About Moment
Moment is an independent magazine known for its award winning journalism and online presence, cultural and literary criticism, and innovative projects. It provides a unique lens on the issues that trouble, concern, and inspire American Jews.
Its reputation as a thought leader in the magazine world has earned it major journalism awards, including the Religion News Association Award for Excellence in Magazines. Moment has also been a finalist for the Newhouse School of Journalism’s Mirror Awards and received a first place award for “General Excellence in Websites” from the American Jewish Press Association.
Founded in 1975 by Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel and writer Leonard Fein, it has been led by journalist Nadine Epstein since 2004.
History
Moment, named after the Yiddish-language Der Moment, was founded in 1975 by Elie Wiesel and writer Leonard Fein. (Der Moment began in 1910, and was a massive circulation newspaper, and, as Wiesel said, “lived until it was murdered together with Polish Jewry.” (Der Moment can be found on microfilm at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York.)
The mission of the new Moment: to be a place for diverse opinions “of no single ideological position, save of course, for a commitment to Jewish life.” Now in its 46th year, Moment remains as independent as ever. (The most read stories from 2020 are here.)
Founders
A professor, political activist and author of 57 books, Elie Wiesel is best known for his acclaimed memoir, Night, a searing autobiographical account of the horrors he witnessed and endured as a teenager in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. For decades after, he spoke out against atrocities and genocides around the world. The Nobel committee recognized his work in 1986 by awarding Wiesel the Nobel Peace Prize. He passed away in 2016. MomentBooks, a new imprint with Vilar Mandel, has just published Elie Wiesel: An Extraordinary Life and Legacy.
Leonard Fein was Moment’s founding editor for 11 years. His editor’s column came alive with his passions – social justice and ending racism and poverty, Judaism, Israel and the American Jewish community. He also founded Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, and the National Jewish Coalition for Literacy. He died in 2014. Moment published a collection of his writings in “Leonard Fein: Vision and Passion” in 2016.
Praise for Moment
“Moment is brilliant. It’s like the bible–it is the only publication that pulls the Jewish world together.” — writer and author Sidney Offit
“In an era when fact-free rants and racist slurs poison our national discourse, authentic journalism is more valuable than ever, yet harder to achieve. Moment does it in every issue. Its calm, well-informed voice of reason is a national treasure and an act of faith and courage.” —Glenn Frankel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
“Moment takes aim, takes risks and laughs at us too. Moment is a bastion of Jewish journalism and—here is the amazing part—it keeps getting better. From year to year, Moment is more serious and funny, deeper and edgier.” —author Anita Diamant
“Your magazine is constantly breaking new ground in journalism and offering what Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. used to call ‘an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity.’” —Clarence Page
“Moment is more important than ever because we are being flooded with fake news. In Moment, good journalists do good journalism.” —Robert Siegel
“I think it’s a magazine for anyone who cares about the future of the American Jewish community, and is willing to see that future not in terms of what already is but rather in terms of what could be.” —author Dara Horn
“Moment is the indispensable read for those of us seeking informed commentary on Jewish life, stripped of the factionalism and shrillness that all too often drowns out thoughtful discussion these days.” —Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks
“Anyone interested in the central themes of the last 36 years, the critical ideas, the debates, the cultural innovations, the issues that Jews debated, will find those reflected on the pages of Moment magazine.” —historian Jonathan Sarna
“Moment has become a rather brilliant journal of Jewish cultural and sociological affairs—a worthy successor to the Commentary of the 1950s and 1960s.” —late historian Howard Sachar
Recent Awards
2020
Simon Rockower Awards
“A Jewish Outsider in Paris” , Robert Siegel
“It’s Stephen Miller time“, Marc Fisher
“The New Mechitza” , Eetta Prince-Gibson
Moment Magazine, Award for General Excellence – Best Website
Religion News Association
Award for Excellence in Magazine, Best Issue
2019
Simon Rockower Awards
“The Dark Side of Shalom Bayit,” Nadine Epstein
“Inside the Iron Dome,” Dan Raviv (first place in two categories)
“Abby Stein: A Gender Transition Through a Jewish Lens,” Simi Horwitz
2018
Mirror Awards
“Sheldon Adelson: Playing to Win,” Nadine Epstein and Wesley G. Pippert, finalist for best single article/story
“Report From Whitefish: After the Cyber Storm,” Ellen Wexler, finalist for best single article/story
Simon Rockower Awards
“Letter From New Haven,” Ellen Wexler, Award for Excellence in Social Justice Reporting
“No Patience for Patriarchy,” Eetta Prince-Gibson, first place, David Frank Award for Excellence in Personality Profiles
“The Polish Republic of Untruth,” Konstanty Gebert, first place Award of Excellence in Writing about Jewish Heritage and Jewish Peoplehood in Europe
“Growing Up Trump,” Marc Fisher, first place Award for Excellence in Feature Writing
“After the Cyber Storm,” Ellen Wexler, second place Award for Excellence in Feature Writing
Religion Newswriters Association Awards
“Strangers in Their Own Land,” May Jeong, print & online finalist
“Letter From New Haven,” “Letter From Dahlonega” and “Report From Whitefish,” Ellen Wexler and Noah Phillips, multiple media finalist
“Letter From Whitefish” (video), Zachary Frank, multiple media finalist
2017
Simon Rockower Awards
“The Curious Case of Dorothy L. Sayers and the Jew Who Wasn’t There,” Amy E. Schwartz, second place Award for Excellence in Arts and Criticism News and Features
“Is Sitting This One Out, Who Will be Israel’s Champion?” and “The True Value of Cheap Books”, Shmuel Rosner, second place Louis Rapoport Award for Excellence in Commentary
2016
International Association of Culinary Professionals, Food Writing Award
“The Great Hanukkah Clanging,” Nadine Epstein, finalist
2015
Nominations for Livingston Award for Best “Investigative News Story” from New American Media
Clarion Award from the Association of Women in Communications for Best Feature Article/Current News for Eetta Prince-Gibson’s An Uneasy Union
Religion Newswriters Association
First place award in magazine news reporting from the for Prince’s An Uneasy Union, along with awards for Nadine Epstein’s Evolution of a Moderate on Mohammed Dajani, and for Michael Orbach’s story Professor of Disbelief on James Kugel.
Moment Advisory Board
Michael Berenbaum
Albert Foer
Esther Foer
Michael Gelman
Lloyd Goldman
Terry E. Grant
Phyllis Greenberger
Tamara Handelsman
Julie Hermelin
Sharon Karmazin
Connie Krupin
Peter Lefkin
Andrew Mack
Judea Pearl
Josh Rolnick
Jean Bloch Rosensaft
Menachem Rosensaft
Elizabeth Scheuer
Joan Scheuer
Leonard Schuchman
Walter P. Stern
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
Diane Troderman
Robert Wiener
Esther Wojcicki
Gwen Zuares
Center for Creative Change
The Center for Creative Change (CCC) is dedicated to strengthening civic discourse and finding creative solutions to age-old problems. Through Moment Magazine and related projects, the CCC aims to build and educate a network of people interested in serious, intellectual exchange on the important issues of our time and to expose anti-Semitism and other deeply ingrained prejudices. As a dedicated 501(c)(3) based in Washington, DC, the CCC may accept tax-deductible donations. The CCC is not a sectarian organization.