''Flatbush Jewish Journal'' (FJJ) is a

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

-based weekly newspaper catering to the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Jewish community. It is closely associated with

Agudath Israel of America Agudath Israel of America (; also called the Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Judaism, Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to meet the needs of the Har ...

Overview

Mordy Mehlman, who founded the ''FJJ'' in 2010, claimed that 19,000 homes receive the publication. Larry Gordon, publisher of the ''

Five Towns Jewish Times ''Five Towns Jewish Times'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Jewish communities of the Five Towns in southwestern Nassau County, New York, and the greater New York area, covering the area's large and growing Orthodox Jewish community. History Th ...

'' (another New York-based newspaper) claimed that ''FJJ'' was modelled after his own publication. In 2015, the physical page size shrank due to a change that reduced printing costs. The newspaper is closely associated with

, an

Jewish advocacy organization. While the publication's audience is the Orthodox community in New York City, the name ''Flatbush Jewish Journal'' hints towards a focus on the

neighborhood of

Midwood Midwood is a neighborhood in the south-central part of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded on the north by the Bay Ridge Branch tracks just above Avenue I and by the Brooklyn College campus of the City ...

, which many Jews consider to be part of

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

. For religious reasons, the newspaper refuses to print pictures of women or girls. If a ''

yartzeit Yahrzeit (, plural , ) is the anniversary of a death in Judaism. It is traditionally commemorated by reciting the Kaddish in synagogue and by lighting a long-burning candle. Name The word ''Yahrzeit'' is a borrowing from the Yiddish (), ul ...

'' article is published about a woman, the accompanying photo, if present, is of her husband.

Features

''FJJ'' publishes ongoing Torah content by several well-known rabbis;

Artscroll ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScro ...

books are serialized. Some of their weekly columnists with professional recognition feature a reader's letter and a response, sometimes continued to the following week. Content from Artscroll volumes previously or presently excerpted include writings by or about

Yaakov Kamenetsky Yaakov Kamenetsky (February 28, 1891 – March 10, 1986), was a prominent rabbi, rosh yeshiva, ''posek'' and Talmudist in the post-World War II American Jewish community. Biography Yaakov Kamenetsky was born at a folwark called Kalyskovka owned ...

( Reb Yaakov: The Life and Times of HaGaon Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky), Abraham J. Twerski (Letters To My Children) and

Avraham Yaakov Pam Avraham Yaakov Pam (1913 – August 16, 2001) was the ''rosh yeshiva'' of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York. Biography Rabbi Pam began his career at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in 1938, when was appointed '' maggid shiur'' (Talmudic lectu ...

(The Life and Ideals of Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Hakohen Pam). Since 2013 the newspaper has featured advertisements from an anonymous source aimed to reduce chatter during Jewish religious services headlined "''Stop the Talking in Shul!''". The letter pages were, for ten years, the source of material for Rocky Zweig's submissions, whose presence was described by a larger Orthodox newspaper as "a weekly column." The late Zweig wrote a major satire in the guise of a full page of the Talmud, describing the reasons why

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

should or should not build a wall, and why or why not Mexico should want to pay for it; it was printed as the front page of the

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

issue. The Flatbush Jewish Journal's letter pages are considered important reading: in 2013 a long-time elected legislator's negative reaction to content was covered by ''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York City. It serves the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. History The ''Jewish Press'' was co-founded in 1960 by Albert Klass and his brother Sholom Klass. The Klas ...

''.

Impact

Local newspapers, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', cover their content. Gordon conceded that ''FJJ'' covered Brooklyn

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

events well. In April 2020, during the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...

, ''FJJ'' ran a 50-page obituary section. This was followed up by a shorter ''yartzeit'' tribute one year later.

References

{{reflist, 31em Newspapers published in New York City Weekly newspapers published in the United States Jewish newspapers published in the United States Flatbush, Brooklyn

Overview

Features

Impact

See also

References