@talyazax.bsky.social
Opinion editor, @forward.bsky.social. Criticism and reporting in The Atlantic, New Yorker, New York Times, Washington Post, etc. Pitch me: zax@forward.com. Opinions shared because they're interesting, not because they're mine.
Looking forward to talking about this race with my colleagues @arnorosenfeld.bsky.social, @jacobkornbluh.bsky.social and @juliemmoos.bsky.social — join us!
Please join us on Monday, October 20 at 7pm ET for a virtual event on New York City's mayoral race hosted by @forward.com. The event is free to forward members; non-members are encouraged to make a donation.
Registration details below.
Registration details below.
NYC's Next Mayor and America's Jewish Future
events.zoom.us
October 3, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Looking forward to talking about this race with my colleagues @arnorosenfeld.bsky.social, @jacobkornbluh.bsky.social and @juliemmoos.bsky.social — join us!
As of this month, I've worked at @forward.com for 10 years. In that time, a number of extremely Jewish things have happened to me. Here, to celebrate, are my top 10 — featuring (maybe) Rachel Weisz, a marriage proposal, and a shocking bagel incident.
The 10 most Jewish things to happen to me in 10 years at the Forward
Talya Zax has worked at the Forward, the premier American Jewish publication, for a decade — here's what it's taught her.
forward.com
September 19, 2025 at 6:48 PM
As of this month, I've worked at @forward.com for 10 years. In that time, a number of extremely Jewish things have happened to me. Here, to celebrate, are my top 10 — featuring (maybe) Rachel Weisz, a marriage proposal, and a shocking bagel incident.
Reposted
In Xenobe Purvis’s novel, a brood of odd siblings might be turning into dogs, Talya Zax writes. Why should that be so scary?
Literature’s Enduring Obsession With Strange Sisters
In Xenobe Purvis’s novel, a brood of odd siblings might be turning into dogs. Why should that be so scary?
bit.ly
August 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
In Xenobe Purvis’s novel, a brood of odd siblings might be turning into dogs, Talya Zax writes. Why should that be so scary?
Reposted
In Xenobe Purvis’s novel, a brood of odd siblings might be turning into dogs, Talya Zax writes. Why should that be so scary?
Literature’s Enduring Obsession With Strange Sisters
In Xenobe Purvis’s novel, a brood of odd siblings might be turning into dogs. Why should that be so scary?
bit.ly
August 11, 2025 at 3:15 AM
In Xenobe Purvis’s novel, a brood of odd siblings might be turning into dogs, Talya Zax writes. Why should that be so scary?
Reposted
For @forward.com, I wrote about how we know that Israel has been withholding food as a military tactic because Israeli officials have said versions of “we are withholding food as a military tactic” for the entirety of the war and pretending otherwise is willful ignorance forward.com/opinion/7586...
Is starvation in Gaza really Israel's fault? The facts are clear
Rising starvation in Gaza may have a number of factors. But Israel's wartime policies on humanitarian aid are inarguably among them.
forward.com
July 28, 2025 at 7:46 PM
For @forward.com, I wrote about how we know that Israel has been withholding food as a military tactic because Israeli officials have said versions of “we are withholding food as a military tactic” for the entirety of the war and pretending otherwise is willful ignorance forward.com/opinion/7586...
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With ICE on the brink of receiving a massive increase in its budget, I delineated some of the things it has been doing with the money it already has. Gift link: wapo.st/4lv53Wh
June 30, 2025 at 3:41 PM
With ICE on the brink of receiving a massive increase in its budget, I delineated some of the things it has been doing with the money it already has. Gift link: wapo.st/4lv53Wh
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For @forward.com, I wrote about the NYC mayoral election and how treating the fight against antisemitism in politics as a series of pop quiz questions or gotcha moments does nothing to make Jews safer and in fact leads to people taking antisemitism less seriously
forward.com/opinion/7320...
forward.com/opinion/7320...
Zohran Mamdani's victory proves it: The 'gotcha' mode of fighting antisemitism has to go
Zohran Mamdani won New York City's Democratic mayoral primary despite allegations of antisemitism — a new playbook is needed.
forward.com
June 25, 2025 at 5:37 PM
For @forward.com, I wrote about the NYC mayoral election and how treating the fight against antisemitism in politics as a series of pop quiz questions or gotcha moments does nothing to make Jews safer and in fact leads to people taking antisemitism less seriously
forward.com/opinion/7320...
forward.com/opinion/7320...
