Bari Weiss, the journalist who first rose to prominence for her campus campaign alleging antisemitism two decades ago, has been named editor-in-chief of CBS News, a stunning ascent that marks one of the most consequential appointments in American media in recent years.

The appointment came as Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, announced its $150 million purchase of The Free Press, the publication Weiss founded in 2022. Weiss will oversee both outlets as editor-in-chief, reporting directly to Ellison. The move marks a major shakeup for a legacy news division long associated with mainstream liberalism and a bet on Weiss’s brand of provocative centrism.

Ellison’s involvement adds another layer of intrigue. The son of Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder known for his pro-Israel philanthropy, David has in recent months gained attention as his father helped spearhead a bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. The forced sale, mandated by a new U.S. law aimed at separating the platform from its Chinese ownership, has drawn political scrutiny and elevated the Ellisons’ influence at the intersection of media, tech, and geopolitics.

For Jewish observers, Weiss’s trajectory carries special resonance. Her public identity has long intertwined with Jewish causes, Israel advocacy and debates over antisemitism and free speech. Under her leadership, The Free Press has become a prominent voice on the American Jewish experience, particularly its coverage and commentary supporting Israel and condemning rising anti-Israel activism after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

Born in Pittsburgh and educated at Columbia University, Weiss first emerged as a student activist in the early 2000s when she campaigned against professors she accused of anti-Israel bias, a battle that foreshadowed later campus wars over Zionism and academic freedom. A film she co-produced called “Columbia Unbecoming” documents her account. 

Raised in a Reform Jewish household in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, her connection to the community became national news with the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, the congregation where she had her bat mitzvah. The massacre, she wrote, was an “alarm bell” that shook her out of a “holiday from history.” She channeled the tragedy into a book, “How to Fight Anti-Semitism,” in 2019. 

Now 41, Weiss has positioned herself as a defender of open inquiry within liberal institutions and a critic of what she saw as left-wing intolerance. She rose through the editorial ranks at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, where she became known for her critiques of “cancel culture.” Her 2020 resignation letter from the Times, alleging bullying and ideological conformity, went viral and turned her into a hero for many self-described centrists.

When she launched The Free Press, Weiss promised to create a home for “free thought and fearless reporting.” The site quickly grew into a digital media powerhouse, attracting major investors and millions of readers, but also attracting criticism from those who say Weiss’s project is a polished rebranding of right-wing media.

Now she will have the chance to bring her brand of journalism to a much broader audience, as the top editor overseeing coverage at a legacy news organization whose properties include “60 Minutes” and “Sunday Morning.”

“As proud as we are of the 1.5 million subscribers who have joined under the banner of The Free Press — and we are astonished at that number — this is a country with 340 million people. We want our work to reach more of them, as quickly as possible,” Weiss wrote in a letter to readers on Monday. “This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity allows us to do that.”

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On the weekend between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, Waterville city workers put up the frame for our community sukkah. They were careful to make sure that tree branches did not obscure the view of the stars and the night sky, and that sufficient room was left for a Wabanaki storytelling festival in the town square scheduled during the same week.

This was the second year our municipal workers erected “that Jewish hut.” I never thought Waterville would support the Jewish  community in building, hosting, and supporting our sukkah; it came about through an unexpected and somewhat painful discussion. For years, Waterville has hosted “Kringleville,” a community celebration of Santa Claus and Christmas. A non-Jewish member of the Waterville community challenged the practice, and demanded a menorah be placed next to the Christmas tree. Some community members supported this move; others wanted all public observances of religious festivals to end.

Our synagogue leadership was ambivalent about either option. I’ve never liked the idea of Hanukkah competing with Christmas, elevating a minor festival not because of its importance, but rather because of its proximity to a major holiday outside of our tradition. I also believe we should retain community events — religious or otherwise — that reinforce faith, community, and good will. I don’t believe that diminishing Christian festivals strengthens the Jewish community. In light of these values, we suggested a different path forward for the City of Waterville.

