New Chronicle editor: This is for you

I was in favor of the kosher pizza.

It was the mid-1980s, back when friends were people you hung out with rather than clicked on, and I was a college kid telling my friends what I thought.

The scene was a bunch of young Jewish guys in a college multipurpose room having an argument. It was a very Jewish moment.

I told my fellow members of the Jewish-themed Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at Hofstra University on Long Island that I favored kosher for our recruitment events.

There was some opposition: Rob, have you eaten kosher pizza? It’s disgusting.

I stood my ground and our pizza was to be kosher and, as far as I can recall, not at all disgusting.

My sentiment then wasn’t much different from my sentiment now. As the new editor of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, I feel we must remember that our community is a big tent, made up of people of varied backgrounds and beliefs.

In fact, I want to speak now to one really amazing group, our non-Jewish family members. You so often support the Judaism of your partners, your kids and this community, a community you didn’t necessarily grow up with, a community you’ve sometimes struggled to understand. Your presence is greatly appreciated and this publication, this community, is for you too.

Looking ahead, I won’t just be reaching out to all with pizza from a glatt kosher restaurant at a college rush event. I’ll be reaching out with strong reader engagement principles for newspapers that I’ve learned over a couple decades in the business.

I’ll also be using social media to foster even better connections within our community and to empower you to enrich your own Jewish world in whatever way works for you.

And here’s the best part. I’ll need your help and helping me will be fun.

Be sure to let me know at RobG@MilwaukeeJewish.org or at 414-390-5770 when you’ve got news or information of local interest. I want this to be your publication and I can’t make that happen without you.

Also, we’re pumping up our Chronicle Facebook page and Twitter account. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/WisconsinJewish.

Please like us! Share us! Retweet us!

When you get in on the ground floor in this way, you’ll be helping me promote and strengthen local Judaism and our connection to Israel. Some of our posts will be whimsical, or they’ll tug at your emotions, but there’s a serious purpose behind it all. Social media users gravitate to the whimsical and the emotional and digital journalists who ignore that reality do so at their own peril.

With a strong digital presence, and with an aggressively engaging print publication, we can better reach people who want to connect with us but aren’t always sure how.

Let’s talk about Israel

Can we talk about Israel?

I’ll never tell you that Israel is perfect or should be enshrined as beyond constructive criticism. But Israel is in a tough spot. She struggles to find solutions, facing dilemmas bigger than all of us.

I believe that someday, Israel will find the peace and acceptance she craves. But I believe she’ll get there only with continued support from us.

In spring, I’ll be covering and walking with the annual Walk for Israel and I’ll be at plenty of other events for Israel before then, too. I invite you to come say hi and join me!