Joseph Berger (born January 17, 1945, in Lysva,

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) is an American journalist, author, and speaker. He was a staff reporter and editor for ''

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 ...

'' from 1984 to 2014 and has authored five books.

Early life and education

Joseph Berger was born in Lysva, Russia, to

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

parents who had fled their hometowns to escape the Nazis. Berger lived in several

displaced persons camps in post-World War II Europe Displaced may refer to: * Forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displace ...

before immigrating to the United States in 1950 with his parents and younger brother. A sister was born in the U.S. His book ''Displaced Persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust'' describes his upbringing as a refugee child of Yiddish-speaking parents. Berger attended the

Manhattan Day School Manhattan Day School, often referred to as MDS, is a co-educational Modern Orthodox Jewish yeshiva elementary school located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was founded in 1943 as Yeshivat Ohr Torah Community School, the first Jewish all ...

, an

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 ...

yeshiva, followed by a year at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, before enrolling at the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

. After high school he attended the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, graduating in 1966, and completed his M.A. in journalism at the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

Career

Berger was an English teacher from 1967 to 1971. He then became a feature writer for the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' from 1971 to 1978. He next worked as a reporter and religion writer for ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' from 1978 to 1984. Berger joined the staff of ''

'' in 1984. He served as chief religion correspondent from 1985 to 1987, and as national and local education correspondent from 1987 to 1993. He then served as deputy education editor and acting education editor, leading a 10-person staff. Berger wrote a column on education from 2006 to 2008. Articles that he wrote on New York's ethnic culture between 2004 and 2007 formed the basis for his book ''The World in a City: Traveling the Globe Through the Neighborhoods of the New New York''. He also served as a temporary assistant Metro editor and Times bureau chief in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He retired from the paper in December 2014.

Awards and honors

Berger was a three-time winner of the Religion Newswriters Association's Supple Award during his stint at ''Newsday''. He received the 1993 Education Writers Association award "for exposing biases in bilingual education" and the 2011 Peter Kihss Award from The Society of the Silurians, for his reporting work and "his interest in mentoring younger colleagues". Berger is a popular speaker on the subjects of immigration, education, New York City, the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and Israel.

Personal life

Berger and his wife Brenda, a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, have one daughter. They reside in

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

, where he is a member of a Reconstructionist

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

Bibliography

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References

External links

"The Hasidic Community is not a Cult" by Joseph Berger
''

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

'', November 18, 2014
"In Poland, Searching for Jewish Heritage" by Joseph Berger
''

'', July 30, 2015
"The Smell of Crayons" by Joseph Berger
'' Tablet'', September 12, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Joseph 1945 births Living people American people of Polish-Jewish descent Soviet emigrants to the United States Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers The Bronx High School of Science alumni City College of New York alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni People from Lysva Yeshiva University alumni Writers from New York (state) People from Westchester County, New York 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists American male journalists American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American journalists Russian expatriates in the United States World War II refugees American Reconstructionist Jews 21st-century American Jews