In a meeting with the city manager, our synagogue’s executive director, Melanie Weiss, suggested that rather than erect a menorah in the winter, we erect a sukkah in the fall. Why? Sukkot is a major Jewish festival in its own right, the city could provide support for our small synagogue that we actually needed and wanted (putting up a sukkah is hard work!), and we could leverage central Maine’s agricultural and multi-ethnic traditions to bring joy not only to the Jewish community, but to everyone in our region.

Sukkot is a festival about hospitality, joy and creative construction. In the wake of Oct. 7, our synagogue staff and board believed that inviting the greater community into our spaces was a better approach than pulling away behind walls. We wanted our public face to be welcoming, inclusive, beautiful, and proud. As such, in partnership with the Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College, Waterville Creates (our local arts organization), Beth Israel Congregation, and the Waterville Public Schools, we spearheaded a citywide arts project so that everyone in town could contribute some kind of personal decoration to adorn our community sukkah.

In our first year, we organized an art project around “Welcoming our Ancestors,” teaching the greater community about ushpizin and providing a canvas for our neighbors to highlight their journeys from Lebanon, Quebec, Congo, Syria, Iraq, Lithuania and yes, Israel. This year (our second), our community art project charges participants to craft a “Map of Joy” depicting their personal journeys from origin points around the world to places of joyousness. Panels depicting heartfelt and arduous journeys from Homs, Syria, sit next to panels that highlight the vibrancy of Tel Aviv.

On Erev Sukkot, we host a vegetarian potluck dinner with dishes from around the world, and we share the blessings of Sukkot with our neighbors. Before candle lighting, we show participants the lulav and etrog, and later we explain the story of Sukkot and its core values. In coordination with Waterville Adult Education and the Capital Area New Mainers Project, we invite translators to make our teaching accessible, and have printed materials in several languages that are spoken in local immigrant communities.

This project isn’t without its detractors. Some resent or oppose Jewish content and representation in public spaces, even if it is in equal measure to Christian, Muslim and Indigenous traditions. Some have asserted that our multifaith work is a way to evade discussions of Israel and Gaza Others fear that the sukkah will be desecrated or attacked. In essence, most of the opposition comes from antisemitic sentiment or the fear of it. And yet we have chosen to put up our sukkah with the support of city partners and with the vigilant protection of the Waterville Police Department. We refuse to acquiesce to the suspicion and hatred of others, or to the fear that it will be expressed.

The Waterville Jewish community and the Center for Small Town Jewish Life have chosen a unique response to this moment of increased Jewish vulnerability and alienation. We have reinforced local partnerships, introduced citizens from all walks of life to the beauty of the Jewish tradition, and invited them to participate, not just as observers, but as co-creators.

Even though there are potential risks, and deficiencies to this approach, it builds on the strengths and spirit of small town Jewish life. We affirm our place in our community through sharing our traditions, and placing them in a greater American and social context, one that emphasizes faith, family, and community. Building friendships and understanding may not protect us from all animus, but it does reduce suspicion and dehumanization. Our festival is made all the more joyous when we see our neighbors celebrating with us, and when we learn about their journeys, families and creative gifts.

Through constructing Sukkot in this way, our local Jewish community gains or develops or cultivates a greater sense of pride, happiness, fulfillment and “at homeness” in Waterville. And through erecting this temporary Jewish structure in shared civic space on Main Street, Waterville is stronger. Our prophets teach that when the world is ultimately redeemed on Sukkot, the Temple will become a house of prayer for all peoples. Although we are miles away from a rebuilt Jerusalem, we are beginning that redemptive process in Waterville, Maine, beam by beam, branch by branch, citizen by citizen.

