Yair Rosenberg

Summary

Yair Rosenberg is an American journalist and a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers politics, culture, and religion, and writes the Deep Shtetl newsletter. Formerly a senior writer at Tablet magazine, he is a regular speaker and commentator on antisemitism in the modern era and on strategies to combat abuse on online platforms.

Yair Rosenberg
BornNew York City, New York, U.S
OccupationJournalist
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard University

Journalism career edit

Beginning in 2012, Rosenberg covered national elections in the U.S. and Israel, and his work on these and other subjects appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and the Wall Street Journal, among other outlets. He has interviewed and profiled multiple White House chiefs of staff and cabinet members.[1] He also elicited a correction from the US Supreme Court on a point of Jewish history.[2]

Until 2021, he was a senior writer at Tablet magazine, where he tackled topics ranging from American Jewish responses to modern critical scholarship of the Bible,[3] to contemporary Islamophobia,[4][5][6] to the forgotten history of Mormon-Jewish relations.[7] In particular, he has chronicled the resurgence of antisemitism in Europe and in America.[8][9][10][11] He is also known for his parodies of antisemites on Twitter,[12][13][14] and more serious efforts to combat abuse on online platforms,[15][16][17][18] including a video series[19] aimed at educating the uninitiated about the history, nuances, and dangers of modern-day antisemitism. Rosenberg is credited with coining the sarcastic Internet adage Goebbels Gap, which he defined as the amount of time between a negative event transpiring in the world and someone finding a way to blame it on the Jews.

In November 2021, he moved to The Atlantic, and launched a newsletter called Deep Shtetl,[20] where he continued his coverage of politics, culture, antisemitism, and social media dynamics, including an exploration of how a Jewish character came to be on the cult classic sci-fi show Firefly,[21] the story behind the Hanukkah menorah used by Vice President Kamala Harris,[22] interviews with celebrated Jewish authors and artists like Dara Horn[23] and Ben Platt,[24] a profile of Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid,[25] and a deep dive into Albert Einstein's little-known 20-year friendship with Orthodox rabbi Chaim Tchernowitz.[26]

A frequent speaker and commentator on these topics, Rosenberg has addressed audiences around the world,[27] including South By Southwest,[28] the Jerusalem Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism,[29] the Limmud conference[30] in Melbourne, Australia, and the Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida, where he debated conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.[31] Rosenberg has written for and been interviewed by The New York Times,[32] Washington Post,[33] Associated Press,[34] CNN,[35][36] MSNBC,[37] Pod Save the World,[38] Fast Company,[39] and CBC News,[40][41] among others.

Rosenberg's writings have received awards from the Harvard Center for Jewish Studies[42] and the Religion Newswriters Association.[43] In 2017, he was named as one of "36 Under 36" by New York's Jewish Week newspaper.[44]

Target of antisemitism edit

In 2016, a report by the Anti-Defamation League's Task Force on Journalism and Harassment identified Rosenberg as the second-most targeted Jewish journalist receiving online antisemitic abuse due to his critical reporting on Donald Trump's candidacy, following conservative writer Ben Shapiro, and ahead of journalists Jeffrey Goldberg, Sally Kohn and Jake Tapper.[45] "My parents didn't raise me to be number 2," he later wrote in The New York Times. "Fortunately, there's always 2020."[46]

Since the report's publication, Rosenberg has focused extensively on the issue of online harassment and antisemitism,[47] including through the creation of the "Impostor Buster" Twitter bot that exposed neo-Nazi trolls masquerading as minorities on the platform,[48] which received coverage from The New York Times and other global news outlets.[49][50][51][52] Rosenberg also wrote about his experience and efforts to combat online abuse in the Times.[53]

Music edit

Rosenberg is a singer and composer of original Jewish music.[54] His collaborators include singers Arun Viswanath and Abbaleh Savitt, as well as producer Charles Newman. In August 2022, Rosenberg released his first album, Az Yashir,[55] a compilation of original melodies for traditional Sabbath songs.[56][57][58]

"Rosenberg is not the only musically inclined member of his family," reported Jewish Insider,[59] "his grandfather was a Hasidic composer who, as a young man, escaped Nazi Europe with the assistance of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who issued him a visa."

