Yair Rosenberg
@yair-rosenberg.bsky.social
National correspondent, New York Times. Previously: Staff Writer, The Atlantic. Covering religion, politics, culture, and other low stakes subjects. Mailing list: yair.substack.com Music: bit.ly/azyashir
In my experience, many people do not know what the "blood libel" is, which is true of most antisemitic myths! But it leads to the term being colloquially misused. That's why I wrote this short piece in 2024 that explains the libel clearly and why it still matters today. Gift link:
The Passover Plot
The dark legacy and ongoing body count of an ancient anti-Semitic myth
theatlantic.com
NEW from @teddyschleifer.bsky.social + me: JD Vance defended his approach to antisemitism, Israel, and Jews in closed door remarks in Las Vegas last night. We obtained the audio. The VP is attempting to unite conservative Jews and their antagonists in one coalition. Not everyone is sold. Gift link:
Can JD Vance Win Over Skeptical Jewish Voters? (Gift Article)
The vice president is attempting to unite conservative Jews with their antagonists in one coalition, as one appearance in Nevada on Monday showed. Some are uneasy about it.
nytimes.com
This bill to include "Jewish" as an ethnicity on California state forms just passed its final vote in the legislature and is now headed to Gavin Newsom's desk for signing. Read all about it in my article below.
Yair Rosenberg@yair-rosenberg.bsky.social · last mo.California just advanced a bill that would make it the first state to recognize Jews in its data as not just a religion, but an ethnicity. I wrote about the perplexities of Jewish identity motivating this push, and what it has to do with Whoopi Goldberg and Home Alone:
NEW from @teddyschleifer.bsky.social + me: JD Vance defended his approach to antisemitism, Israel, and Jews in closed door remarks in Las Vegas last night. We obtained the audio. The VP is attempting to unite conservative Jews and their antagonists in one coalition. Not everyone is sold. Gift link:
Can JD Vance Win Over Skeptical Jewish Voters? (Gift Article)
The vice president is attempting to unite conservative Jews with their antagonists in one coalition, as one appearance in Nevada on Monday showed. Some are uneasy about it.
nytimes.com
"In the span of eight years, an idea that had motivated the worst massacre of Jews on American soil had become part of the pitch for a political campaign." I wrote about the dark undercurrent of last week's Florida primaries. Gift link:
Fringe Views in Primary Campaigns Rattle Florida Jews (Gift Article)
It has been an uneasy primary season for Jewish voters, with debates over Israel animating many races. But what happened in Florida went beyond that.
nytimes.com
"In the span of eight years, an idea that had motivated the worst massacre of Jews on American soil had become part of the pitch for a political campaign." I wrote about the dark undercurrent of last week's Florida primaries. Gift link:
Fringe Views in Primary Campaigns Rattle Florida Jews (Gift Article)
It has been an uneasy primary season for Jewish voters, with debates over Israel animating many races. But what happened in Florida went beyond that.
nytimes.com
"White genocide," "goyslop" and "fat Jew": I wrote about how Florida Jews are grappling with the antisemitism that roiled the state primaries. Gift link:
Fringe Views in Primary Campaigns Rattle Florida Jews (Gift Article)
It has been an uneasy primary season for Jewish voters, with debates over Israel animating many races. But what happened in Florida went beyond that.
nytimes.com
"White genocide," "goyslop" and "fat Jew": I wrote about how Florida Jews are grappling with the antisemitism that roiled the state primaries. Gift link:
Fringe Views in Primary Campaigns Rattle Florida Jews (Gift Article)
It has been an uneasy primary season for Jewish voters, with debates over Israel animating many races. But what happened in Florida went beyond that.
nytimes.com
Joe Septimus, a beloved member of our synagogue and community, passed away yesterday. He was the inspiration for this piece I wrote in 2022, which I know has been meaningful to many. May his memory and his teaching be a blessing.
Is ‘Passover’ Actually a Mistranslation?
Recovering one of the original meanings of the Jewish holiday’s name helps us better understand its message.
theatlantic.com
California just advanced a bill that would make it the first state to recognize Jews in its data as not just a religion, but an ethnicity. I wrote about the perplexities of Jewish identity motivating this push, and what it has to do with Whoopi Goldberg and Home Alone:
California May Let Residents Choose ‘Jewish’ as an Ethnic Identifier
A bill would allow Jews to identify themselves as an ethnic group on state forms. Supporters argue it’s a step toward acknowledging the complex nature of Jewish identity.
nytimes.com
this is really interesting. was w/my friends (all jews) this past weekend and we were talking about jews as religion compared to jews as ethnicity. a state allowing for jews to self-identify as an ethnicity raises important questions for us. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...
California just advanced a bill that would make it the first state to recognize Jews in its data as not just a religion, but an ethnicity. I wrote about the perplexities of Jewish identity motivating this push, and what it has to do with Whoopi Goldberg and Home Alone:
California May Let Residents Choose ‘Jewish’ as an Ethnic Identifier
A bill would allow Jews to identify themselves as an ethnic group on state forms. Supporters argue it’s a step toward acknowledging the complex nature of Jewish identity.
nytimes.com
Netanyahu turned his relationship with Trump into a selling point to his voters. Now it may be his downfall. I wrote about how Trump left Bibi holding the bag in Iran on the eve of an election that he and his allies were already losing. Gift link:
Netanyahu Finally Learns the Truth About Trump
An alliance with the president was the Israeli prime minister’s selling point. Now it may be his downfall.
theatlantic.com
Netanyahu turned his relationship with Trump into a selling point to his voters. Now it may be his downfall. I wrote about how Trump left Bibi holding the bag in Iran on the eve of an election that he and his allies were already losing. Gift link:
Netanyahu Finally Learns the Truth About Trump
An alliance with the president was the Israeli prime minister’s selling point. Now it may be his downfall.
theatlantic.com
ANALYSTS: Because the Knicks unusually built their team out of free agents signed to deals that finesse the cap, their championship doesn't provide any easy lessons that other teams can apply to follow in their footsteps ANTISEMITES:
“The most frightening monster of all is not the sensational stuff of children’s stories," @yair-rosenberg.bsky.social writes of the Broadway play Giant, "but the propensity to monstrosity that lives within all of us”:
The Monster That Doesn’t Announce Itself
A new Broadway play about Roald Dahl and his prejudice captures uncomfortable truths.
bit.ly
Thomas Massie and Liz Cheney have little in common ideologically. But they have both been drummed out of office because they violated the one unbreakable rule of MAGA Republican politics: never cross the boss. America First was always Trump First, and last night was just the latest demonstration.
The Real Reason Thomas Massie Lost
He broke the one rule of the MAGA Republican Party.
theatlantic.com
Thomas Massie and Liz Cheney have little in common ideologically. But they have both been drummed out of office because they violated the one unbreakable rule of MAGA Republican politics: never cross the boss. America First was always Trump First, and last night was just the latest demonstration.
The Real Reason Thomas Massie Lost
He broke the one rule of the MAGA Republican Party.
theatlantic.com
Pretty sure this has already been optioned by Nicholas Cage
Better Things Are Possible@internethippo.bsky.social · 4mo agoThriller movie about a guy who builds a time machine and then all he does is go back 30 years to buy a house
“The best play-by-play commentators conscript us into a conspiracy of concern: Together, we hang on to every pitch, swing, and miss.” In 2024, @yair-rosenberg.bsky.social explored what Yankees announcer John Sterling taught him about baseball—and what makes us human:
How Baseball Explains the Limits of AI
The iconic Yankees broadcaster John Sterling reminds us that what makes us human cannot be imitated.
bit.ly
"John Sterling means something special to Yankees fans. But he also taught me something beyond baseball: that certain aspects of the human experience can never be replicated or replaced. What makes us who we are is not just the stories we tell, but the stories we share and inhabit together." RIP.
How Baseball Explains the Limits of AI
The iconic Yankees broadcaster John Sterling reminds us that what makes us human cannot be imitated.
theatlantic.com
Excellent piece by @yair-rosenberg.bsky.social
Yair Rosenberg@yair-rosenberg.bsky.social · 5mo agoI wrote about how the debate over Democrats engaging influencers like Hasan Piker is missing the point. The question is not whether to talk to these people, but how to do so in a way that makes the audience smarter—one that scrutinizes not just the influencer’s opinions, but their facts. Gift link:
I wrote about how the debate over Democrats engaging influencers like Hasan Piker is missing the point. The question is not whether to talk to these people, but how to do so in a way that makes the audience smarter—one that scrutinizes not just the influencer’s opinions, but their facts. Gift link:
The Problem With Hasan Piker’s Einstein Story
People scrutinizing influencers for their views should also hold them to account for their facts.
theatlantic.com
I wrote about how the debate over Democrats engaging influencers like Hasan Piker is missing the point. The question is not whether to talk to these people, but how to do so in a way that makes the audience smarter—one that scrutinizes not just the influencer’s opinions, but their facts. Gift link:
The Problem With Hasan Piker’s Einstein Story
People scrutinizing influencers for their views should also hold them to account for their facts.
theatlantic.com
I'm been off social media for Passover, so am late to this, but just wanted to highlight some excellent recent work by my @theatlantic.com colleagues: First, Amogh Dimri on how online clipping culture sanitizes Nick Fuentes for mainstream audiences. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Nick Fuentes’s Strategy Is Working
Viral clips of the far-right white supremacist are growing his audience.
theatlantic.com
A lot has been written about how generative AI may lead people to believe that fake things are real. But more attention should be paid to how it can lead people to believe that real things are fake. Meet the "liar's dividend": www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
"Intelligent political agency is impossible without a foundation of fact. Yet the rise of unrestrained AI, combined with the incentives and biases that drive social media, has served to supplant facts with consequential delusions, and helped mass-market them to those most inclined to believe them."
The Worst-Case Scenario for AI and the News Is Already Here
Audiovisual evidence is no match for a viral conspiracy theory that Benjamin Netanyahu is dead.
theatlantic.com
Many people—from sitting politicians to Joe Rogan—have suggested that Benjamin Netanyahu is dead and replaced by AI. I wrote about why mass digital delusions like these are about to become much more common, thanks to AI and the perverse incentives of algorithmic social media. Gift link:
The Worst-Case Scenario for AI and the News Is Already Here
Audiovisual evidence is no match for a viral conspiracy theory that Benjamin Netanyahu is dead.
theatlantic.com