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The post In my small town, ‘that Jewish hut’ has turned Sukkot into a cross-cultural shelter of peace appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Personal stories of lost loved ones, including the mother of one of the eight Canadians who was killed, and a harrowing, heroic tale of a man who rescued more than 100 people from the attack on the Nova music festival, marked the two-year commemoration of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto event on Oct. 5 at Beth Tzedec Congregation featured the stories of Raquel Look, mother of Alexandre Look, who died saving others during the Nova Festival attacks, and Oz Davidian, who rescued 120 teenagers in more than 15 trips in his truck, as detailed in the 2024 documentary Oz’s List.

Hundreds of attendees, including numerous elected officials, took in the program, including Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, whose absence at the previous year’s commemorations drew criticism and compounded frustrations with Chow’s office from many Jewish community members.

Sporting a yellow ribbon pin for the hostages, Chow was among several public officials in attendance, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, former Toronto mayor John Tory, Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca, MPs Melissa Lantsman and Leslie Church, and a host of Toronto and Vaughan city councillors and provincial MPPs.

Attendees were greeted by a number of visual exhibitions, including a series of photos and text along a corridor telling the stories of Oct. 7 in Israel and the community’s experience in Toronto since that day, with a record 56,000 participants at the Walk With Israel last May.

Outside the synagogue’s sanctuary, where the program was held, in a quieter Yahrzeit memorial space, a series of small lightbulbs, and their reflection on the wall, represented the 1,200 lives lost in the attacks. Participants activated the lights by turning the bulbs, which slowly illuminated the otherwise dark space during the event.

A third installation comprising 48 giant yellow ribbons on stands, and signs named each of the remaining hostages, of whom around 20 are estimated to be alive, and focused on the return of those captives, who by the Oct. 5 event had been held for 730 days in Gaza.

The program included songs, prayers of mourning, and a featured conversation with Look, followed by Davidian’s self-narrated tale of rescuing festivalgoers, shared onstage through a translator.

Idit Shamir, Consul General of Israel for Toronto and Western Canada, recalled the death of her cousin, who stayed during the evacuation call at Kibbutz Kissufim, to feed the animals, she said, before describing how terrorists came through the door and shot the 70-year-old man, then dragged and manipulated his bloody body and posed for a selfie— “making sure the world saw,” she said.

“Two years ago, I saw pure evil. So did you,” Shamir said. “And since that day, I stopped being who I was before. I think we all did.”

She spoke about the responsibility, as Israel’s representative, to the families of the eight Jewish Canadians who were killed in the attacks, weaving their life, and death, stories into her tribute.

“I carry the weight of my nation’s pain and my responsibility to honour these heroes,” Shamir said.

“Alexandre Look, who ran towards danger to save others, until courage cost him everything. Tiferet Lapidot, who painted her dreams in Canadian colours, and Israeli light, until darkness came. Judih Weinstein Haggai, whose poetry touched souls on two continents, until silence fell. Vivian Silver, who dedicated her life to peace, driving Palestinians to Israeli hospitals, until hatred claimed her.

“Netta Epstein, who jumped on a grenade to save his girlfriend. Shir Georgy, who danced between worlds, until the music stopped. Adi Vital-Kaploun, who protected her babies with her life, but they were still carried to Gaza. Ben Mizrahi, who carried Vancouver’s rain to Israel’s desert, until storm clouds gathered.”

Shamir commented on the difficulty of measuring “two years that changed everything,” describing the tensions that have unfolded in Canada since the attacks and subsequent war, including the “denial, celebration, and justification, here in Canada and around the world” of the Oct. 7 attacks.

“The traumatic impact of that day has not gone away,” she said.

“We measured it in shock, at the escalating harassment, violence, and intimidation against us… [in] the support for terrorism, the indoctrination of youth, the attempts to erase our voices, and make us into pariahs. Physical attacks on schools, synagogues, and Jewish-owned businesses. The boycotts. The demands made only for Jews. Teaching materials that erase Israel from the map. Indoctrinating children … yes, even here in Toronto,” she said.

