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''Tablet'' is an
online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...
focused on Jewish news and culture. The magazine was founded in 2009 and is supported by the
Nextbook Nextbook is a nonprofit, Jewish organization founded in 2003 by Elaine Bernstein's Keren Keshet Foundation to promote Jewish literacy and support Jewish literature, culture and ideas. The organization sponsors public lectures, commissions books ...
foundation. Its
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
is Alana Newhouse.


History

''Tablet'' was founded in 2009 with the support of the
Nextbook Nextbook is a nonprofit, Jewish organization founded in 2003 by Elaine Bernstein's Keren Keshet Foundation to promote Jewish literacy and support Jewish literature, culture and ideas. The organization sponsors public lectures, commissions books ...
foundation, as a redeveloped and news-focused version of the Jewish
literary journal A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters ...
''Nextbook.'' Its reporting has largely focused on Jewish news and culture. In 2012, ''Tablet'' published a review of ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' by author Anna Breslaw in which Breslaw criticized
Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...
, including those in her family, as "villains masquerading as victims who, solely by virtue of surviving (very likely by any means necessary), felt that they had earned the right to be heroes ..conniving, indestructible, taking and taking." Jeffrey Goldberg observed in ''The Atlantic'' that ''Tablet'' had "brought together ''
Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
''s
John Podhoretz John Mordecai Podhoretz (; born April 18, 1961) is an American writer. He is the editor of ''Commentary'' magazine, a columnist for the ''New York Post'', the author of several books on politics, and a former speechwriter for Presidents Ronald ...
and ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
''s
Katha Pollitt Katha Pollitt (born October 14, 1949) is an American poet, essayist and critic. She is the author of four essay collections and two books of poetry. Her writing focuses on political and social issues from a left-leaning perspective, including abo ...
..by publishing a vicious attack on Holocaust survivors", and called for the magazine to publish an apology to Holocaust survivors. In ''
In These Times ''In These Times'' is an American politically progressive monthly magazine of news and opinion published in Chicago, Illinois. It was established as a broadsheet-format fortnightly newspaper in 1976 by James Weinstein, a lifelong socialist. ...
'', staff writer Lindsay Beyerstein described the article as "the worst thing that Tablet has ever published" and "a disgrace on every level". In February 2015, ''Tablet'' tested a monetization method in which viewers could read articles for free but were required to pay to comment on them. Commenting cost $2 per day, $18 per month, or $180 per year. In October 2017, ''Tablet'' published an article by contributor
Mark Oppenheimer Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...
titled "The Specifically Jewish Perviness of Harvey Weinstein". The article argued that the sexual assaults by
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...
were distinctly Jewish, and was shared favorably by
David Duke David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a member ...
and neo-nazi Richard Spencer. Oppenheimer issued an apology for the piece, which was described in Jewish left-leaning quarterly magazine '' Jewish Currents'' as both supporting "an antisemitic stereotype" and avoiding discussion of "the rampant misogyny that exists in both the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds". In August 2018, while
Julia Salazar Julia Salazar (born December 30, 1990) is an American politician and activist. She is the New York State Senator for the 18th district, which covers much of northern Brooklyn, centered on Bushwick. She won the seat as a first-time candidate af ...
was campaigning for election to the
New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...
, ''Tablet'' published an article questioning Salazar's claims that she was Jewish and an immigrant. ''Jewish Currents'' published an interview in which Salazar responded to the ''Tablet'' piece. After the
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an antisemitic terrorist attack which took place at the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The congregation, alo ...
in 2018, ''Tablet'' editor-in-chief Alana Newhouse and all six members of the magazine's editorial staff traveled to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
to report on the shooting and its aftermath. Newhouse told ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' that "large-picture stories ndthe big-picture trends on right-wing radicalization" could be "left for think pieces for later", stating that ''Tablet'' staff were "focused on pieces where we could root them in the stories of actual human beings affected by this one way or the other." The magazine's coverage included reporting on the funerals of people killed in the shooting, and a special edition of their podcast ''Unorthodox''. In December 2018, ''Tablet'' published an article about the
Women's March Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 mar ...
in Washington, DC after the election of Donald Trump as president. It argued that Women's March leaders had excluded Jewish women from leadership positions and used antisemitic language since the organization began in 2016. It especially critiqued connections to
Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...
. The article came after months of growing pressure on the group, including local chapters issuing critiques and the
National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
ending financial support (though still encouraging members to attend Women's March events). The organizers spoke against Farrakhan's most extreme statements, issued an apology, and made organizational changes to better include Jews in leadership. However, the leadership did not generally condemn Farrakhan, an act that led to enduring backlash. In April 2021, ''Tablet'' published an article by the researchers behind a study which found that, in contrast to the general consensus that education reduces antisemitism, more highly educated people may be more antisemitic. The survey was based on the concept of a
double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...
, and asked questions of respondents while showing them one of two examples, where only one was related to Judaism; for example, one question asked whether public gatherings during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
"posed a threat to public health and should have been prevented," and provided either Black Lives Matter protests or Orthodox Jewish funerals as examples. The researchers asserted in ''Tablet'' that respondents to the questions should have answered similarly regardless of the examples given, and that respondents' tendencies to apply principles more harshly to Jews than non-Jews was an indication of antisemitism. On September 29, 2022, the
Association for Jewish Studies The Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) is a scholarly organization in the United States that promotes academic Jewish Studies. The AJS was founded in 1969 and held its first annual conference that year at Brandeis University , mottoeng ...
(AJS) "paused" a relationship with ''Tablet'' which had enabled the magazine to place advertisements through AJS. The pause came in response to complaints by AJS members about the content published by ''Tablet''; ''Jewish Currents'' reported that the critiques centered around articles published in ''Tablet'' within the past 5 years. Progressive magazine '' Jewish Currents'' also noted in an email newsletter that several ''Tablet'' contributors are Trump supporters and asserted that "much of the magazine’s content is focused on decrying liberal '
woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social ineq ...
ness'", arguing that while ''Tablet'' initially "gained a reputation for publishing high-quality arts and culture content", a conservative editorial line became more pronounced during the
presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
.


