, “From the Ghetto,” is here.
JTA: Non-Orthodox leaders downplay ‘backchannel’ delegation of rabbis that met with Netanyahu
Oct 23, 2018
Leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements in the United States downplayed the delegation of 20 rabbis, which included our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who were invited to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.