“What we saw on the streets of Toronto, and across Canada, for the past two years, the calls for intifada, the flags of a listed terror organization, goes well beyond peaceful protest. It goes beyond antisemitism. This is a declaration of war against our Western values.”

In a moderated discussion, Look explained to—or, in some cases, reminded—audience members that she had been in contact with her son between the start of the attacks and his death at their hands, trying to fight them off and protect others at a bomb shelter with no door where he and other festivalgoers had taken cover.

Look and her son had spoken for an hour-and-a-half that morning, in between Alexandre’s momentary safety, and the attackers’ return.

When asked how she now draws strength, Look (who attended with husband Alain, Alexandre’s father), said she taps into her courage by remembering what her son faced compared to what she needs to do.

“I say to myself, if he was brave enough to face pure evil, I can be brave enough to put on my Magen Davids all over myself, and speak and be a voice for him, for all the ones that sadly, their voices, their lives were taken away, so young, so brutally,” she said.

“We are the descendants of the Maccabees,” she said to applause. “October 7 will be the last massacre on Jewish people that we will memorialize.”

The documentary’s title, Oz’s List, Davidian explained, came from the list of survivors he started after he’d begun ferrying stranded teens from the festival site to safety at his moshav.

He described taking back routes through valleys and fields to avoid the road where armed terrorists would be waiting. Then, during one of his return trips to find survivors, he realized his white pickup truck resembled that of the Hamas-led attackers, and pinned an Israeli flag in the truck cab to signal safety for any living festivalgoers he could pick up.

“They understood I’m one of them, and I came to rescue them,” he recounted through translator Tomer Regev.

In one trip, he managed to take 17 teenagers, he said. Later, reaffirming if he would do it all again, Davidian said he would.

“It’s my country … my people,” he said, through Regev. “These are our brothers. These are our children.”

Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), noted that the moment of reflection two years after Oct. 7 came after a terrorist attack last week on Yom Kippur, in Manchester, England, where two people were killed and others were seriously injured.

“We’re seeing that the same violence that occurred two years ago is still alive and well, targeting Jewish people, not just in Israel, but around the world,” he told reporters.

He called for government leaders to take “urgent action to push back against the radicalization that we’re seeing, the glorification of terrorism and violence and the anti-Jewish hate that’s festering and leading to these attacks taking place.” He mentioned attacks on synagogues since Oct. 7, and the stabbing last month of a Jewish woman in a supermarket in Ottawa.

“These are things that should not be happening in Canada, to our community or to any community.”

Still, while “it’s important for our community to stay focused on what matters,” he said, including the remaining hostages and “the righteousness of our cause in fighting against terror” and hate, Shack reminded the Jewish community it does have support from a range of Canadians.

“There are many who stand with us, far more Canadians who are with us than who are against us.”

Daniel Held, UJA’s chief program officer, wants non-Jewish Canadians to understand the community’s current security needs, and what’s behind those expenditures.

“We’re on High Holidays. We come under guard and under incredible security because we are under threat,” he said. “Our community has been forced to spend tens of millions of dollars on security.”

Still, he noted, the community yearns for hopeful news about the hostages, and a peace deal, from Israel.

Talks between Israel, Hamas, and mediators including U.S. representatives were ongoing in Egypt this week to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace proposal.

Elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area on Oct. 5, Raquel Look joined the weekly Run For Their Lives event in Thornhill, Ont., while other weekly events included the 105^th edition of the Rally for Israel at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue in the north end of Toronto.

Fashion designer Rinat Samuel, who since Oct. 7 has created T-shirts with the slogan “it’s not fashionable to be antisemitic!” and others, held a photo shoot at North York’s Mel Lastman Square.

And, in downtown Toronto, the Miles Nadal JCC hosted a sunrise pre-Sukkot ceremony early on Oct. 6, led by Beth Tzedec’s Aviva Chernick and Yacov Fruchter, to “mark this tender moment in the calendar” as a community.

The post Stories of loss and heroism featured in Toronto’s commemoration of Oct. 7 appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.