Subscribe to WJN July 2025
I am so appreciative of the Washtenaw community’s support for this newspaper and to my commitment to forging an independent container where there is room for the legacy organizations and congregations as well as new and emerging voices.
After nearly a hundred year slide from the cacophonic, iconoclastic, competitive Jewish newspaper heyday, we in the U. S. are now today left with a handful, maybe less, of community based Jewish newspapers that are published independently of the Jewish federation system.
My credo for the WJN is taped to my desk and I read it often:
The Washtenaw Jewish News will continually demonstrate that the lived Jewish creative community is much wider than the legacy Jewish agencies, organizations, and congregations.
While not excluding the legacy organizations or diminishing their important functions in the community, WJN exists outside of the legacy systems, paying close attention to the creative social and political happenings among Jews who are only marginally involved or are not involved in the legacy systems.
The community of readers and contributors to WJN includes Jews who de-center Zionism and/or are working to create in Israel/Palestine democratic structures for all who live there; Jews working in the creative arts giving form and substance to emerging Jewish practice and culture; Jews incorporating deep awareness of the physical land we currently live on; and Jews with an open attitude toward other religious beliefs, practices, and traditions.
Because most Jews expect a local Jewish community newspaper to be simply a voice for the Federation and other legacy organizations, and because most Jews cannot imagine a Jewish newspaper that would be anything else, I have to aggressively seek news and opinions from Jews in non and anti-Zionist groups, Jews who are remaking Judaism, and Jews who cannot imagine a Jewish community they feel part of. At the same time, the WJN will always publish the events, news, and opinions of the local congregations, agencies, and organizations.
I hope you value this inclusive mix, and will continue to read the WJN.
Voluntary Subscriptions
The Washtenaw Jewish News will continue to be distributed for free, mailed to addresses in Washtenaw County and available at libraries, coffee shops, and other sites. We are also seeking voluntary subscriptions on a sliding scale of $18, $36, or $72 per year. Paper and postage have gone up considerably, but we do not want to raise our advertising rates. Many readers have asked how they can support the WJN: read it, talk about it, and voluntarily subscribe!