David Duchovny didn't know his Yiddish grandfather. Our archivist unearthed an amazing story. His response was priceless.

View this email in a browser

Sponsored by All Inclusive with Jay Ruderman

JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

Give a tax-deductible donation

Greeting Afghanistan's last Jew at the Istanbul airport, chatting with the man who's watched 400 Holocaust films and congratulating the 'Hebrew Hammer' on his boxing knockout.

OUR LEAD STORY

‘It’s so easy to lose touch’: David Duchovny’s quest to learn about his grandfather, a Yiddish writer

David Duchovny wrote an article in The Atlantic earlier this year that mentioned that his grandfather, Moshe, was a Yiddish journalist. Duchovny, an accomplished actor, author and musician who most recently had a star cameo in the Netflix hit “The Chair,” mourned that “none of his writing survives,” adding: “I can only guess at him.”

We took that as a challenge. And our remarkable archivist, Chana Pollack, uncovered much more about Moshe Duchovny’s life and work than his grandson ever knew. This kicks off a new series, “Ask the Archivist,” in which Chana will endeavor to use her genius research skills to answer reader questions.

It turns out that Moshe Duchovny did not write for the Forward, as his grandson had said in The Atlantic, though he did appear several times in our pages and we covered his funeral, which was attended by hundreds in the Yiddish literary world. He was a highly respected journalist, novelist and playwright who spent a quarter century on staff at another Yiddish newspaper, Der Tog.

When we told David Duchovny what Chana had discovered, he cried. He had not even known where Moshe was buried (in New Jersey). “It’s overwhelming, really,” Duchovny said in a videotaped interview for the Forward’s upcoming virtual gala. “It’s so easy to lose touch with these things, obviously,”

See what we discovered in the archives, and how David Duchovny responded

Watch: Our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren interviews David Duchovny. Register now >

Ask the Archivist: If there’s a mystery from our 124-year-old newspaper that you care about — a parent who wrote for the paper, a family appearance in an old advertisement, a classified ad that led to a love story, anything! — send it to [email protected], and we’ll try to help.

ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Rabbi Mendy Chitrik (lefts) greets Zebulon Simentov, with Bishop Robert Gosselin. (Photo: David Klein)

After a month in hiding, Afghanistan’s last Jew arrived in Turkey. We met him at the airport:David Klein, a former Forward intern who lives in Istanbul, spent a few hours on Sunday with Zebulon Simentov, who the AP reported had been hiding in Islamabad for the past month. At the home of Turkey’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Simentov donned tefillin to recite the daily prayers. He suggested the stiff leather straps could be softened with chicken fat, and was delighted to discover there were several kosher butchers in town where they might get some.Read the story >

Opinion | ‘Just unsubscribed’ and other tales from Jodi Rudoren’s inbox: Our editor-in-chief has been getting a flood of emails since, well, since the advent of email – back when she was writing obits at her town’s local paper. And she has always responded to them, including through her tenure at The New York Times covering presidential elections and the Mideast conflict, two topics on which readers tend to have a lot of pointed feedback. In her latest column, Jodi explains why she is so committed to responding to that feedback, and shares recent highlights. Read her column >

A message from our sponsor: All Inclusive with Jay Ruderman

Fran Drescher Discusses Keeping The Nanny’s Fran Fine Jewish on All Inclusive with Jay Ruderman.

Hear from “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher on why she insisted that her character on the CBS sitcom would remain Jewish after the network attempted to make the character Italian. Subscribe to the All Inclusive podcast as host Jay Ruderman interviews leaders and experts across an array of industries on the latest news, technology, and advocacy pertaining to social justice.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

🇮🇱 Employees of the influential news site Politico will be expected to support Israel’s right to exist. Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that recently acquired Politico for $1 billion, said in an interview that this value is “like a constitution,” adding that employees who disagree with it “should not work for Axel Springer.” Meanwhile, Ben Smith’s latest New York Times media column details allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace-culture problems at Axel Springer’s German properties. (WSJ, NYT)

