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Flatbush Jewish Journal

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Flatbush Jewish Journal
TypeWeekly newspaper
Founder(s)Mordy Mehlman
Founded2010
CityNew York City, New York
CountryUnited States
Websitehttps://www.flatbushjewishjournal.com/

Flatbush Jewish Journal (FJJ) is a Brooklyn-based weekly newspaper catering to the Orthodox Jewish community. It is closely associated with Agudath Israel of America.

Overview

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Mordy Mehlman, who founded the FJJ in 2010, claimed that 19,000 homes receive the publication.[1][2] Larry Gordon, publisher of the Five Towns Jewish Times (another New York-based newspaper) claimed that FJJ was modelled after his own publication. In 2015, the physical page size shrank due to a change that reduced printing costs.[3]

The newspaper is closely associated with Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox Jewish advocacy organization.[4] While the publication's audience is the Orthodox community in New York City,[5][6][7] the name Flatbush Jewish Journal hints towards a focus on the Brooklyn neighborhood of Midwood, which many Jews consider to be part of Flatbush. For religious reasons, the newspaper refuses to print pictures of women or girls.[8][9] If a yartzeit article is published about a woman, the accompanying photo, if present, is of her husband.[7]

Features

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Reb Yaakov, The Life and Times of HaGaon Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky
serialized 2021 by FJJ

FJJ publishes ongoing Torah content by several well-known rabbis; Artscroll books are serialized. Some of their weekly columnists with professional recognition feature a reader's letter and a response, sometimes continued to the following week. Content from Artscroll volumes previously or presently excerpted include writings by or about Yaakov Kamenetsky (Reb Yaakov: The Life and Times of HaGaon Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky),[10] Abraham J. Twerski (Letters To My Children)[11] and Avraham Yaakov Pam (The Life and Ideals of Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Hakohen Pam).[12]

Since 2013 the newspaper has featured advertisements from an anonymous source aimed to reduce chatter during Jewish religious services headlined "Stop the Talking in Shul!".[13]

The letter pages[14] were, for ten years, the source of material for Rocky Zweig's submissions, whose presence was described by a larger Orthodox newspaper as "a weekly column."[15] The late Zweig[16] wrote a major satire in the guise of a full page of the Talmud, describing the reasons why Donald Trump should or should not build a wall, and why or why not Mexico should want to pay for it; it was printed as the front page of the Purim issue. The Flatbush Jewish Journal's letter pages are considered important reading: in 2013 a long-time elected legislator's negative reaction to content was covered by The Jewish Press.[17]

Impact

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Local newspapers, including The New York Times, cover their content.[5][9][18] Gordon conceded that FJJ covered Brooklyn yeshiva events well.[3]

In April 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, FJJ ran a 50-page obituary section. This was followed up by a shorter yartzeit tribute one year later.[7][19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "10 Questions About Jonathan Pollard With Rabbi Pesach". Yeshivaworld. November 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "America's Fastest Growing Newspaper". Retrieved September 5, 2021. 30,000 printed; 250,000 readers; 19,000 homes; 3,000 emailed
  3. ^ a b Larry Gordon (June 18, 2015). "Bigger, Smaller, Better". Five Towns Jewish Times (5tJt.com).
  4. ^ Josh Nathan-Kazis (February 21, 2019). "Public Advocate Candidate Eric Ulrich Is Courting The Orthodox. Is It Enough To Win?". The Forward.
  5. ^ a b Anemona Hartocollis; Ann Farmer (May 1, 2015). "Brooklyn Girl Injured in a Fire That Killed 7 Siblings Is Said to Be Recovering". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Jerry Nadler Voted In Favor of Iran Deal, and Will Survive To Tell The Tale". The Forward. October 8, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Irene Katz Connelly (April 27, 2020). "Orthodox publication includes 50 pages of obituaries". The Forward. respected rabbis and yeshiva leaders, as well as Noach Dear, a Brooklyn councilman and judge.
  8. ^ Shoshy Ciment (August 2, 2017). "Invisible Women: Censorship By Some Orthodox Publications". The Jewish Press.
  9. ^ a b Erin Durkin (July 10, 2017). "Orthodox Jewish mom and popular social media star uses ..." The New York Daily News.
  10. ^ Yonason Rosenblum. Reb Yaakov: The Life and Times of Hagaon Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky. ISBN 978-0-8990-6413-0.
  11. ^ ,Abraham J. Twerski (November 2015). Letters To My Children. Artscroll. ISBN 978-1-4226-1662-8.
  12. ^ Shimon Finkelman. The Life and Ideals of Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Hakohen Pam. ISBN 978-1-5781-9384-4.
  13. ^ Josh Nathan-Kazis (September 3, 2013). "Rabbis Declare War on Chit-Chat in Synagogue". The Forward.
  14. ^ several pages per issue
  15. ^ Hana Levi Julian (February 18, 2020). "(Rocky) Zweig, z'l, Co-Founder of Neginah Orchestra Passes Away". The Jewish Press.
  16. ^ "Rocky Zweig".
  17. ^ Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu (May 2, 2013). "Hikind Joins Bloggers to Accuse Greenfield as a Phony Blogger". The Jewish Press.
  18. ^ "Readers sound off on sins, socialists and sandwiches". New York Daily News.
  19. ^ "Flatbush Jewish Journal Marks One Year Since COVID Struck with Tribute Edition". Yeshivaworld. March 22, 2021.