Staff

''Tablet''s
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
is Alana Newhouse. Her husband David Samuels is literary editor.
Liel Leibovitz Liel Leibovitz (born 1976) is an Israeli journalist, author, media critic and video game scholar. Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, immigrated to the United States in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2007. In 2014, he was Visiti ...
is editor-at-large, and
Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction *Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor *Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer *Lee Smith ...
is a contributor. In 2011, ''Tablet'' announced that
Jeffrey Goldberg Jeffrey Mark Goldberg (born September 22, 1965) is an American journalist and editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic'' magazine. During his nine years at ''The Atlantic'' prior to becoming editor, Goldberg became known for his coverage of foreign affa ...
would move his blog from the website of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' to ''Tablet''. Goldberg corroborated the announcement in June 2011. However, he never took this action and continued to publish in ''The Atlantic''. In May 2016, after ''Tablet'' literary editor David Samuels published a profile of Obama advisor Ben Rhodes in ''
The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'' that described Goldberg as a "handpicked Beltway insider" who helped to "retail" the arguments of the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
in support of the
Iran deal The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; fa, برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک , barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak (, ''BARJAM'')), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear ...
, Goldberg attributed the negative characterization to a "longtime personal grudge" held by Samuels as a result of Goldberg's decision not to move to ''Tablet''. Sasha Senderovich and
Shaul Magid Shaul Magid (born June 16, 1958) is the Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. From 2004-2018 he was a professor of religious studies and the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Chair of Jewish Studies in Modern Judaism at Indiana U ...
have both become critical of ''Tablet'' after initially contributing work to it. Senderovich left the magazine after a series of 2017 articles in which Liel Leibovitz defended Trump adviser
Sebastian Gorka Sebastian Lukács Gorka ( hu, Gorka Sebestyén Lukács) (born October 22, 1970) is a British-born Hungarian-American media personality (currently with Salem Radio and NewsMax TV), military and intelligence analyst, and former government off ...
, while Magid left in 2021 after feeling that his internal criticism of conservative content was ineffective.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Online magazines published in the United States Jewish culture Jewish magazines published in the United States Jewish websites Magazines established in 2009 Secular Jewish culture in the United States 2009 establishments in the United States