🗑 Talking trash cans have popped up around Jerusalem. “Thank you very much,” a recording of a child’s voice says when you toss something in. It’s part of an initiative to improve the city’s appearance. The recordings don’t play on Shabbat. (AP)

📚 Few U.S. Jews consider that some of their ancestors may have been slaves in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. A new book uses genealogical records to prove the case. (Religion News Service)

🎞 A professor who has seen more than 400 Holocaust films – almost every one ever made – has now written a book about it. “Dealing with Holocaust education is akin to dealing with oncology, in that you have to set aside your personal feelings,” he says. “You can’t be drawn in.” (JTA)

😍 Two women in Philadelphia have launched a local radio show, “Jewish Singles,” to help people reconnect to the dating scene. At least two couples have met through the show, which often has spiritual leaders, life coaches and matchmakers on as guests. (Jewish Exponent)

ICYMI > There was a joke about Manischewitz wine on the Weekend Update segment of “Saturday Night Live.” … And over on Netflix, on the latest episode of “The Great British Baking Show,” one of the contestants made charoset-and-matzah-topped pavlova.

Shiva call > Dr. Anni Bergman, who contributed groundbreaking research about autism, died at 102. As a teenager, she escaped the Nazis and later earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the City University of New York. “Anni could put into words the experience of a child in a way that was extraordinary,” said Sally Moskowitz, a colleague. “She could reach any child and make a connection.” (NYT)

What else we’re reading > Antisemitism is reaching younger audiences via social media … Israeli judokas win two gold medals and a bronze at a Paris tournament … Jill Biden says ‘prayer partner’ helped change her life.

ON THE CALENDAR

On this day in history: Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk with Christina Koch, a 7-hour, 17-minute trek to repair the International Space Station, on Oct. 18, 2019. Meir, whose father fought in the Israeli War of Independence, brought with her a Yad Vashem postcard with a painting by a Holocaust survivor; a medal coined in memory of the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon; and the Israeli flag.

She spent more than 200 days in space and returned to an Earth very different from the one she left; it was April, 2020, and a global pandemic had changed life on this planet. Meir, 44, says her next goal is to become the first woman on the moon. Read our interview >

It’s also the birthday of Wendy Wasserstein, winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for her play “The Heidi Chronicles.” The night she died, at 55 in 2006, the lights on Broadway were dimmed.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

(Photo: Amanda Wescott/AK Collective)

Jewish boxer Cletus Seldin, aka “The Hebrew Hammer,” retained his championship title with a decisive knockout in the seventh round against William Silva at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Saturday night. Our Louise Keene spoke with Seldin before the match. Read the interview >

Bari Weiss accepts the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity.

Dept. of Mazels: The Forward won three awards at the Los Angeles Press Club’s annual gala over the weekend: Danielle Berrin took first in the general news category for a piece about Beverly Hills beefing up neighborhood security ahead of the 2020 elections; Simi Horwitz was tops in entertainment commentary for her profile, “Gloria Steinem is having a moment,” Rob Eshman, our national editor, was honored as a columnist.

Bari Weiss, the former New York Times editor and author of the National Jewish Book Award-winning “How to Fight Antisemitism” was honored with the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity.

“Before I became a journalist like Daniel was, his life and his death meant something else to me— and that was that he was a Jew,” Weiss, a former intern at the Forward, said in her acceptance speech. “The barbarians that murdered him believed that that was a mark of shame. But to me, and to the entire amazing Pearl family, it is a badge of honor.” Read the speech >

Thanks to Rob Eshman, Lauren Markoe and Talya Zax for their contributions to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected].

Support Independent Jewish Journalism

The Forward is a non-profit 501(c)3 so our journalism depends on support from readers like you. You can support our work today by donating or subscribing. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of US law.

MAKE A DONATION / SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD.COM / SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS

Copyright © 2021, The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. The Forward Association, Inc., 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038

Click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter.

To stop receiving all emails from the Forward click here.