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Mattie Kahn, 31, writer
Mattie Kahn, 31, is a writer whose work has been published in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Vogue, Elle, Glamour and more. She’s won two Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York, most recently for her feature in the Atlantic on Arthur Kahn, the first Jewish person killed in the Holocaust, who was also her great-uncle. Kahn’s first book, “Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America’s Revolutions” will be out in June; recently, the Upper West Sider generated a lot of buzz for her Vogue piece on what she’s dubbed the “Torah-teacher aesthetic.”
For the full list of this year’s “36ers” — which honors leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers who are making a difference in New York’s Jewish community — click here.
Was there a formative Jewish experience that influenced your life path?
I was educated at Ramaz in New York for over a decade. It doesn’t get much more formative than that. But also: I am the daughter of a mother and father who have hosted between 15 and 30 people for Shabbat lunch each week for their entire adult lives. South of The Kosher Marketplace [at 90th Street and Broadway] and north of the train station on 72nd, it feels safe to estimate that around 30% of residents have attended one at some point or another. That culture of hosting and eating together and spending long hours talking about art and literature and the contents of People magazine (our other Torah) shaped me.
How does your Jewish identity or experience influence your work?
The two are inseparable. Jews are natural reporters: We love asking questions, pestering, never taking no for an answer. I don’t think all Jews love gossip (we’re not supposed to, I know), but I do, and being a yenta has served me well as a writer and a chronicler of ideas and movements. I have increasingly written about my own Jewish identity, from exploring the divergent memory cultures in America and Germany for Vox, to writing about my great-uncle Arthur Kahn and the Holocaust for the Atlantic, to setting the world of Jewish educators aflutter with my ode to what I call “Torah-teacher aesthetic” for Vogue.
Who is your New York Jewish hero?
She died in 1998, but Bella Abzug forever. A pioneering New Yorker, Jew and feminist, with a great sense of humor and powerful accessories collection.
What is your favorite place to eat Jewish food in New York?
Barney Greengrass on the Upper West Side, but nothing will ever replace the Ratner’s-sized hole in my heart.
What is your favorite book about New York?
Vivian Gornick’s “Fierce Attachments.” A top-five book of all time.
In one sentence, what was your best experience as a Jewish New Yorker?
Once, at a restaurant downtown, I saw Maggie Gyllenhaal finishing her meal with a friend when Jake Gyllenhaal, her brother, happened to walk in for his own dinner. When the two saw each other and hugged, the entire restaurant clapped. He was wearing a Russ & Daughters shirt. Jewish parents the world over were kvelling.
How can people follow you online?
mattiekahn.com has all the book links. I’m also @matkahn on Instagram and @mattiekahn on Twitter.
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The post Mattie Kahn, 31, writer appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran to Boycott World Cup Draw Over Visa Restrictions
Soccer Football – World Cup Playoff Tournament and European Playoff draws – FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland- November 20, 2025 The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Iran intends to boycott next week’s World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country’s football federation.
According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of Iran‘s delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report.
Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation.
The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Matches will be played at 16 venues, including three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The draw will sort the teams into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has secured a spot in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh appearance overall.
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Dublin to Rename Chaim Herzog Park in a Move Slammed as Attempt to Erase Jewish History
Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
i24 News – Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel’s sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the “Free Palestine Park.”
Former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter harshly criticized the vote, charging that “Dublin City Council has now gone full on Nazi & a committee of the Council has determined it should erase Jewish/Irish history. Herzog Park in Rathgar is named after Chaim Herzog, Israel’s 6th President, brought up in Dublin by his father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, a friend of Eamon De Valera, who was Chief Rabbi of Ireland & Israel’s first Chief Rabbi… Some councillors want the Park renamed ‘Free Palestine Park.”
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park.
“It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”
A virtuoso diplomat and an intellectual giant, Herzog had served in a variety of roles throughout his storied career, including a memorable stint as the ambassador to the United Nations, where in 1975 he delivered a speech condemning the Soviet-engineered resolution to brand Zionism as a form of racism. The address is now regarded as a classic, along with the oration from the same session by the US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening.”
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Qatar’s Al Thani to Visit Beirut Wednesday to Meet with Lebanon’s Leaders
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday.
The visit comes “as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia.”
The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis.
Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure.
Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal.