There’s a classic exchange in 30 Rock between Tina Fey’s character, Liz Lemon, and Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy:
“What a week, huh?”
“Lemon, it’s Wednesday.”
Short, snappy, and to the point. And a perfect explainer for just how exhausting the past 12 months (or 24, or, really, since Oct. 7) have been.
And it works in lots of different ways:
“What a year, huh?”
“Lonny, it’s February.” (I frequently have this conversation with myself; welcome to my life).
Anyway, here’s what you’ve all been reading this year:
January: Razava A Welcome, And Needed, Addition To The Twin Cities Food Scene
February: Trump Admin Investigating UMN For Antisemitism While DEI, Deportation Threats Loom
March: U of M Gets ‘F’ In New ADL Report Card
April: Letter to the Jewish Community about Constitutional Rights and Jewish Safety
May: HMJDS To Be Renamed As Part Of $40 Million Campaign
June: Herzl, Ramah Affected By Israel Flight Shutdown
July: Boat, Buses & Planes: A 90-Hour Journey Home From Israel
August: From Jews in Minneapolis: This is Not About Us
September: Facing Antisemitism at Catholic School
October: On 10/7 Anniversary, Temple Israel Targeted with Antisemitic, Pro-Hamas Graffiti
November: Remembering Former Temple of Aaron Cantor Mitch Kowitz
December: CAIR Leader Blames Israel For Attack on Somali Community, While Multifaith Coalition Shows Support
Our community is also politically engaged; Of the 10 most-listened-to Who The Folk?! Podcast Episodes new this year, five of them were people who were on the ballot during the summer or fall (Miles Lerner, Cole Hanson, Johanna Hyman, Susie Kaufman and Aaron Black. Rounding out the top 10 most-listened to episodes this year were: Henry Karpovas Lisak, Sami Saltzman Savin, J Matchmaking‘s Freddie Weisberg and Char Cohodes, Sara Lynn Newberger, and Marissa Bader.
It’s been an at times exhausting and exhilarating 2025 for TC Jewfolk. We bid a fond farewell to Lev Gringauz and his growing pile of Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism (which he won another in 2025), and welcomed Molly Rosenblatt, a longtime TV pro who is helping push us towards more video content on our social media channels.
There have been some big, transformative stories in the Twin Cities Jewish community this year, and you read about them first at TC Jewfolk: Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis’ acquisition of Jewish Family Service of St. Paul, or Maayanot Community Mikveh of Minnesota picking the Beth El Synagogue campus as its spot to build its location. And sure, we could’ve run a press release or short news story about these. But my goal is always to bring the “why,” not just the “what” – especially when the news can fundamentally change the community.
Our live show, Stories From The Tribe, was back for a banger of a second year with 12 amazing stories, a full house at Beth El, and no air conditioning. If you haven’t caught up on the season two podcast, you’re missing out.
As you can see from the stories that you read the most this year, antisemitism is still a growing problem. The need to cover these stories is exhausting and, yes, at times scary. But as a community member, the coverage is exactly what I’d expect out of our Jewish press. Therefore, it’s what I help lead us to do.
The support we’ve received this year (and, really, all 16 years Jewfolk has been around), has been instrumental in our efforts to engage and inform our community. Whether you’ve been reading, listening, donating, commenting, or sharing, we really appreciate you being a part of our community. These contributions are vital to our ongoing success.
Whether you read TC Jewfolk daily, catch up in our weekly newsletter, listen to our podcasts, engage with us on social media, come to our events, or any combination of those activities, you are a part of the Jewfolk community. We grow and improve each year because of you. We thank you for your contributions and conversations and just generally being part of our world. We’re honored that you made us part of yours.