References edit

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (10 January 2013). "Jack Lew: The First Orthodox Jewish Treasury Secretary". Tablet. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  2. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (19 May 2014). "Supreme Court Corrects Kagan Dissent". Tablet. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  3. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (18 September 2013). "Reconciling Modern Biblical Scholarship with Traditional Orthodox Belief". Tablet. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  4. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (29 November 2017). "You Don't Have To Be Muslim To Be Horrified By Trump's Anti-Muslim Bigotry". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (2 January 2019). "The Complicated History of Thomas Jefferson's Koran". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  6. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (15 November 2016). "I Spent the Shabbat After Trump's Election With Muslim Leaders From Across America". Tablet. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  7. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (15 May 2015). "The Mormons on Mount Scopus". Tablet. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  8. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (19 January 2022). "Why So Many People Still Don't Understand Anti-Semitism". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  9. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (21 March 2018). "Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschilds Are a Symptom. The Problem is Deeper". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  10. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (10 January 2022). "Why People Love Accusing Jews of Genocide". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  11. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (23 February 2023). "The Invisible Victims of American Anti-Semitism". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  12. ^ @yair_rosenberg (April 14, 2015). "Twitter makes possible so many amazing things we couldn't do before. Like trolling the Nazis" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ @yair_rosenberg (January 13, 2019). "I know they say not to feed the trolls, but it is, on occasion, hilarious" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (November 17, 2016). How To Fight Anti-Semitic Trolls and Bigotry Online.
  15. ^ Victor, Daniel (6 June 2016). "To Beat Anti-Semitic Trolls Online, Some Co-Opt Their Weapons and Mock Them". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  16. ^ Hess, Amanda (14 December 2016). "On Twitter, A Battle Among Political Bots". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  17. ^ McCracken, Harry (14 April 2018). ""Did We Create This Monster?" How Twitter Turned Toxic". Fast Company. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  18. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (27 December 2017). "Confessions of a Digital Nazi Hunter". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  19. ^ Why is Antisemitism Still Around? | Antisemitism, Explained | Unpacked, retrieved 2021-12-07
  20. ^ "Deep Shtetl". Deep Shtetl. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  21. ^ "The Incredible True Story Behind TV's Strangest Space Jew". Deep Shtetl. 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  22. ^ "How Joe Biden Spells "Hanukkah" + Kamala Harris's Unique Menorah". Deep Shtetl. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  23. ^ "Dead Jews and the People Who Love Them". Deep Shtetl. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  24. ^ "Ben Platt on Judaism, Anti-Semitism, and Dying Onstage". Deep Shtetl. 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  25. ^ "Who is Yair Lapid, Israel's New Prime Minister?". Deep Shtetl. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  26. ^ "Why Did Einstein Promote the Talmud When He Couldn't Read It?". Deep Shtetl. 2021-11-11. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  27. ^ "The 7 Myths About Anti-Semitism - A Talk With Journalist Yair Rosenberg". Jconnect. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  28. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (13 March 2018). Uniting to Fight the -ists, -ites & the -phobes. South By Southwest.
  29. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (19–21 March 2018). Confronting Neo-Nazism and Antisemitism of the Extreme Right. Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism.
  30. ^ "Yair Rosenberg «  Limmud Oz". www.limmudoz.com.au. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  31. ^ Ben Shapiro and Yair Rosenberg: A Discussion Around Antisemitism. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  32. ^ Victor, Daniel (6 June 2016). "To Beat Anti-Semitic Trolls Online, Some Co-Opt Their Weapons and Mock Them". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  33. ^ Ferdman, Roberto (1 September 2015). "The Story Behind The Funniest E-Mail Hillary Clinton Has Ever Sent". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  34. ^ Crary, David (30 October 2018). "For Jewish journalists, online harassment goes with the job". Associated Press. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  35. ^ "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, August 22, 2019". CNN Tonight. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  36. ^ "CNN This Morning, November 21, 2022". CNN This Morning. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  37. ^ "The ReidOut, February 2, 2022". The ReidOut. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  38. ^ Pod Save the World (16 June 2021). "Bye bye Bibi!" (Podcast). Crooked Media. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  39. ^ McCracken, Harry (14 April 2018). ""Did We Create This Monster?" How Twitter Turned Toxic". Fast Company. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  40. ^ "'Twitter sided with the Nazis,' says writer after company shuts down his impostor-hunting bot". CBC Radio. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  41. ^ Front Burner (1 February 2023). "Israel's Government Moves to the Far-Right" (Podcast). CBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  42. ^ "Prizes Awarded for Jewish Studies". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  43. ^ "2015 RNA Contest Winners". Religion Newswriters Association. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  44. ^ Dreyfus, Hannah (25 May 2017). "Yair Rosenberg, 29". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  45. ^ "ADL Task Force Issues Report Detailing Widespread Anti-Semitic Harassment of Journalists on Twitter During 2016 Campaign". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  46. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (27 December 2017). "Confessions of a Digital Nazi Hunter". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  47. ^ "ADL working with tech firm to curb online hate". jhvonline.com. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  48. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (2 December 2016). "We Built a Bot That Troll's Twitter's Worst Anti-Semitic Trolls". Tablet. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  49. ^ Hess, Amanda (14 December 2016). "On Twitter, A Battle Among Political Bots". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  50. ^ McCracken, Harry (14 April 2018). ""Did We Create This Monster?" How Twitter Turned Toxic". Fast Company. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  51. ^ "Troll Alert Tool Banned By Twitter". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  52. ^ "'Twitter sided with the Nazis,' says writer after company shuts down his impostor-hunting bot". CBC Radio. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  53. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (27 December 2017). "Confessions of a Digital Nazi Hunter". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  54. ^ "Yair Rosenberg - Music". Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  55. ^ "Yair Rosenberg - Music". Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  56. ^ Palmer, Joanne (19 October 2022). "Singing the songs of Shabbat". New Jersey Jewish News. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  57. ^ Manzhos, Mariya (1 October 2022). "Meet the Jewish journalist who blends Latter-day Saint harmonies with Hebrew poetry". Deseret News. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  58. ^ Fishbach, Brian (2 February 2023). "Journalist Yair Rosenberg Releases Traditional Shabbat Songs With Fresh Melodies". The Jewish Journal. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  59. ^ Weiss, Melissa (13 March 2020). "Yair Rosenberg breathes new life into traditional Shabbat songs". Jewish Insider. Retrieved 22 March 2020.