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When the writer @alistairkitchen.bsky.social was stopped by Customs and Border Protection last week, after flying to Los Angeles from Melbourne, a border agent told him, “explicitly and proudly,” why he’d been pulled out of the customs line. nyer.cm/wVpy0on
June 19, 2025 at 2:09 PM
When the writer @alistairkitchen.bsky.social was stopped by Customs and Border Protection last week, after flying to Los Angeles from Melbourne, a border agent told him, “explicitly and proudly,” why he’d been pulled out of the customs line. nyer.cm/wVpy0on
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📊The new Quinnipiac poll asked voters about antisemitism — and it turns out the more that a group believes antisemitism is a serious issue, the less likely they are to approve of how Trump is approaching it.
June 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
📊The new Quinnipiac poll asked voters about antisemitism — and it turns out the more that a group believes antisemitism is a serious issue, the less likely they are to approve of how Trump is approaching it.
Finally, someone brave enough to ask just how much of Zohran's platform is a response to the Absolute Bagels 10-cent toasting fee
In an effort to bring some much needed clarity to the chaotic New York City mayoral race, our Hannah Feuer has ranked the candidates exclusively based on their bagel orders.
I ranked the NYC mayoral candidates exclusively based on their bagel orders
To toast or not to toast? A bagel order can say a lot about a person in New York, and the city’s mayoral candidates aren’t all on the same page.
forward.com
June 10, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Finally, someone brave enough to ask just how much of Zohran's platform is a response to the Absolute Bagels 10-cent toasting fee
Reposted
For @forward.com, I wrote about the cycle of the exploitation and dismissal of antisemitism and Jewish safety
forward.com/opinion/7248...
forward.com/opinion/7248...
The two things I fear most after the horrifying attack on Jews in Boulder
This latest violence against Jews will bring us deeper into a cycle where concerns of antisemitism are alternately dismissed and exploited.
forward.com
June 2, 2025 at 7:35 PM
For @forward.com, I wrote about the cycle of the exploitation and dismissal of antisemitism and Jewish safety
forward.com/opinion/7248...
forward.com/opinion/7248...
Reposted
In a new stage production of "The Picture of Dorian Gray," the famed titular character is trapped in a performance unlike any other, Talya Zax writes:
The Most Infamous Narcissist in Literary History Gets a Smartphone
A new stage production of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" conveys the cost of posturing online.
bit.ly
May 5, 2025 at 3:15 AM
In a new stage production of "The Picture of Dorian Gray," the famed titular character is trapped in a performance unlike any other, Talya Zax writes:
So honored to have received this nod from Poynter! I loved writing the brief piece about Richard Serra that earned it — read here: forward.com/culture/art/...
🏅The finalists for the Clark prize are: Shawn McCreesh, @nytimes.com, for Campaign Notebooks; Talya Zax, The Forward, for Critical Arts Reviews; and @washingtonpost.com for Capital Letters.🏅
April 30, 2025 at 3:19 PM
So honored to have received this nod from Poynter! I loved writing the brief piece about Richard Serra that earned it — read here: forward.com/culture/art/...
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Why do novelists love to imagine great historical figures as detectives? Talya Zax on how these murder-solving characters let readers glimpse the minds of geniuses:
Would You Trust Mozart to Solve a Murder Mystery?
Why novelists love to imagine great historical figures as detectives
bit.ly
April 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Why do novelists love to imagine great historical figures as detectives? Talya Zax on how these murder-solving characters let readers glimpse the minds of geniuses:
I loved writing about what Pope Francis' love for this Chagall painting suggested about his worldview
The late Pope Francis' favorite painting was Marc Chagall's reaction to the horrors of the Nazi regime, "White Crucifixion."
The violence it depicts is "not cruel, but hopeful," said Francis after viewing it for the first time in 2015.
The violence it depicts is "not cruel, but hopeful," said Francis after viewing it for the first time in 2015.
How this Marc Chagall painting explains Pope Francis' soul
Pope Francis' favorite painting was Marc Chagall's "White Crucifixion." Here's what the Nazi-era artwork teaches about the late pontiff.
forward.com
April 21, 2025 at 9:45 PM
I loved writing about what Pope Francis' love for this Chagall painting suggested about his worldview
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Chag Sameach forward.com/opinion/7119...
April 11, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Chag Sameach forward.com/opinion/7119...
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The Forward is tracking the known ICE arrests for pro-Palestinian campus activity. The number currently stands at nine:
forward.com/fast-forward...
forward.com/fast-forward...
Campus arrest tracker: Who has been detained for 'anti-semitic' or 'pro-Hamas' activity?
ICE has detained Mahmoud Khalil and other students and professors at Columbia University, Brown, Georgetown, on 'pro-Hamas' allegations.
forward.com
March 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
The Forward is tracking the known ICE arrests for pro-Palestinian campus activity. The number currently stands at nine:
forward.com/fast-forward...
forward.com/fast-forward...