Esther Kustanowitz on Muck Rack

Esther Kustanowitz

Verified
Los Angeles
As seen in: Apple Podcasts, Medium, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, Haaretz, Yahoo, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Forward, LAist and
Covers:  Pop culture, grief, community, arts, leadership, social media and the intersection of any of those and faith/Jewish life, identity and culture.
Doesn't Cover: Politics, sports
Writer. @tvgonejewy @thebagelreport podcast (link in bio). bsky.app/profile/estherk.bsky.social

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Esther Kustanowitz’s Biography

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Esther D. Kustanowitz is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, consultant and speaker. She is a Contributing Writer at the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, where she writes on topics ranging from comedy to grief, from women in Jewish leadership to social media culture; and is a TV columnist at J.: The Jewish News of Northern California. She co-hosts The Bagel Report, a podcast about Jews and entertainment, and speaks about #TVGoneJewy, a term she invented to describe the increase of Jewish…

Esther Kustanowitz’s Journalist Portfolio

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'My Unorthodox Life': ex-Hasidic TV trend gets reality treatment - J.

'My Unorthodox Life': ex-Hasidic TV trend gets reality treatment - J.

The Jewish community has obsessed over the slow-toned narrative beats of haredi life on "Shtisel," and critic…

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A Space for Memory and Community Connection

A Space for Memory and Community Connection

On Monday afternoon, the garden was empty of people, but the breeze carried sounds that you only hear when hu…

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Personalizing Home Ritual With 'HighHolidaysAtHome'

Personalizing Home Ritual With 'HighHolidaysAtHome'

As the world prepares for its first High Holy Days season of the pandemic era, the team behind Haggadot.com, …

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Irreverent Twitter Account @RogueShul Tackles the High Holy Days

Irreverent Twitter Account @RogueShul Tackles the High Holy Days

If you think that Twitter is all about negativity, Russian bots and generally bad behavior, you've probably n…

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Jewish journalism gets the British sitcom treatment in 'Jewish Enquirer' - J.

Jewish journalism gets the British sitcom treatment in 'Jewish Enquirer' - J.

Take the misanthropic, self-centered protagonist of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," make him 30-something, add a Brit…

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'Iron Dome' docuseries shows political and personal cost of a secure Israel

'Iron Dome' docuseries shows political and personal cost of a secure Israel

"How do you make a missile fired from the ground that can intercept an airborne rocket within 15 seconds?" Th…

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Articles

Do We Need More Holocaust Content?

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By Esther Kustanowitz Verified
| Hadassah Magazine Verified
Email Print By age 10, my yeshiva day school classmates and I were surrounded by stories and visuals of the Holocaust. In classes and programs, we saw pictures of hollow-eyed concentration camp inmates, learned Yiddish songs from the ghettos and the partisans and heard in-person accounts from survivors.
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The Era of the Jewish Gun Club

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By Esther Kustanowitz Verified
| Hadassah Magazine Verified
Email Print Deby Goodman used to be a cantor at a Conservative synagogue. She also has worked as an accountant and once owned a spa, “the only one around with a mezuzah on every doorpost,” said the Hadassah life member who sits on the board of directors of the Jewish National Fund’s local office in Orange County, Calif. Largely retired, Goodman, 70, now writes a Substack column about Israel and, occasionally, freelances as a karaoke DJ and as a cantor for weddings and funerals.
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One year later, funders back storytelling efforts to help public grapple with Oct. 7 attacks

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By Esther Kustanowitz Verified
| eJewish Philanthropy
As Israeli and American Jews wrestle with the impact of the Oct. 7 attacks and the year that followed, creatives are mobilizing their storytelling skills and searching the philanthropy landscape for funders to support their Jewish-themed projects.
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Interview

What's the most common misperception about your beat?

That arts and entertainment are frivolous — they are important and can also lead to human connection, empathy or action.

Awards

Simon Rockower Award (American Jewish Press Association)

2020 - Excellence in Arts & Criticism News & Features

Excellence in Arts & Criticism News & Features - Critical Analysis, Newspapers 14,999 circulation and under (J. Jewish News of Northern California), 2nd Place https://www.jweekly.com/2019/08/29/our-boys-will-make-you-uncomfortable-which-is-exactly-why-you-should-watch-it/

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Los Angeles Press Club Award

2020 - Personality Profile

Personality Profile, 3rd Place "Mohammed al Samawi: How Interfaith Activism Became and Saved His Life" https://jewishjournal.com/cover_story/308364/mohammed-al-samawi-how-interfaith-activism-became-and-saved-his-life/

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